Gal Alberman (; born 17 April 1983) is an Israeli former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

defensive 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. ...

Club career

Maccabi Petah Tikva

Alberman was born in

Oranit Oranit () is an Israeli settlement and local council located in the Seam Zone of the West Bank, abutting and crossing the Green Line. It is surrounded by Horshim forest to the west, Rosh HaAyin and Kfar Qasim to the southwest, Sha'arei Ti ...

, Israel, to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. Alberman started playing for Maccabi Petah Tikva in the youth levels. He playing alongside Tomer Ben-Yosef and

Omer Golan Omer Golan (; born 4 October 1982) is a former Israeli footballer. He played as a striker for his home club Maccabi Petah Tikva and for Lokeren. Club career Maccabi Petah Tikva Golan played in the youth ranks of Maccabi Petah Tikva, before b ...

, among others. In his five years in Petah Tikva, he won the

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 ...

, reached second place 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 ...

and also the State Cup final.

Tenerife, Beitar Jerusalem, Borussia Mönchengladbach

In July 2005, he was transferred to

CD Tenerife Club Deportivo Tenerife, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Founded in 1922, the club plays in the Segunda División, holding home matches at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez L� ...

in Spain's

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

. In January 2006, however, he returned to Israel, teaming up with

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply Beitar (), is an Israeli professional football club based in the city of Jerusalem, that plays in the Israeli Premier League, the top tier in Israeli football ...

. In the end of season 2007–08 Alberman was chosen for the best player of the season. Alberman was transferred on 2 June 2008 on a four-year deal to

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

, who had just gained promotion from the 2. Bundesliga.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv

On 31 August 2010, he was purchased by

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 ...

after a long-term negotiation. He finished his first season in Tel Aviv with 30 appearances and one goal in the last match of the season. In the 2011–12 season with the arrival of new coach Nir Levine, he started playing more frequently and eventually was appointed as the new captain. On 13 May 2012, his contract was extended for two more years. In the 2012–13 season, he had 34 appearances in the league. During this season he was the vice captain after

Sheran Yeini Sheran Yeini (sometimes Sherran or Shiran, ; born 8 December 1986) is an Israeli former professional association football, footballer who spent most of his career with Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C., Maccabi Tel Aviv, also capt ...

was appointed. At the end of the season, he won his first championship with Maccabi. The next season, Alberman won his second championship. On 19 May 2014, he extended his contract for two more years. In the 2014–15 season, he won with Maccabi their first ever domestic treble after winning the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

, the Israeli State Cup and the

. On 25 August 2015, he qualified with Maccabi to the Champions League group stage after passing

FC Basel Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...

in the playoffs. In June 2017, Alberman left Maccabi Tel Aviv and signed 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 ...

. On 6 June 2019, Alberman announced his retirement at the age of 36.

International career

On 20 November 2002, Alberman made his debut in the national team in a friendly match against

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. On 17 October 2007, he scored his first goal for the team during a friendly match against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. After not being included in the squad since

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

, he was called up for the

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

and eventually participated in five matches. Alberman announced on 27 August 2015 that he had retired from international football.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Alberman goal''.

Honours

Maccabi Petah Tikva * Toto Cup Top Division: 2003–04 Beitar Jerusalem *

: 2006–07, 2007–08 *

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 ...

: 2007–08 Maccabi Tel Aviv *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2013–14, 2014–15 * Toto Cup Top Division: 2014–15 *

: 2014–15 Individual * Footballer of the Year in Israel: 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alberman, Gal 1983 births Living people Israeli men's footballers 21st-century Israeli sportsmen Israeli settlers Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players CD Tenerife players Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players Borussia Mönchengladbach players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Segunda División players Bundesliga players Israel men's international footballers Israeli expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Spain Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Germany Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients Men's association football midfielders