Nir Bitton (or Biton, he, ניר ביטון; born 30 October 1991) is an Israeli professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

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 ...

club

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

and Israel national team which he also captains occasionally.

Early and personal life

Bitton was born and raised in

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to a family of both

Sephardi Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

and

Mizrahi Jewish Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...

descent. He was enlisted and served as a soldier in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. He married his Israeli girlfriend Bar ( Shimon) in 2014: the couple have two children, Emma and Tom.

Club career

SC Ashdod

Bitton broke into the senior team of his home-town club SC Ashdod at the age of 17 in an

match on 25 April 2009, and went on to make over 120 appearances.

Celtic

On 30 August 2013, Bitton signed a four-year deal with

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, for a fee of around £700,000 and a 20% sell-on clause from

club SC Ashdod. He made his debut for the club on 18 September, in a Champions League group stage match against

AC Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

, coming into the game as a late substitute in the 89th minute. Three weeks later he made another Champions League appearance for Celtic, coming as a 77th-minute substitute against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

on 22 October, but was sent off eleven minutes later for a late tackle on

Thulani Serero Thulani Caleb Serero (born 11 April 1990) is a South African soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Al Jazira and the South African national team. Prior to joining Al Jazira, he played for Ajax Cape Town in the South African Premier Socc ...

. The resulting suspension and a few niggling injuries hindered Bitton's efforts to establish himself in the team, but he still managed to make a total of 20 appearances for Celtic by the end of his first season there. Celtic won their third successive league title, and Bitton's 15 league appearances saw him pick up his first major honour. In the 2014–15 season, Bitton scored in Celtic's first league match of the season from the penalty spot after a controversial red card for

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

defender Dave Mackay. Celtic winger

Derk Boerrigter Derk Boerrigter (; born 16 October 1986) is a retired Dutch footballer, who played most of his career as a winger. He began his professional career with Ajax, but did not make any first team appearances and was eventually loaned to Haarlem. He ...

was later given a 3-match ban for simulation. Later in the season, Bitton scored a stunning 30-yard goal against Dundee. in a 5–0 win. He scored another long-distance strike on 12 August 2015, netting from 25 yards into the top corner in a 2–2 draw with

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

. To begin the 2015–16 season, on 19 August 2015, Bitton scored against Swedish side

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association, ...

in a 3–2 win at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...

in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs. On 2 November 2015, Bitton was signed a new contract which would keep him at Celtic until the summer of 2020, and again on 16 December 2019 he extended his contract up to 2023. On 13 May 2022, Celtic announced that Bitton and teammate

Tom Rogic Tomas Petar Rogic ( ; sr-Cyrl, Томас Петар Рогић, ; born 16 December 1992) is an Australian professional footballer who most recently played as an attacking midfielder for West Bromwich Albion and the Australia national team. ...

would both be leaving the club after the final game of the season against

Motherwell Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lanarks ...

. Bitton said: "When I came to Celtic I never thought I would be part of such exciting times and it truly has been amazing to be part of such a great club. I have worked with some great managers and team-mates and I thank them all for those times and all we achieved together." Bitton came on as a substitute for club captain

Callum McGregor Callum William McGregor (born 14 June 1993) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic, which he captains, and the Scotland national team. He has previously played for Notts County on ...

in the 85th minute, as Celtic ran out 6–0 winners. Rogic and Bitton brought out the Scottish Premiership trophy together, which McGregor then lifted aloft with his departing teammates standing on either side. Bitton also occasionally captained Celtic.

Maccabi Tel Aviv

On 1 July 2022, Bitton joined

club

on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract with an option for a third year. The player thus returned to Israel after spending nine years in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

International career

In 2009, Bitton represented his native Israel at the

2009 Maccabiah Games The 18th Maccabiah Games ( he, המכביה ה-18 ישראל תשס"ט), were held in July 2009. According to the organizing committee these were the largest games held yet. These Games were the world's fifth-largest sporting event, behind the Ol ...

, and the team won a bronze medal. He played for the only Israel U-21 team to qualify for the UEFA European U21 Championship in 2013. He made his senior debut for

in a friendly match against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

on 26 May 2010. Bitton played a major role in qualifying games for the

2016 UEFA Euro The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

Tournament. He scored his first goal for the national team against

Andorra , image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg , symbol_type = Coat of arms , national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...

in a 4–0 victory On 3 September 2015. Ever since 23 March 2016, Bitton is being used as a second or a third

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for the senior Israel national team. Bitton debuted as the first

of the senior national team, in a 3–2 home win for Israel against

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

on 15 November 2021 (even after

Eitan Tibi Eitan Tibi (or Eytan, he, איתן טיבי; born 16 November 1987) is an Israeli association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), centre-back for Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C., Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Early life Tibi was ...

, Israel's vice-captain, was substituted in), at the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bitton goal.''

Honours

Celtic *

(8): 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22 *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20Celtic win fourth straight Scottish Cup as Hazard's shootout saves break Hearts
Ewan Murray, The Guardian, 20 December 2020 *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

(6): 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitton, Nir 1991 births Living people Israeli Mizrahi Jews Israeli Jews Israeli Sephardi Jews Footballers from Ashdod Israeli footballers Jewish footballers Association football midfielders F.C. Ashdod players Celtic F.C. players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games medalists in football Maccabiah Games bronze medalists for Israel Israel under-21 international footballers Israel international footballers Israeli expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Scotland Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Association football defenders Association football central defenders

Early and personal life

Club career

SC Ashdod

Celtic

Maccabi Tel Aviv

International career

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honours

See also

References

External links