Tal Ben Haim (orTal Ben Haim I,^[1]Hebrew:טל בן-חיים; born 31 March 1982) is an Israeli former professionalfootballer who played at eithercentre back orright back. He has played forMaccabi Tel Aviv,Bolton Wanderers,Chelsea,Manchester City,Sunderland,Portsmouth,West Ham United,Queens Park Rangers,Standard Liége,Beitar Jerusalem,Charlton Athletic.

Tal Ben Haim

Ben Haim warming-up forMaccabi Tel Aviv in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Tal Ben Haim
Date of birth	(1982-03-31)31 March 1982 (age 43)
Place of birth	Rishon LeZion, Israel
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Centre back /Right back
Youth career
1998–2001	Maccabi Tel Aviv
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2004	Maccabi Tel Aviv	85	(2)
2004–2007	Bolton Wanderers	87	(1)
2007–2008	Chelsea	13	(0)
2008–2009	Manchester City	9	(0)
2009	→Sunderland (loan)	5	(0)
2009–2012	Portsmouth	55	(0)
2010–2011	→West Ham United (loan)	8	(0)
2013	Queens Park Rangers	3	(0)
2013–2014	Standard Liège	10	(0)
2014–2015	Charlton Athletic	37	(0)
2015–2018	Maccabi Tel Aviv	63	(0)
2018–2021	Beitar Jerusalem	58	(0)
Total		433	(3)
International career
2001–2002	Israel U21	6	(0)
2002–2017	Israel	96	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 May 2021

Ben Haim was born inRishon LeZion, Israel, to aJewish family.^[2][3][4]

Born inRishon LeZion, Ben Haim joined theMaccabi Tel Aviv senior squads in 1998 as a reserve player. His league debut came on 30 April 2001 when he came on in the 90th minute as a substitute in the Tel Avivderby match againstHapoel. Known for his adaptability, Ben Haim exhibits his skills both as a right back and a centre-back on the field.^[5] He played a significant part in Maccabi'sIsraeli Premier League title in the2002–03 season, and was appointed club captain the following season, replacingGadi Brumer who retired in mid-season.

After a two-week trial withBolton 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.^[6]

His first season at theReebok Stadium was a successful one as he made 27 appearances. On 1 February 2005, Ben Haim scored his first and only goal for Bolton, heading a free-kick fromStelios Giannakopoulos into the net in Bolton's 3–1 victory overTottenham Hotspur.^[7] This is his only goal in the Premier League. His campaign was hampered in a league match, whenWayne Rooney appeared to shove him in the face. Ben Haim, alleged to have gone down too easily, was charged with improper conduct bythe Football Association, but later cleared.^[8]

On 20 October 2005 while playing for Bolton in theUEFA Cup away atBeşiktaş, Ben Haim wore the captain's armband and was praised by the regular team captainJay-Jay Okocha. In the second leg of theUEFA Cup Round of 32 against the French sideMarseille which they drew 0–0 in the first leg, Ben Haim was the blame when he scored an own goal in the 69th minute which turned out to be a winner for Marseille as the result was 2–1 on 23 February 2006.

Ben Haim's defensive displays in his following seasons at Bolton had attracted the interests of many clubs includingChelsea,West Ham United andTottenham Hotspur. In January 2007, Chelsea confirmed that talks to sign Ben Haim from Bolton were unsuccessful.^[9]

Following the end of the2006–07 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 andNewcastle United, ex-Bolton bossSam Allardyce admitting that he was ready to make an offer to his former charge to bring him to Newcastle.

TheStevens inquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns about his move from Maccabi to Bolton, due to the apparent conflict of interest between agentCraig Allardyce, his father Sam Allardyce – the then manager at Bolton – and the club itself.^[10]

In June 2007,Chelsea officially announced the signing of Ben Haim on aBosman transfer after he had passed his medical atStamford Bridge and agreed on personal terms to join the club on a four-year deal. Ben-Haim told theJewish 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 againstManchester United in the FA Community Shield. With injuries to fellow Chelsea defendersJohn Terry andRicardo Carvalho Ben Haim became a regular in the Chelsea first team. However, after the recovery of first team pairing Terry and Carvalho and the impressive form ofAlex, Ben Haim found himself to be the fourth choice centre back.

In April 2008, he criticized Chelsea managerAvram Grant after Chelsea's 1–1 draw withWigan 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."^[11]

In a press conference, Avram Grant responded: "I don't think José promised Ben Haim he will play beforeJohn Terry,Carvalho andAlex. It is internal business but, in my opinion, if a player was wrong we need to deal with it — in our way, my way."^[12] Tal Ben Haim was fined two weeks wages, about £80,000.^[12]

During Ben Haim's stay at Chelsea, he made 13 Premier League appearances, before transferring toManchester City.

Ben Haim joined City on 30 July 2008 for a fee around £5 million, becoming only the second first-team signing of new managerMark Hughes.^[13]

He chose to wear the number 26 jersey, vacated by the transfer ofMatthew Mills because, apart from his time at Chelsea where it was worn byJohn Terry, 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."^[14] Ben Haim made his City debut in second leg of the UEFA Cup qualifier againstEB/Streymur atBarnsley'sOakwell Stadium on 31 July where City won 2–0. Ben Haim eventually made his league debut for Manchester City which he received a booking as Manchester City lost to Aston Villa 4–2 on 17 August 2008. He failed to establish himself as a first team regular, which saw him left on the substitutes bench for a long period of the season. After returning to the club, following a loan spell at Sunderland, it was clear that he was surplus to requirements at theCity of Manchester Stadium. He was then transfer listed.

Ben Haim signed forSunderland on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season on 1 February 2009. He made his debut away toArsenal on 21 February and made his home debut at theStadium of Light on 7 March againstTottenham Hotspur. He again found it difficult to break into the side. Ben-Haim was limited to only 5 appearances in a Sunderland shirt. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he returned to Manchester City.

On 31 August 2009 it was announced thatPortsmouth had signed Ben-Haim on a four-year deal. On 12 September 2009, Ben Haim made his league debut for the club in a 3–2 loss against his former club Bolton. Since then he has become one of the two first choice centre-backs under managers Paul Hart and his former manager at Chelsea, Avram Grant. He suffered an injury in the second half of the season, which kept him out of Portsmouth's FA Cup final game against Chelsea, which Pompey lost 1–0. On 20 December 2009 a match between Portsmouth and Liverpool which Portsmouth won 2–0, Ben Haim accused Liverpool strikerFernando Torres elbowing him during the match.^[15]

In May 2010, after Portsmouth had been relegated, Ben Haim opted to stay at Portsmouth although he had a relegation-release clause in his contract but declined the chance to activate it.^[16] He played for just one season for Portsmouth and made 24 appearances for the club in all competitions.^[17] Ben Haim criticised the club's former owners as they prepared for life in the Championship the following season and the cash issues did play a significant role in the club's demise.^[18] As the 2010/11 Championship campaign for Portsmouth was set to start, the club's administrator Andrew Andronikou wanted Ben Haim's crippling salary off the club's wage bill. West Ham and an unnamed Greek club were interested in signing him.^[19]

In July 2010, Ben Haim was set to join his ex-Portsmouth manager,Avram Grant at West Ham United on a free transfer, but it was reported that the move had collapsed after Ben Haim had failed a medical and Ben Haim's rumoured wage demands of £38,000-a-week.^[20] On 2 August 2010, theIsraeli press reported that Ben Haim had agreed terms with West Ham on a three-year^[21] deal after passing a medical with Ben Haim considering legal action against the reporter who had published reports about his failed medical.^[22] He joined West Ham on 3 August 2010 on loan until January 2011 with a view to a permanent deal.^[23]

On 24 August 2010, Ben Haim played his first game for West Ham, againstOxford United in the League Cup, in a 1–0 victory^[24] and made his league debut for the club in a 3–1 loss against his former club Chelsea on 11 September 2010. On 1 January 2011 assistedFreddie Sears to score in a 2–0 win overWolverhampton Wanderers.^[25] Four days later on 5 January 2011 he played for West Ham as they lost 5–0 toNewcastle United.^[26] This turned out his last appearance for West Ham. Despite his loan spell at West Ham having ended, the club continued talks with Portsmouth regarding a deal to bring Ben Haim back;^[27] the two clubs could not come to an agreement, while financial issues prevented him from linking up with Pompey.^[28]

In January 2011, Ben Haim returned to Portsmouth after his loan spell expired,^[29] but he did not make any appearances for Portsmouth that season, returning to training with the squad.^[30] He was in dispute with Portsmouth over £1.4million in unpaid wages. Because of this, managerSteve Cotterill was unable to select Ben Haim for the final fixtures of the 2010/11 season. The case was set to go to a Football League hearing in July 2011, but with new owners (CSI) installed at the club, Portsmouth were able to reach an acceptable agreement with Ben Haim.^[31]

On 11 July, Ben Haim made his first appearance for Portsmouth since the 2009–10 season in a 4–0 pre-season win overHavant & Waterlooville.^[32] On 6 August 2011, Ben Haim made his first league appearance in a 2–2 draw againstMiddlesbrough. On 27 August 2011, Ben Haim provided an assist to allowNwankwo Kanu to score to make it 1–1 against Welsh sideCardiff City and also provided another assist the following week forGreg Halford to score the third goal in the match as Portsmouth lost 4–3 to his former club, West Ham. Later on in the 2011/12 season, Portsmouth would go into administration for the second time in two years, bringing them an automatic 10-point deduction. An arrest warrant was issued forVladimir Aleksandrovich Antonov and Portsmouth were issued a winding up petition by HMRC for over £1.6 million in unpaid taxes, which was heard on 20 February.

The end of the 2011–12 season saw Portsmouth get relegated from the Championship, after which Ben Haim's agent, Pini Zahavi, stated that he would not play in League One despite having one year remaining on his deal, worth around £2 million.^[33] However, Zahavi later stated that he was in the dark over Ben Haim's future.^[34] Ben Haim's contract was criticized by administratorTrevor Birch because he was offered £36,000-a-week over four years, shortly before the club first went into liquidation. However, due to administration the maximum the club paid any player at that time was just £5,000-a-week.^[35] In response, Ben Haim refused to take a letter from a supporters group asking them to waive their wages and has suggested that the administrator takes a pay cut instead.^[36] He came to an agreement to leave the club in August 2012.^[37]

On 4 January 2013, Ben Haim joinedQueens Park Rangers on a short-term contract deal.^[38] He made his debut the next day in an FA Cup match againstWest Bromwich Albion, where he provided an assist for a late equaliser fromKieron Dyer to make the result 1–1.^[39] On 9 May 2013, Canadian sideToronto FC ofMajor League Soccer announced they had acquired Ben Haim on loan fromQueens Park Rangers.^[40] However, four days later, Toronto FC GMKevin Payne said that Ben Haim never officially signed for the club as originally announced, and never ended up joining the team.^[41][42]

He was released by Queens Park Rangers at the end of the 2012–13 season.^[43] He continued training with the club for a short time after his release however, and appeared in a pre-season friendly againstExeter City on 11 July 2013.^[44]

On 24 July 2013, Ben Haim signed for Belgian sideStandard Liège on a two-year contract, following his release fromQueens Park Rangers.^[45] However, Ben Haim made ten appearances for the club after losing his first team place toDino Arslanagic.^[46]

On 11 July 2014, Ben Haim signed forCharlton Athletic on a one-year deal, with the Addicks becoming his eighth English club.^[47] Upon the move, Ben Haim was given number twenty-six shirt.^[48] Ben Haim started in the opening game of the season, in a 1–1 draw againstBrentford.^[49] On 12 May 2015, Ben Haim was released at the end of his contract.^[50]

On 3 June 2015, Ben Haim signed a two-year contract with his former club and current Israeli championsMaccabi Tel Aviv.^[51] On 25 August, he qualified with Maccabi to theChampions Leaguegroup stage after passingFC Basel in the Play-offs round.

On 24 November 2015, Ben Haim was sent off in a 4–0 defeat by his former club Chelsea in the Champions League group stage.^[52]

On 7 August 2018, Ben Haim signed a two-year contract withBeitar Jerusalem F.C. He has since played 46 times for the club. on 7 August 2020, it was announced that the player has extended his contract with the club for one more year.^[53]

Ben Haim made his debut in theIsrael national team on 13 February 2002 in afriendly match againstGermany.^[54] He scored his first goal from a penalty in a 2–1 win againstLatvia on 4 June 2011.^[55]

He has exactly the same name as winger,Tal Ben Haim, who also played forIsrael and Maccabi Tel Aviv, and he is referred to in UEFA reports asTal Ben Haim I, while Tal Ben Haim II wears a jersey with his surname spelled as Ben Chaim to distinguish him from his fellow countryman.^[56][1]

Portsmouth

• FA Cup Runner-up:2010^[57]

• List of select Jewish football (association; soccer) players

• Tal Ben Haim at Soccerbase 
• Tal Ben Haim at Soccerway
• Tal Ben Haim's homepage (Hebrew)
• Uri Geller online regarding Tal Ben Haim