Michael Zandberg ( he, מיכאל זנדברג; born April 16, 1980, in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

) is a former

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He is the current head coach of

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 ...

's youth team.

Career

He played for

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

until he was 22 years of age, playing 130 games in all club competitions. In the summer of 2002 he moved to

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) 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 ...

where he played 4 years. He won 3 championships, a

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), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

and also played in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

with Haifa. Zandberg made 172 caps in all club competitions, scoring 43 goals and provided 20 assists while part of the club. In the 2000s, Zandberg was one of the best wingers in Israeli football and was a regular member of the Israeli national team having won 20 caps for the national side. In that time period, Zandberg received interest from teams in the

Dutch Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

, the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, and from the

German Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

. In the summer of 2006, Zandberg transferred to

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jeru ...

for a 4-year contract worth $1,200,000. Overall in all club competitions he played 106 games, scored 15 goals, and provided 22 assists in 3 seasons at Beitar. In May 2007, it was revealed that Zandberg had agreed on a $600,000 one-year contract with English side

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, but when Sheffield United was relegated to the English 2nd division on the final day of the season, Zandberg decided against the move. At the end of

2006–07 Israeli Premier League The 2006–07 Israeli Premier League season began on 26 August 2006. It was scheduled to begin a week before, but was then postponed due to the 2006 Lebanon War.

, Zandberg was chosen as the Player of the Season. In July 2009, he signed a one-year contract with

worth $150,000. After half a season with Hapoel he was transferred to Bnei Yehuda. In July 2010, he signed a one-year contract with

Maccabi Petah Tikva Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...

. After a very poor season in Petah Tikva he was again on the move, this time landing a one-year deal with

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

. In July 2012, he signed with

Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל רמת-גן גבעתיים, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim'') is an Israeli football club from Ramat Gan and Givatayim. They currently play in Liga Leumit, ...

, his boyhood club. On October 17, 2018, Zandberg announced his retirement from an active game at the age of 38. In 2020, at the age of 40, he came back from retirement and joined Hamakthesh Givatayim.

Personal life

His sister is Israeli politician

Tamar Zandberg Tamar Zandberg (, born 29 April 1976) is an Israeli politician who served as Ministry of Environmental Protection (Israel), Minister of Environmental Protection from 2021 to 2022. Zandberg also served as a member of the Knesset for Meretz from 20 ...

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 b ...

(5): **2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 *

(1): **2005–06 *

State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in Israel, Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first he ...

(2): **

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Israeli Footballer of the Year The title Footballer of the Year of Israel has been bestowed annually since 1960 by the Israeli newspaper ''Maariv'' at the end of each season. In the years 1963, 1966 and 1991 two players have been honoured. Mordechai Spiegler Mordechai "Motal ...

(1): **2007

References

External links

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ONE profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zandberg, Michael 1980 births Living people Jewish Israeli sportspeople Israeli footballers Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. players Israel international footballers Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players Hapoel Ramat Gan F.C. players Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon F.C. players Hapoel Rishon LeZion F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Liga Leumit players Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Footballers from Ramat Gan Association football wingers Association football midfielders Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients