Michael Habte

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Michael Habte

| fullname = Michael Habte Gebremeksel

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2000|8|21|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Essex, England

| height =

| position = Midfielder

| currentclub = Adulis Club

| clubnumber =

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 2016–2018

| clubs1 = Dartford

| caps1 = 7

| goals1 = 0

| years2 = 2019–

| clubs2 = Adulis Club

| caps2 =

| goals2 =

| nationalyears1 = 2019–

| nationalteam1 = Eritrea

| nationalcaps1 = 6

| nationalgoals1 = 1

| nationalteam-update = 14:28, 11 August 2021 (UTC)

}}

Michael Habte (born 21 August 2000) is an Eritrean footballer who plays for Adulis Club of the Eritrean Premier League, and the Eritrea national team.

Club career

Born in England,{{cite web |title=Soccerway profile |url=https://us.soccerway.com/players/michael-habte/454711/ |publisher=Soccerway |access-date=11 August 2021}} Habte began playing football at age eight.{{cite web |title=A Look at the Football Culture in Asmara through the experiences of Michael Habte The Global Sport of Choice |url=https://shabait.com/2019/04/13/a-look-at-the-football-culture-in-asmara-through-the-experiences-of-michael-habte-the-global-sport-of-choice/ |publisher=shabait.com |access-date=11 August 2021}} He came up through the academy system of Dartford F.C. before earning promotion to the first team in the National League South for the 2016–17 season.{{cite web |last1=Cawdell |first1=Luke |title=Dartford's youth policy paying off with Richard Seixas and Michael Habte making it five academy players in action against Wealdstone last weekend |url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/sport/academy-rewards-119859/ |publisher=Kent Online |access-date=11 August 2021}} He made a total of seven appearances for the club before departing following the 2017–18 season. Following his departure from Dartford, he joined Adulis Club of the Eritrean Premier League{{cite web |title=Global Sports Archive profile |url=https://globalsportsarchive.com/people/soccer/michael-habte/340319/ |publisher=Global Sports Archive |access-date=11 August 2021}} to gain the attention of the Eritrean National Football Federation.

International career

Habte played at the youth level for Eritrea in a friendly against South Sudan in December 2018.{{cite web |title=Football for Development and Peace: Eritrea vs. South Sudan |url=https://shabait.com/2018/12/19/football-for-development-and-peace-eritrea-vs-south-sudan/ |publisher=shabait.com |access-date=11 August 2021}} In September 2019 he was part of the Eritrea squad for the 2019 CECAFA U-20 Championship. He scored in a 7–0 Group Stage victory over Djibouti en route to a third place finish in the tournament.{{cite web |last1=Isabirye |first1=David |title=Eritrea humiliates Djibouti to register biggest score-line at 2019 CECAFA U-20 |url=https://kawowo.com/2019/09/25/eritrea-humiliates-djibouti-to-register-biggest-score-line-at-2019-cecafa-u-20/ |publisher=kawowo.com |access-date=30 September 2021}}{{cite web |title=Eritrea beat Sudan 1-0 to finish third in Cecafa U-20 Challenge Cup |url=https://www.cecafaonline.com/eritrea-beat-sudan-1-0-to-finish-third-in-cecafa-u-20-challenge-cup-bronze-medal/ |publisher=CECAFA |access-date=30 September 2021}}

He made his senior international debut on 11 December 2019 in a 2019 CECAFA Cup match against Uganda. He went on to score his first international goal in the [[2019 CECAFA Cup#Semi-finals|

semi-finals]] of the tournament in a 4–1 victory over Kenya.{{cite web |title=Eritrea qualifies for The 2019 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup final |url=https://shabait.com/2019/12/18/eritrea-qualifies-for-the-2019-cecafa-senior-challenge-cup-final/ |publisher=shabait.com |access-date=11 August 2021}}{{cite web |title=NFT profile |url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/76494/Michael_Habte.html |publisher=National Football Teams |access-date=11 August 2021}} Eritrea went on to finish as surprise runners-up of the tournament.{{cite web |title=Hosts Uganda beat Eritrea 3-0 to win the 2019 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/50856969 |publisher=BBC |access-date=11 August 2021}} In July 2021, Habte was part of Eritrea's squad for the 2021 CECAFA U-23 Challenge Cup.{{cite web |title=CECAFA U-23 Challenge Cup - Ranking Match |url=https://www.facebook.com/SoccerEthiopia/posts/cecafa-u-23-challenge-cup-ranking-match-ethiopia-vs-eritrea-ethiopia-xi-13-fasil/4354871077906878/ |publisher=Soccer Ethiopia |access-date=11 August 2021}} He was in the starting lineup for the team's second match, an eventual 0–3 defeat to Burundi.{{cite web |title=Eritrea starting XI Vs Burundi |url=https://twitter.com/firew_asrat/status/1417459357596459023 |publisher=Firew Asrat |access-date=11 August 2021}}