Tal Ben Haim

Infobox Football biography
playername = Tal Ben-Haim
טל בן-חיים


fullname = Tal Ben-Haim
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|3|31
cityofbirth = Rishon LeZion
countryofbirth = Israel
height = height|ft=5|in=11
position = Centre Back/Right Back
currentclub = Manchester City
clubnumber = 26
youthyears =
youthclubs = Maccabi Tel Aviv
years = 1998–2004
2004–2007
2007–2008
2008–
clubs = Maccabi Tel Aviv
Bolton Wanderers
Chelsea
Manchester City
caps(goals) = 147 (2)
088 (1)
013 (0)
003 (0)
nationalyears = 2001–2002
2002–
nationalteam = Israel U21
Israel
nationalcaps(goals) = 006 (0)
043 (0)
pcupdate = 13:29, 21 September 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 16:45, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

Tal Ben Haim or Tal Ben-Haim ( _he. טל בן-חיים; born March 31, 1982 in Rishon LeZion, Israel) is an Israeli professional football player. Ben-Haim plays both centre back and right back, and is currently contracted to Manchester City F.C. in the Barclays Premier League. He is a member of the Israel national football team.

Club career

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Ben-Haim joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1998 as a reserve player and it stayed that way, breaking into the first team some time later. From 2000 to 2002, he served in the IDF. Upon completing his term and returning to the team, Ben-Haim played a significant part in Maccabi's Ligat ha'Al win in the 2002–03 season.

Bolton Wanderers

After a two week trial with Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2004, Sam Allardyce secured the services of Ben-Haim on a three-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £150,000. [cite web | title=Tal Ben-Haim | work=ESPNsoccernet | url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=19087&cc=5739 | accessdate=August 20 | accessyear=2007 ] Although Allardyce did not believe Ben-Haim would be ready for the rigours of the Premier League immediately, he was confident that, given time, Ben-Haim would have as big an impact on the English game as illustrious fellow countryman Eyal Berkovic.

His first season at the Reebok Stadium was a successful one as he made 27 appearances and scored his first goal for Bolton in a 3–1 home victory against Tottenham Hotspur. The only thing that hampered his campaign a little was a clash with Wayne Rooney in a league match when Rooney appeared to shove him in the face. Ben-Haim, it was claimed, went down too easily and made too much of it and was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association, but was later cleared of charges. [cite web | title=Tal Ben-Haim - Bolton Wanderers Player Profile| work=Carling Football | url=http://www.carling.com/football/bolton-wanderers-fc/tal-ben-haim.html | accessdate=August 20 | accessyear=2007 ]

On October 20, 2005 while playing for Bolton Wanderers in the UEFA Cup match, away at Beşiktaş, Tal Ben-Haim wore the captain's arm band and was praised by the regular team captain Jay Jay Okocha.

Ben-Haim's impressive defensive displays in his following seasons at Bolton had attracted the interests of many clubs including Chelsea, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur. In January 2007, Chelsea confirmed that talks to sign Ben-Haim from Bolton were unsuccessful. [cite web | title=No Ben-Haim Deal| work=chelseafc.com | url=http://www.chelseafc.com/page/NewsHomePage/0,,10268~966577,00.html | accessdate=August 20 | accessyear=2007 ]

Following the end of the 2006–07 season, Ben-Haim's contract with Bolton had expired and his future at Bolton was in doubt with media reports linking him with a move to Chelsea and Newcastle United, ex-Bolton boss Sam Allardyce admitting that he was ready to make an offer to his former charge to bring him to Newcastle.

His transfer from Maccabi to Bolton in July 2004 is one of those about which the Stevens inquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the apparent conflict of interest between agent Craig Allardyce, his father Sam Allardyce – the then manager at Bolton – and the club itself.

Chelsea

On June 14 2007, Chelsea officially announced the signing of Ben-Haim on a Bosman transfer after he had passed his medical at Stamford Bridge and agreed on personal terms to join the club on a four-year deal. Ben-Haim told the [http://www.jewishtelegraph.com Jewish Telegraph] exclusively: "I am very happy to join one of the greatest clubs in the world. I needed a new challenge. I will play in any position Jose Mourinho wants me to play. I am looking forward to starting the new season with Champions League football."He made his competitive début for Chelsea against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield. With injuries to fellow Chelsea defenders John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho Ben Haim remained a regular in the Chelsea first team. However, after the recovery of first team pairing Terry and Carvalho and the impressive form of Alex, Ben Haim found himself to be the fourth choice centre back.

In April 2008, he hit out at former Chelsea manager Avram Grant after Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic stating: "If I knew Avram Grant was going to be the coach I would have signed for another club. It was Jose who brought me here and no one except he and I know the conversation we had when he tried to sign me the first time a year ago last January. The fact is while Jose was the coach I played most of the games and people who know me know that I would not have come here to be a reserve. I knew nothing good would come for me with Grant as Chelsea coach."cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2297506/Pressure-mounts-on-Chelsea%27s-Avram-Grant.html|title=Pressure mounts on Chelsea's Avram Grant|last=Wilson|first=Steve |date=April 16, 2008|publisher=Telegraph, The (London)|accessdate=2008-07-30] In a press conference, Avram Grant responded:"I don’t think José promised Ben Haim he will play before John Terry, Carvalho and Alex, It is internal business but, in my opinion, if a player was wrong we need to deal with it - in our way, my way."cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2297590/Tal-Ben-Haim-hit-with-andpound80%2C000-Chelsea-fine.html|title=Tal Ben Haim hit with £80,000 Chelsea fine|last=Caroe|first=Charlie |coauthors=and agencies|date=April 17, 2008|publisher=Telegraph, The (London)|accessdate=2008-07-30] Tal Ben Haim was fined two weeks wages, about £80,000.

During Ben Haim's stay at Chelsea, he made 13 Premier League appearances, before transferring to Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City

Ben Haim joined Manchester City on 30 July 2008 for a fee around £5m, becoming only the second first-team signing of new manager Mark Hughes. [cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/tal-ben-haim-signs-for-manchester-city-881046.html |title=Tal Ben Haim signs for Manchester City |date=2008-07-30 |accessdate=2008-07-30 |publisher=The Independent ]

He chose to wear the No. 26 jersey, vacated by the transfer of Matthew Mills, because prior to his stay at Chelsea F.C, he had always worn that number at club level. After signing, Ben Haim said "I’m definitely going to give my best to City and give my heart in every game. I hope that we can do good things this season. I’m looking forward to starting the season here." [cite news |url=http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pagegid={DBD12D53-8346-431D-A04F-5D0F8664DE80}&newsid=6614887 |title=Tal Ben Haim signs for Manchester City |date=2008-07-30 |accessdate=2008-07-30 |publisher=Manchester City FC website]

International career

Ben-Haim has been a regular for the Israeli national team. He has proven to be of extreme importance in Israel's success in their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign. During the Israel vs. France match in World Cup 2006 qualifying, David Trézéguet took exception to a Ben-Haim tackle and headbutted the Israeli at the cost of a red card. Israel went on to draw the game 1–1 against ten man France.

Ben-Haim was called up by Israel for the UEFA EURO 2008 qualifiers.

Honours

*Ligat ha'Al Winner (1):
**2002/03

*Community Shield Runner-up:
**2007

*Premier League Runner-up:
**2007–08

*League Cup Runner-up:
**2007-08

*Uefa Champions League Runner-up:
**2007-08

References

External links

* [http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/players/profile.php?id=9 Bolton Wanderers Profile] at [http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/ Burnden Aces]
*soccerbase|id=33100|name=Tal Ben-Haim
* [http://www.talbenhaim.net Ben-Haim's homepage] - currently redirects to this page.
* [http://www.uri-geller.com/articles/weekly-news/2005/nov/5.htm Uri Geller online] regarding Tal Ben-Haim
* [http://wwwr2.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=331148 Goal.com profile]