Eyal Berkovic (or Berkovich, ; born 2 April 1972) is an Israeli former professional

association footballer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, football coach, team owner and television talk show presenter. As a player he was an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

who spent most of his career in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

playing in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. He also had a spell in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

with

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

as well as beginning and finishing his career in his native Israel for

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

and

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv () is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such as football, basketball, j ...

. He made 78 appearances for

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, and is considered one of the nation's greatest players.

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit. A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 19 ...

described Berkovic as "a tremendous passer. In the last third of the field, he is the best that I've ever worked with." Berkovic was also noted for various clashes with managers and players, including

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

(his manager at

), and Welsh striker

John Hartson John Hartson (born 5 April 1975) is a Welsh former professional footballer, coach and sports television pundit for S4C, Sky Sports, Premier Sports TV and TNT Sports. As a player he was a striker, notably for Scottish club Celtic where his ti ...

. Following retirement he was appointed as general manager of

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. () is an Israeli professional football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. After winning their first championship in 1971, the club's golden period last ...

and later held a similar position of

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

. He is the former owner of Hapoel Rishon LeZion.

Early life

Berkovic was born in

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

Regba Regba () is a moshav shitufi in northern Israel. Located near Nahariya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Regba was established in 1946 next to the Palestinian Arab villages of A ...

, to a family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

(

Hungarian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...

) descent, and is the older brother of former Israeli footballer

Nir Berkovic Nir Berkovic (; born 16 November 1982) is an Israeli football coach and a former player who is the head coach of Hapoel Umm al-Fahm. He is the younger brother of former Manchester City player Eyal Berkovic. Berkovic born in Regba, Israel, and w ...

Club career

Maccabi Haifa

Berkovic started his career at

in 1989, playing there until 1996. During his time with the club he won league titles in 1990–91 and 1993–94, and the State Cup three times, including a domestic double in the 1990–91 season. His performances for the club earned him a call-up to the Israel national team as well as the

Most Valuable Player award In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

for the 1993–94 season.

Southampton

For the 1996–97 season, Berkovic signed on a season-long loan for English club

. He proved to be a big influence, and was a major part of a 6–3 victory in his second appearance, against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, as he scored twice and got three assists.

West Ham United

The next season, he was signed by manager

Harry Redknapp Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former association football, football manager (association football), manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Portsmouth F.C., ...

for

for £1.75 million, for whom he played for two seasons. Well liked by West Ham fans, he became an instant fans' hero by scoring the decisive goal against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in a 2–1 win on his Upton Park debut on 13 August 1997. He played in 79 games in all competitions, scoring 12 goals. Striker

had a prolific 1997–98 season for West Ham helped by Berkovic's assists. In a training ground bust-up between the two, Hartson kicked Berkovic in the head, after Berkovic had punched Hartson in the leg as he attempted to help Berkovic to his feet after a crunching tackle. The incident was captured on camera. Berkovic said of the incident "''if my head had been a ball, it would have been in the top corner of the net''". Hartson was fined £20,000 for the incident and suspended for three games.

Celtic

Soon after the incident, he was signed for £5.75 million by

, who were coached by

John Barnes John Charles Bryan Barnes (born 7 November 1963) is a former professional football player and manager. Often considered one of the greatest England players of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players, Barnes currently works as an ...

. In November 1999 Berkovic was subjected to religious taunts by Hearts fans while playing at their Tynecastle ground. He played for the Scottish club for two years, scoring ten goals, but

Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, (born 1 March 1952) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who played as a midfielder. After a brief early career in the Irish Leag ...

left him out of the team when he took over as manager and Berkovic returned to England to join

on loan for the second half of the 2000–01 season, where he scored twice against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and Grimsby, helping Blackburn achieve promotion to the Premier League in the process. Berkovic's loan move to Blackburn was not made into a permanent deal. The following year

's manager

signed him in a permanent move. During his tenure in Scotland, Berkovic struggled to win over the Celtic fans.

Manchester City

In July 2001, Berkovic joined Manchester City for a reported fee of £1.5 million. He made his debut in August 2001, scoring one goal in a 3–0 home win against

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. In his second game for the team he suffered an injury which prompted the team to sign Ali Benarbia, an additional playmaker. When Berkovic returned, the City team began to play with both playmakers in a 3–5–2 formation with

Kevin Horlock Kevin Horlock (born 1 November 1972) is a football manager and former professional footballer. He is the manager of Maldon & Tiptree and assistant manager of the Northern Ireland under-21 team. As a player he was a midfielder who notably pla ...

operating in the anchor midfield position. This was a successful formation, earning City promotion in emphatic style, with 99 points and a record 108 goals. In an FA Cup game against then-Premiership team

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

, Berkovic scored a volley goal set up by Benarbia from a corner and City beat the team in the league above them 4–1. The following season when City were in the Premiership, Berkovic was instrumental in a 3–1 victory over local rivals

, a team he had also helped his previous team (

) demolish 6–3 in the 1996–97 season. Eyal scored a brace. The tactic of playing with two playmakers was continued in the Premiership but results were not favourable and Keegan subsequently decided to play with Berkovic as the only playmaker. Berkovic was voted as Manchester City's player of the season in 2002–03 in the club's magazine. Berkovic received abuse from some of the City support when he made a 'throat-slitting' gesture to a female fan during a League Cup tie at Maine Road against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

The FA The Football Association (the FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsibl ...

investigated the incident.

Portsmouth

A fallout with manager Keegan saw him move to

for £500,000 in January 2004. His first game for them was against his former Manchester City side. Pompey beat the Cityzens 4–2. Berkovic soon established himself in the first team at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...

where he was reunited with his former manager at West Ham, Redknapp, who described him as a "special footballer". Berkovic became a vital part of Portsmouth's drive for

FA Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football ...

survival, scoring his first goal against Tottenham Hotspur. However, despite scoring against Fulham in the league and Leeds in the League Cup, he failed to hold down a regular starting place in the team for the 2004–05 season, and in January 2005 left Portsmouth. He had been linked with a move to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

but instead decided to return to the country of his birth. He wanted to return to

but was rejected, leading him to a decision to sign for bitter rivals

Maccabi Tel Aviv

The return to Israel opened with promise as the 2005–06 season was the 100th anniversary for

and the club wanted to celebrate with a championship. The club signed several more stars such as

Avi Nimni Avi Nimni (; born 26 April 1972) is an Israeli former professional footballer and Maccabi Tel Aviv's highest ever scorer. He is regarded as one of Maccabi Tel Aviv's greatest players ever. Until 2006, he served as the captain of the Israel natio ...

, Giovani Rosso,

Blessing Kaku Blessing Kaku (born 5 March 1978) is a former Nigerian international football player, who was a member of the national squad at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He spent most of his time in Israel playing for multiple clubs (Hapoel Be'er She ...

, Avi Yehiel, and Eugen Trica. Berkovic announced at a press conference that the team would go all the way to secure the domestic double. Although the team had a positive start to the season, they were not able to sustain good form and their chances of winning the title diminished, resulting in a sacking of the coach

Nir Klinger Nir Klinger (; born 25 May 1966) is an Israeli football coach and former player. During the 1990s, Klinger served as Captain for Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Israel national football team. He was the coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv for three seasons, be ...

, who was replaced with

Ton Caanen Ton Caanen (born 18 March 1966) is a Dutch football manager. Managerial career Caanen was born in Geleen, Netherlands. Aside from a few years in the amateur Dutch leagues, he never played professional football. He got his start as a manager i ...

. Berkovic announced his retirement from professional football on 7 May 2006.

International career

Berkovic gained 78 caps and scored 9 goals for the senior Israel national team.

Media career

From 2007 until 2023, Berkovic hosted a popular sports radio program along with Ofira Asayag. In November 2017, the two began to present a weekly television show on Friday evenings, called Ofira and Berkovic, on Keshet Channel 12. The show achieved high ratings, but critics scolded the interviewers' vulgar style. Several interviews caused public controversy, such as with trans model

Stav Strashko Stav Strashko (; born September 24, 1992) is an Israeli model and actress. She is most noted for her performance in the 2018 film '' Flawless'', for which she became the first openly transgender actress ever to receive an Ophir Award nomination fo ...

, or with rapper

Dudu Faruk Ori Comay (; born October 21, 1996), better known by his stage name Dudu Faruk (), is an Israelis, Israeli Rapping, rapper, singer and actor. His musical style is Trap music, trap integrated with mizrahi music. The typical lyrics of his songs a ...

. Berkovic quit the show in 2023. Shortly after, he signed a contract with Reshet13, which made him one of the most highly paid TV personalities in Israel.

Management career

In the summer of 2006 he was appointed as the general manager of

. However, he was manager only for two months in which time he did not oversee any games. He stated that he left the job due to poor professional relations with

Daniel Jammer Daniel Jammer (; August 11, 1966) is a German-Israeli businessman. Jammer is the owner and founder of Nation-E, an international Israeli based ICT company specializing in developing energy solutions. He used to own Maccabi Netanya from 2006 to ...

, the club's owner and chairman. Berkovic had been an active manager in the transfer market during his two months, signing 15 players including Mazuwa Nsumbu,

Liran Strauber Liran Strauber (or Shtrauber, ; born 20 August 1974) is a former Israeli association footballer who played as a goalkeeper. At international level, Strauber was capped at under-17 and under-21, and played eight times for the senior Israel na ...

and

Itay Shechter Itay Menachem Shechter (or Etey Schechter, ; born 22 February 1987) is a retired Israeli professional footballer who played as a striker. Early life Shechter was born in Ramat Yishai, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish ( Romanian-Jewish) ...

. In May 2014 he was appointed as general manager of

. In January 2015 he resigned following a breakdown in his relationship with club owner,

Haim Ramon Haim Ramon (; born 10 April 1950) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1983 and 2009, and as both Vice Prime Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for state policy. Biography ...

. On 11 May 2015, Berkovic became the owner of Hapoel Rishon LeZion from

Liga Leumit The Israeli Liga Leumit (, HaLiga HaLeumit, ) is the second division of the professional Israeli association football (soccer) league system. This second-tier league is placed directly below the Israeli Premier League. Structure There are 16 ...

, he paid $385,000 for the ownership of the club.

U.K. career statistics

Honours

Maccabi Haifa *

: 1990–91, 1993–94 *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards ...

: 1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95 *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup (, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League Ligat ha'Al, Ligat Ha'Al; and the Israeli 2nd division Liga Leumit. Both of the ...

: 1993–94 West Ham *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Celtic *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

: 1999–2000 Blackburn Rovers *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

runner-up: 2000–01 Manchester City *

: 2001–02 Individual *Israel Footballer of the Year: 1994 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 2001–02 First Division

References

External links

*
"Berkovic signs with Maccabi (Tel-Aviv)"
at Eurosport.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkovic, Eyal 1972 births Living people Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli men's footballers Israel men's international footballers Israeli expatriate men's footballers Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Celtic F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Southampton F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Liga Leumit players Premier League players Scottish Premier League players Israeli Premier League players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England Israeli expatriate sportspeople in England Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Scotland People from Regba Footballers from Nahariya Israeli people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Israeli football managers Men's association football midfielders Israel men's under-21 international footballers Israeli Football Hall of Fame inductees Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients English Football League players Sportspeople of Hungarian descent