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Eyal Berkovic
Eyal Berkovic (or Berkovich, Hebrew: אייל ברקוביץ'; born 2 April 1972) is an Israeli former professional association footballer, football coach, team owner and television talk show presenter.
As a player he was an attacking midfielder who spent most of his career in England playing in the Premier League for Southampton, West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Portsmouth. He also had a spell in the Scottish Premier League with Celtic as well as beginning and finishing his career in his native Israel for Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv. He made 78 appearances for Israel, and is considered one of the nation's greatest players. Graeme Souness 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 (his manager at Manchester City), and Welsh striker John Hartson.
Following retirement he was appointed as general manager of Maccabi Netanya and later held a similar position of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He is the former owner of Hapoel Rishon LeZion.
Berkovic was born in moshav Regba, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish (Hungarian-Jewish) descent, and is the older brother of former Israeli footballer Nir Berkovic.
Berkovic started his career at Maccabi Haifa 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 for the 1993–94 season.
For the 1996–97 season, Berkovic signed on a season-long loan for English club Southampton. He proved to be a big influence, and was a major part of a 6–3 victory in his second appearance, against Manchester United, as he scored twice and got three assists.
The next season, he was signed by manager Harry Redknapp for West Ham United 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 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 John Hartson 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.
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Eyal Berkovic
Eyal Berkovic (or Berkovich, Hebrew: אייל ברקוביץ'; born 2 April 1972) is an Israeli former professional association footballer, football coach, team owner and television talk show presenter.
As a player he was an attacking midfielder who spent most of his career in England playing in the Premier League for Southampton, West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Portsmouth. He also had a spell in the Scottish Premier League with Celtic as well as beginning and finishing his career in his native Israel for Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv. He made 78 appearances for Israel, and is considered one of the nation's greatest players. Graeme Souness 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 (his manager at Manchester City), and Welsh striker John Hartson.
Following retirement he was appointed as general manager of Maccabi Netanya and later held a similar position of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He is the former owner of Hapoel Rishon LeZion.
Berkovic was born in moshav Regba, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish (Hungarian-Jewish) descent, and is the older brother of former Israeli footballer Nir Berkovic.
Berkovic started his career at Maccabi Haifa 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 for the 1993–94 season.
For the 1996–97 season, Berkovic signed on a season-long loan for English club Southampton. He proved to be a big influence, and was a major part of a 6–3 victory in his second appearance, against Manchester United, as he scored twice and got three assists.
The next season, he was signed by manager Harry Redknapp for West Ham United 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 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 John Hartson 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.