Indy Eleven snap up Eamon Zayed

Now in his fourth country in four years, the global journeyman will line-out for the Indiana-based outfit for the 2016 North American Soccer League season.

Zayed moves to America having spent the past year playing for Sabah FA in the Malaysian Premier League, which is actually the second tier behind the Super League. After joining the club under general manager George O’Callaghan in December 2014, he played alongside former Premier League striker El-Hadji Diouf and went on to score ten goals in twenty-one appearances as Sabah came seventh in the table. He finished as the top goalscorer at the club and joint-fifth overall in the league

Before his Malaysian adventure, Zayed played for both Rovers, Shamrock and Sligo, in the 2014 Premier Division season, scoring three in fourteen league appearances for the former before heading out on loan to the latter in August of that year and finishing off with five goals in twelve for the Bit O’Red as they finished fifth behind his parent club.

Zayed had signed for Shamrock Rovers in July 2013, finishing off the 2013 season with just one goal in eight league appearances but also picking up EA Sports Cup and Leinster Senior League medals. He signed from Iranian club Aluminium Hormozgan in the Iranian second division, having previously been with Persepolis in the top tier from the start of 2012 until leaving the club just prior to his move to Hormozgan in January 2013.

Indy Eleven announced the signing of the Libyan international alongside former Harrisburg City Islanders defender Neil Shaffer, with the president and general manager Peter Wilt saying to the club’s website that they have brought in “two players with vastly different experiences across the globe and in the American game.” He then added that, “Both will be hungry to prove themselves at the NASL level and add quality, depth and character to our roster.”

Zayed will be seeing a few familiar faces in his travels around the NASL with former Sligo Rovers attacker Pascal Millien plying his trade for the Jacksonville Armada. With the team having only entered the league during the 2015 Spring season, Millien ended up with six goals and four assists in twenty-two league games. He is also joined at the club by Richie Ryan. The former Sligo and Shamrock Rovers midfielder transferred from Ottawa Fury, where he was named in the NASL Best XI after captaining the club to the 2015 Championship Final against New York Cosmos.

Still at Ottawa Fury is former Cobh Ramblers and Kilkenny City defender Colin Falvey, who started all thirty league games between the Spring and Fall seasons before playing both the semi-final and final as the Fury lost to the Cosmos. FC Edmonton also have a former League of Ireland player in their ranks after Jake Keegan departed Galway in favour of Edmonton this past month.