Gal Alberman

Gal Alberman joined Maccabi Tel Aviv in the summer of 2010 from German Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach during a major investment in the transfer market that looked to strengthen the defensive prowess of the club's midfield. The 31 year-old Alberman came up through the ranks of the youth system at Maccabi Petah Tikva and in the 2000/01 season joined the senior squad, where he remained for five consecutive seasons and was among the players most identified with the club in the first half of the "noughties".  Those were relatively good years for Maccabi Petah Tikva, who advanced to the finals of the coveted State Cup in 2001 and won the Toto (League) Cup in 2004.




At the beginning of the 2005/06 season Alberman made his big step up when he joined Spanish second division side CD Tenerife. His adventures in the Canary Islands were, however, short-lived and midway through the season he returned to Israel to play for Beitar Jerusalem, where he assumed a central role in producing the club's best run of form in the "noughties", one that included two consecutive league championships in 2006/07 and the double season of 2007/08, when Alberman was chosen both by his fellow players and the press as the season's outstanding performer. In June 2008 Alberman embarked on his second European adventure, this time at Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he made 40 appearances in two seasons together with former Maccabi Tel Aviv striker Roberto Collauti.


When he finally did join Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2010 it was as one of the most gifted defensive midfielders to have been produced in Israel for many years. This reputation he owed to his clean and effective style of play, his astute reading of the game and his professionalism both on and off the pitch. In his first season Alberman made 30 league appearances and scored a goal in the last match of the season, a 4-1 home win against Maccabi Netanya. At the beginning of the 2011/12 season, Alberman's star faded somewhat but with the arrival of head coach Nir Levin he regained his position in the starting eleven and was one of Maccabi's star players in the second half of the season.


In the 2012/13 Championship season Alberman continued to display his good form, witness the fact that he made more appearances than any other player in the squad. As the team's second captain Alberman began the season with an exceptional attacking display, scoring a brace in a Toto (League) Cup match against Maccabi Netanya. Thereafter he returned to concentrate on his responsibilities at the back of the midfield, navigating and managing the team with his outstanding ability to halt opponents' attacks and move his side forward. During the course of the season he made 41 appearances in all competitions and celebrated the third championship in his career, his first with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

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