Tal Ben-Haim

Tal Ben-Haim, a football player, was born on March 31, 1982 in Rishon LeZion, Israel. He plays both in the centre-back and right-back position in the field. Apart from playing football, he has also served in the Israel Defense Forces from 2000 to 2002. He married Michal Hemo on June 17, 2007 and had invited FA Premiership footballers for his wedding ceremony.

Tal Ben-Haim represented Israel Under-21 squad and has played in 6 matches during the 2001-02 season. Later, he started to play for the senior Israel National team and has proved to be a reliable defender in every match he had played for his country. His outstanding performance in a 2006 World Cup qualifying match helped Israel to draw the game (1-1) against France. As a senior player, he has represented his country’s national team in 39 matches.

Starting his club career as a reserve player, Tal Ben-Haim joined the Maccabi Tel Aviv and played well to move into the first team of the club. His contribution was commendable when Maccabi Tel Aviv won Ligat ha’Al in the 2002-2003 season. During his tenure with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Tal Ben-Haim has appeared in 147 matches scoring twice.

In 2004, Tal Ben-Haim moved to Bolton Wanderers on a three-year deal and had a successful first season. He has appeared 27 times and scored a goal that helped the team win (3-1) against Tottenham Hotspur. Between 2004 and 2007, he had played 88 matches for the Bolton Wanderers where he displayed his brilliant defensive techniques. His style of game caught the attention of many English clubs but Chelsea succeeded in obtaining the talented player on June 14, 2007. With Tal Ben-Haim in the squad, Chelsea became runner-up in the Community Shield and in the Premier League (2007-2008) season. Tal Ben-Haim played 13 Premier League matches for the team before moving to Manchester City in July 2008.