Pini Balili ( he, פִּינִי בַּלִילִי; born 18 June 1979) is an Israeli former football manager and former player. He was born in Jerusalem and is Jewish, of Turkish descent.

Career

Move back to Hapoel

As a youngster, Balili grew up supporting

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) 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, suc ...

and was part of the youth system there before moving to

Shimshon Tel Aviv Shimshon Tel Aviv F.C. (, ''Moadon Kaduregel Shimshon Tel Aviv'') is an Israeli football club based in Tel Aviv. In 2000 it merged with Beitar Tel Aviv to create Beitar Shimshon Tel Aviv.

in his teens. It wasn't long before he caught the eye of Hapoel scouts who saw Balili as a missed opportunity so the club purchased his contract after just one professional season. His breakout did not come until the Dror Kashtan era at

. Instrumental in the club's success in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

, Balili found himself featuring for the national team as well. After the 2002–03 season, Hapoel decided to cut wages and Pini left for Turkish club Istanbulspor.

Time in Turkey

Balili's Turkish league debut was sensational; on 10 August 2003, he scored a beautiful chip as his team surprised city rivals Fenerbache 3–0. troubles at Istanbulspor led to Balili being let go after just one season. Though he immediately signed with newly promoted

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits. The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fin ...

. In 2006,

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Demir Grup Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department competes in Süper Lig, as of 20 ...

applied for Turkish citizenship for Balili stating that he is a model citizen in Turkey and has full grasp of the Turkish language. A somewhat religious man, rumors were started that a league match between

and

Ankaraspor Ankaraspor Kulübü (), formerly known as Osmanlıspor (), is a Turkish professional football club based in the country's capital Ankara. Founded in 1978, the club competes in the TFF Second League. History Ankaraspor was founded as "Ankara Bel ...

, was postponed during the 2006–07 on account of it coinciding with

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

. The

Turkish Football Federation The Turkish Football Federation (; TFF) is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Süper Lig, Turk ...

denied these claims. The story garnered some press coverage, namely because Israeli goalkeeper,

Dudu Aouate David "Dudu" Aouate (or Awat, he, דוד "דודו" אוואט, ''pronounced Dūdū Ahwaht''; born 17 October 1977) is an Israeli retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After playing for several clubs in his country, most ...

claimed that he was willing to play on the Jewish day of atonement. On 12 August 2007, Balili was viciously tackled by

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

's Egyptian defensive midfielder,

Ayman Abdelaziz Ayman Mohamed Abdelaziz ( ar, أيمن محمد عبدالعزيز; born 20 November 1978) is an Egyptian retired footballer who played as a midfielder. He had been out of Egypt for a very long time, after playing most of his career in Turkey. Pl ...

. Allegedly, Ayman swore at Balili in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

before the tackle and it caused the Sivasspor players to fight with the Trabzonspor players. A spectator then jumped onto the pitch and threw punches. Sivasspor players responded which led to a big fight on the field. Trabzonspor got punished for this incident.

Return to Israel

On 16 June 2010, Balili signed a two-year contract with Bnei Yehuda reuniting with his former coach Dror Kashtan. On 17 October 2012, he moved to play for

Maccabi Ironi Bat Yam Maccabi Ironi Bat Yam ( he, מכבי עירוני בת ים) was an Israeli football club based in Bat Yam. The club played home matches at the 3,100-capacity Bat Yam Municipal Stadium. History The club was formed by a merger of Beitar Bat Yam a ...

Liga Alef Liga Alef ( he, ליגה א', , League A) is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south. History League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Decla ...

, there he played for two seasons until he retired from playing at the end of the 2013–14 season.

Managerial career

On 10 December 2012, Balili took over as the caretaker manager of Maccabi Ironi Bat Yam while still playing for them. The next season Balili worked as the assistant manager of Bat Yam until the club folded at the end of the 2013–14 season. In the 2014–15 season, Balili worked as the manager of Maccabi Holon in the

Ligat Nashim Ligat Nashim ( he, ליגת נשים, lit. ''Women's League'') is the Israeli women's football league. It has been run by the Israel Football Association since 1998. Format The league is divided into two divisions, with the top division, titl ...

. On 30 July 2015, Balili was appointed as the general manager of

F.C. Shikun HaMizrah F.C. Shikun HaMizrah ( he, מועדון ספורט שיכון המזרח), ''Moadon Sport Shikun HaMizrah'', lit. ''Shikun HaMizrah Sport Club'' (or in short ''Mem Samekh Shikun HaMizrah'', lit. ''F.C. Shikun HaMizrah'') is an Israeli football c ...

Honours

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested ...

: 1999–00 *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''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 involve ...

(2): 1999, 2000 *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''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 second division Liga ...

(1): 2001–02 *

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

runner-up: 2008–09

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balili, Pini Living people 1979 births Israeli Jews Israeli footballers Israel international footballers Shimshon Tel Aviv F.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players İstanbulspor footballers Kayserispor footballers Sivasspor footballers Antalyaspor footballers Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Ironi Bat Yam F.C. players Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Süper Lig players Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent Expatriate footballers in Turkey Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Footballers from Jerusalem Association football forwards