Playing career Ben Dayan started his career at
Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he saw limited action over the span of 5 seasons. After a break out 2000–01 season, Ben Dayan was called up to the
Israel national football team by then manager,
Richard Møller Nielsen, for a friendly against
Hungary. His most successful club season though was in 2001–02 when he started and helped the club win the
Israel State Cup having not played a single fixture in the club's previous cup title. In 2002, Ben Dayan was transferred to Hapoel Petah Tikva where he would start each match but was unimpressive, usually being the first player substituted. He moved on to
Hapoel Kfar Saba but after the club was relegated and Ben Dayan was left in 2003 looking for a new club in a little less than a year. Ben Dayan would head south to
Be'er Sheva to join
Hapoel for the 2003–04 season. There he would revive his career playing under
Eli Guttman. This even led to him getting a second chance to play on the national team, but he only featured in two friendlies against
Azerbaijan and
Moldova.
Move to the United States After two seasons in Be'er Sheva, Ben Dayan became the second
Israeli ever to play in the United States' top football league,
Major League Soccer, when he signed a one-year contract with
Colorado Rapids (the other was
Guy Melamed who was released on a free transfer shortly after Ben Dayan's arrival). When his first season ended, Ben Dayan had proven his worth to Colorado manager,
Fernando Clavijo, and was signed to a three-year contract estimated at $120,000 per annum. During his time there, when Ben Dayan would score a goal for Colorado at
INVESCO Field, he would generally run to his family in Colorado who would throw him the Israeli flag.
Return to Israel Ben Dayan returned to Israel to play for
Maccabi Netanya in August 2006. He stated that he asked to return due to the
Second Lebanon War and wanted to be closer to his family. Following his return to Israeli soccer with Maccabi Netanya, it was noted by the media that his play had improved dramatically from the time he left for the MLS in 2005. When interviewed by reporters, Ben Dayan credited this improvement to the quicker pace and more physical game of the MLS, as well as its state of the art training facilities.
Move to Cyprus and back to Israel In January 2012, Ben Dayan moved to Cyprus side
AC Omonia until the end of the season, before moving back to Israel to play for
Hapoel Acre. In the 2013-14 season Ben Dayan played for
Bnei Sakhnin, the following season he signed a one-year contract with
Maccabi Petah Tikva. In November 2015, Ben Dayan signed a two years contract with
Maccabi Sha'arayim from
Liga Alef (third tier), which meant that for first time in his career he won't be playing in a top flight league.
Personal life Ben Dayan is
Jewish. While playing for the Colorado Rapids, Ben Dayan was dismayed that he had to miss a league match due to its falling out on
Yom Kippur. After seven years of dating, Ben Dayan married Dana Farkash at the Royal Garden Hotel in Eilat, Israel in a Jewish ceremony. Among the guests were numerous Israeli celebrities and professional footballers. ==Honours==