Nir Bitton

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Nir Bitton
20170701 SK Rapid Wien vs Celtic FC 1742.jpg
Bitton playing for Celtic in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-10-30) 30 October 1991 (age 30)
Place of birth Ashdod, Israel
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4+1⁄2 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, centre back
Club information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 6
Youth career
1997–2009 Ashdod
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Ashdod 122 (14)
2013– Celtic 167 (11)
National team‡
2008 Israel U17 5 (0)
2009 Israel U18 2 (0)
2009 Israel U19 15 (0)
2010–2013 Israel U21 22 (2)
2010– Israel 37 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:12, 9 February 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 November 2021

Nir Bitton (or Biton,[2][3][4] Hebrew: ניר ביטון; born 30 October 1991) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as either a defensive midfielder or centre back for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Israel national team.

Early and personal life[]

Bitton was born in Ashdod, Israel, to a Sephardic Jewish family.[5] He served as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces.[6]

He married his Israeli girlfriend Bar (née Shimon) in 2014, and the couple have two children Emma and Tom.[7][8]

Club career[]

Ashdod[]

Bitton broke into the first team of his home-town club F.C. Ashdod at the age of 17, and went on to make over 100 appearances.[9]

Celtic[]

On 30 August 2013, Bitton signed a four-year deal with Scottish Premiership club Celtic, for a fee of around £700,000 and a 20% sell-on clause from Israeli Premier League club Ashdod.[10]

He made his debut for the club on 18 September, in a Champions League group stage match against AC Milan, coming into the game as a late substitute in the 89th minute.[11][12] Three weeks later he made another Champions League appearance for Celtic, coming as a 77th-minute substitute against Ajax on 22 October, but was sent off eleven minutes later for a late tackle on Thulani Serero.[11] The resulting suspension and a few niggling injuries hindered Bitton's efforts to establish himself in the team,[13] but he still managed to make a total of 20 appearances for Celtic by the end of his first season there.[14] Celtic won their third successive league title, and Bitton's 15 league appearances saw him pick up his first major honour.[13][15]

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 defender Dave Mackay.[16] Celtic winger Derk Boerrigter was later given a 3-match ban for simulation.[17] Later in the season, Bitton scored a stunning 30-yard goal against Dundee. in a 5–0 win.[18] 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.[19]

To begin the 2015–16 season, on 19 August 2015, Bitton scored against Swedish side Malmö FF in a 3–2 win at Celtic Park in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs.[20] On 2 November 2015, Bitton was signed a new contract which would keep him at Celtic until the summer of 2020,[21] and again on 16 December 2019 he extended his contract up to 2023.[22]

International career[]

Bitton during the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship that was hosted in Israel

In 2009, Bitton was selected to represent his native Israel at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, and the team won a bronze medal.[23] He played for the only Israel U-21 team to qualify for the UEFA European U21 Championship in 2013.[24]

He made his senior debut for Israel in a friendly match against Uruguay on 26 May 2010. Bitton played a major role in qualifying games for the 2016 UEFA Euro Tournament.[25] He scored his first goal for the national team against Andorra in a 4–0 victory On 3 September 2015.[26] Ever since 23 March 2016, Bitton is being used as a second or a third Captain for the senior Israel national team.[27] Bitton debuted as the first Captain of the senior national team, in a 3–2 home win for Israel against Faroe Islands on 15 November 2021 (even after Eitan Tibi, Israel's vice-captain, was substituted in), at the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers - UEFA.[28]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of 30 October 2021[29][15][30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Ashdod[i] 2008–09 Israeli Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2009–10 Israeli Premier League 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 1
2010–11 Israeli Premier League 34 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 5
2011–12 Israeli Premier League 36 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 4
2012–13 Israeli Premier League 31 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 32 4
2013–14 Israeli Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 123 14 0 0 1 0 0 0 124 14
Celtic 2013–14 Scottish Premiership 15 0 1 0 1 0 3[a] 0 20 0
2014–15 Scottish Premiership 31 2 5 0 2 0 5[b] 0 43 2
2015–16 Scottish Premiership 30 5 3 0 2 0 11[c] 3 46 8
2016–17 Scottish Premiership 26 1 3 0 2 0 8[a] 1 39 2
2017–18 Scottish Premiership 14 0 1 0 2 0 6[a] 0 23 0
2018–19 Scottish Premiership 7 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
2019–20 Scottish Premiership 15 0 3 0 2 0 11[d] 0 31 0
2020–21 Scottish Premiership 14 1 0 0 1 0 6[e] 0 21 1
2021–22 Scottish Premiership 6 0 0 0 1 0 5[f] 0 12 0
Total 158 9 19 0 13 0 55 4 245 13
Career total 281 23 19 0 14 0 55 4 369 27
  1. ^ National Cup and League Cup appearances for F.C. Ashdod unknown
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Two appearances in the UEFA Champions League and three appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Six appearances and two goals in the UEFA Champions League and five appearances and one goal in the UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Five appearances in the UEFA Champions League and six appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ One appearance in the UEFA Champions League and five appearances in the UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ One appearance in the UEFA Champions League and four appearances in the UEFA Europa League

International goals[]

Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bitton goal.[25]
List of international goals scored by Nir Bitton
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 3 September 2015 Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel  Andorra 2–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
2 10 October 2015 Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem, Israel  Cyprus 1–1 1–2 UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
3 12 November 2021 Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria  Austria 1–0 2–4 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours[]

Club[]

Celtic[15]

References[]

  1. ^ "ניר ביטון נחת. סוכנו: מנצ'סטר סיטי רוצה אותו". Sport5.co.il - אתר ערוץ הספורט.
  2. ^ "football - Nir BITON". www.football.org.il.
  3. ^ "Nir Biton - Celtic Glasgow - Stats - titles won". www.footballdatabase.eu.
  4. ^ https://www.uefa.com/under21/photos/photoid=1959948.html
  5. ^ Pilcher, Ross (3 February 2019). "S'appenin' Bitton? Ofir Marciano looking forward to facing close friend". edinburghlive.
  6. ^ "Meet The 24-Year-Old Celtic Midfielder Who's Been Compared To Sergio Busquets". The18. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  7. ^ https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/israeli-celtic-star-nir-bitton-and-his-wife-subject-to-torrent-of-online-abuse/
  8. ^ "Celtic star Nir Bitton's wife shares insight into quarantine regime as Hoops ace tackles virus - Daily Record".
  9. ^ "Nir Bitton". Celtic FC. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Celtic sign Israeli star, Nir Biton". Celtic FC. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Games Involving Biton, Nir in season 2013/2014". FitbaStats. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  12. ^ "0-2 Vs AC Milan in UEFA Champions League (18/09/2013)". FitbaStats. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  13. ^ a b Cully, Ronnie (13 February 2014). "Biton out for Celtic shot at glory". Evening Times. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Biton, Nir". FitbaStats. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  15. ^ a b c "N. Biton". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  16. ^ Burns, Cheri (13 August 2015). "St Johnstone 0 - 3 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Derk Boerrigter accepts two-match ban for 'simulation'". BBC Sport. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  18. ^ "See Bitton hit wonder goal as Celtic edge closer to title with 5-0 win". STV Sport. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  19. ^ Campbell, Andy (12 August 2015). "Kilmarnock 2 - 2 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Celtic on top but Berget gives Malmö hope". UEFA. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  21. ^ "Bitton signs contract until 2020 with Scottish champions". BBC Sport. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  22. ^ "Celtic: Nir Bitton signs contract extension until 2023". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  23. ^ "סגלי נבחרות ישראל לטורניר הכדורגל של המכביה". Israel Football Association. 9 July 2009. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  24. ^ "England Crushed by Israel's Winning Goal in Jerusalem (Video)". Jewish Press. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  25. ^ a b "Nir Biton". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  26. ^ "Israel back on track after Andorra stroll". UEFA. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  27. ^ https://sport1.maariv.co.il/israeli-soccer/national-team/Article-692367/
  28. ^ "Match Report of Israel vs Faroe Islands - 2021-11-15 - WC Qualification". Global Sports Archive. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  29. ^ Nir Bitton at Soccerbase
  30. ^ "Nir Biton Israel Football Association profile". Israel Football Association. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  31. ^ "Celtic champions & Hearts relegated after SPFL ends season". BBC Sport. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  32. ^ Celtic win fourth straight Scottish Cup as Hazard's shootout saves break Hearts, Ewan Murray, The Guardian, 20 December 2020
  33. ^ "Rangers 0 – 1 Celtic". BBC Sport. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  34. ^ "Hibernian 1–2 Celtic" – via www.bbc.co.uk.

External links[]

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