Tal Banin
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Tal Banin (born March 7, 1971 in Kiryat Haim, Haifa, Israel) is a retired footballer. Banin played as a defensive midfielder. A captain for the Israeli National Team for many years, Banin is also the only Israeli player to ever play in the Italian Serie A.
Banin joined Hapoel Haifa as a youngster. He trained in Hapoel Haifa's football academy and played in many of Hapoel's youth teams. He made his full debut for the side at 17. Between the years of 1987-89 Banin played a total of 44 games for Hapoel in the second division and scored seven goals.
When Banin was 19 he signed a contract with arch rivals Maccabi Haifa in 1989, they continued his impressive development as a player. He left the club in 1992 after playing 94 games in ligat ha`hal and scoring seventeen goals.
When Banin was just 20 he became the second youngest Israeli to collect the "Player of the Year" accolade in 1991. During the same season he was an integral part in the Maccabi side that won the Israeli League and Cup "double".
Banin returned to Hapoel Haifa where he played for a further season playing 29 games and scoring 8 goals in the top division.
In 1993 Banin moved to French side Cannes. He led the side to a sixth position in the Championnat de France de football Ligue 1, the French top division. As a result Cannes qualified for Europe.
Whilst playing for Cannes, Banin picked up a knee injury. This problem proved to be serious. He began to suffer from a chronic knee problem that would plague him for the rest of his career.
Cannes offered to extend his contract, however after 23 games and two goals Banin declined and returned to Israel to join Hapoel Haifa. He proved to be to be their star player in what seemed to be a very average side. He remained at Haifa for three years playing a further 74 games for them and scoring 19 goals.
In 1997 Banin was on the move again this time to Brescia in Italy. He played 26 games for them scoring one goal. During that year Banin aggravated his knee injury and was unable to prevent Brescia from slipping from Serie A to Serie B. The next year Banin sat out the season through injury but a year later he oversaw Brescia's triumphant return to the top division.
At the insistence of his wife Banin returned to Israel to sign for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He became vital to side and was moulded into the spine of the team. Banin led Maccabi to victory in the State Cup in 2002.
The next season Banin helped Maccabi lift the league title for the first time since 1996.
In the next seasons UEFA Champions League, Maccabi were knocked out in the first round. Head Coach Nir Klinger blamed it on the fights between Banin and Maccabi legend Avi Nimni. As a result on August 13, 2003, they were both kicked out of the side. Banin had been unable to find a team that will accept his high wage demands for the 2003-04 season. However, Banin moved to play for Bnei Yehuda for the remainder of the season.
In January 2005, Beitar Jerusalem signed the midfielder for the remainder of the 2004-05 season. Beitar were desperate for some steel in the middle after a run of humiliating defeats and to try and help avoid relegation.
Banin finished his career in Maccabi Netanya.
During his career Banin was called up to the Israeli national side due to his hard work in the middle of the field. Banin made his debut on May 16, 1990 against the USSR (or Russia as they are now known). He scored to lead Israel to a 3-2 win at the Ramat Gan Stadium.
He captained the country from 1997 until 2003. Banin is considered as one of the best defensive midfielders in the history of Israeli football.
Banin is a highly respected player in Europe, but unfortunately has been unable to fulfill his potential due to his crippling knee injury. Banin played 80 times for Israel scoring 12 goals.
