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Nir Klinger

Nir Klinger is an Israeli football coach and former defensive player who captained Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Israel national team in the 1990s.

born 1966Captaining the Israel national teamCoaching Maccabi Tel AvivChampions League group stage

Born: 25 May 1966, Israel
Occupation: association football player, association football coach

Nir Klinger was born in 1966 in Israel

Nir Klinger was born on 25 May 1966 in Haifa. He grew up in the Maccabi Haifa youth department and played as a forward early on.

He made his league debut for Maccabi Haifa in 1984 and spent 6 seasons there, winning 2 championships. In 1990 he moved to Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he played 8 seasons and won 3 championships and 2 State Cups. He retired because of injury in 1998.

He played 83 games for the Israel national team between 1987 and 1997. He captained the team from August 1992 until March 1997.

After retiring he worked as assistant coach to Avram Grant at Maccabi Tel Aviv. He returned there as head coach in 2002, won the championship in his first season and reached the Champions League group stage. He resigned on 5 December 2005.

He later coached clubs in Cyprus and Israel, including Hapoel Haifa, which won the State Cup under him in 2018. He also coached Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv. He joined the Israeli Football Hall of Fame in 2009.