Tal Ben Haim (or Tal Ben Haim I, Hebrew: טל בן-חיים; born 31 March 1982) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played at either centre back or right back. He has played for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Manchester City, Sunderland, Portsmouth, West Ham United, Queens Park Rangers, Standard Liége, Beitar Jerusalem and Charlton Athletic.
Ben Haim was born in Rishon LeZion, Israel, to a Jewish family.
Born in Rishon LeZion, Ben Haim joined the Maccabi Tel Aviv senior squads in 1998 as a reserve player. His league debut came on 30 April 2001 when he came on in the 90th minute as a substitute in the Tel Aviv derby match against Hapoel. Known for his adaptability, Ben Haim exhibits his skills both as a right back and a centre-back on the field. He played a significant part in Maccabi's Israeli Premier League title in the 2002–03 season, and was appointed club captain the following season, replacing Gadi Brumer who retired in mid-season.
After a two-week trial with Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2004, Sam Allardyce secured the services of Ben Haim on a three-year deal for a fee believed to be in the region of £150,000.
His first season at the Reebok Stadium was a successful one as he made 27 appearances. On 1 February 2005, Ben Haim scored his first and only goal for Bolton, heading a free-kick from Stelios Giannakopoulos into the net in Bolton's 3–1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. This is his only goal in the Premier League. His campaign was hampered in a league match, when Wayne Rooney appeared to shove him in the face. Ben Haim, alleged to have gone down too easily, was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association, but later cleared.
On 20 October 2005 while playing for Bolton in the UEFA Cup away at Beşiktaş, Ben Haim wore the captain's armband and was praised by the regular team captain Jay-Jay Okocha. In the second leg of the UEFA Cup Round of 32 against the French side Marseille which they drew 0–0 in the first leg, Ben Haim was the blame when he scored an own goal in the 69th minute which turned out to be a winner for Marseille as the result was 2–1 on 23 February 2006.
Ben Haim's defensive displays in his following seasons at Bolton had attracted the interests of many clubs including Chelsea, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur. In January 2007, Chelsea confirmed that talks to sign Ben Haim from Bolton were unsuccessful.
Following the end of the 2006–07 season, Ben Haim's contract with Bolton had expired and his future at Bolton was in doubt with media reports linking him with a move to Chelsea and Newcastle United, ex-Bolton boss Sam Allardyce admitting that he was ready to make an offer to his former charge to bring him to Newcastle.
The Stevens inquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns about his move from Maccabi to Bolton, due to the apparent conflict of interest between agent Craig Allardyce, his father Sam Allardyce – the then manager at Bolton – and the club itself.
In June 2007, Chelsea officially announced the signing of Ben Haim on a Bosman transfer after he had passed his medical at Stamford Bridge and agreed on personal terms to join the club on a four-year deal. Ben-Haim told the Jewish Telegraph exclusively: "I am very happy to join one of the greatest clubs in the world. I needed a new challenge. I will play in any position Jose Mourinho wants me to play. I am looking forward to starting the new season with Champions League football."
He made his competitive debut for Chelsea against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield. With injuries to fellow Chelsea defenders John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho Ben Haim became a regular in the Chelsea first team. However, after the recovery of first team pairing Terry and Carvalho and the impressive form of Alex, Ben Haim found himself to be the fourth choice centre back.
In April 2008, he criticized Chelsea manager Avram Grant after Chelsea's 1–1 draw with Wigan Athletic stating: "If I knew Avram Grant was going to be the coach I would have signed for another club. It was Jose who brought me here and no one except he and I know the conversation we had when he tried to sign me the first time a year ago last January. The fact is while Jose was the coach I played most of the games and people who know me know that I would not have come here to be a reserve. I knew nothing good would come for me with Grant as Chelsea coach."
In a press conference, Avram Grant responded: "I don't think José promised Ben Haim he will play before John Terry, Carvalho and Alex. It is internal business but, in my opinion, if a player was wrong we need to deal with it — in our way, my way." Tal Ben Haim was fined two weeks wages, about £80,000.
During Ben Haim's stay at Chelsea, he made 13 Premier League appearances, before transferring to Manchester City.
Ben Haim joined City on 30 July 2008 for a fee around £5 million, becoming only the second first-team signing of new manager Mark Hughes.
He chose to wear the number 26 jersey, vacated by the transfer of Matthew Mills because, apart from his time at Chelsea where it was worn by John Terry, he had always worn that number at club level. After signing, Ben Haim said "I'm definitely going to give my best to City and give my heart in every game. I hope that we can do good things this season. I'm looking forward to starting the season here." Ben Haim made his City debut in second leg of the UEFA Cup qualifier against EB/Streymur at Barnsley's Oakwell Stadium on 31 July where City won 2–0. Ben Haim eventually made his league debut for Manchester City which he received a booking as Manchester City lost to Aston Villa 4–2 on 17 August 2008. He failed to establish himself as a first team regular, which saw him left on the substitutes bench for a long period of the season. After returning to the club, following a loan spell at Sunderland, it was clear that he was surplus to requirements at the City of Manchester Stadium. He was then transfer listed.
Ben Haim signed for Sunderland on loan until the end of the 2008–09 season on 1 February 2009. He made his debut away to Arsenal on 21 February and made his home debut at the Stadium of Light on 7 March against Tottenham Hotspur. He again found it difficult to break into the side. Ben-Haim was limited to only 5 appearances in a Sunderland shirt. At the end of the 2008–09 season, he returned to Manchester City.
On 31 August 2009 it was announced that Portsmouth had signed Ben-Haim on a four-year deal. On 12 September 2009, Ben Haim made his league debut for the club in a 3–2 loss against his former club Bolton. Since then he has become one of the two first choice centre-backs under managers Paul Hart and his former manager at Chelsea, Avram Grant. He suffered an injury in the second half of the season, which kept him out of Portsmouth's FA Cup final game against Chelsea, which Pompey lost 1–0. On 20 December 2009 a match between Portsmouth and Liverpool which Portsmouth won 2–0, Ben Haim accused Liverpool striker Fernando Torres elbowing him during the match.