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Tal Ben Haim

Tal Ben Haim is an Israeli former footballer who played as a defender for clubs in Israel, England and Belgium and made 96 appearances for Israel's national team.

born 1982Defender for Israel's national teamPlaying for Chelsea and BoltonMaccabi Tel Aviv league title

Born: 31 March 1982, Rishon LeZion
Occupation: association football player

Tal Ben Haim was born in 1982 in Rishon LeZion

Tal Ben Haim was born on 31 March 1982 in Rishon LeZion to a Jewish family. He grew up there and joined the youth teams of Maccabi Tel Aviv at age 6.

He moved up to the Maccabi Tel Aviv senior squad in 1998 and made his league debut in 2001. He won the State Cup in 2001/2002 and the league title in 2002/2003, and later became club captain. He played at center back or right back.

In 2004 he joined Bolton Wanderers in England, and in 2007 he signed with Chelsea on a free transfer. In April 2008 he criticized coach Avram Grant and was fined about £80,000. He then played for Manchester City, Sunderland on loan, Portsmouth, West Ham United on loan, Queens Park Rangers, Standard Liège and Charlton Athletic.

He debuted for Israel in 2002 and scored his only national team goal in 2011. He returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2015 and joined Beitar Jerusalem in 2018. He served as Israel's captain from September 2017 until March 2018.

He retired in August 2021 and was named defense coach of the national team. In 2022 he became a players' agent, and in 2023 he published an autobiography.