Ben Bitton

Ben Bitton began playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv at age nine and spent seven years in the club's youth academy.[1] Through the under-17 level he featured as a right midfielder, after which the club converted him to right back, the position he would occupy for the rest of his career.[1]

Despite the long association with Hapoel Tel Aviv's academy, Bitton never made an official senior appearance for the first team.[1] Instead, the club loaned him out for three seasons — two with Sektzia Ness Ziona and a third with Hapoel Nof HaGalil, the club formerly known as Hapoel Nazareth Illit.[1] During his spell in the north, he commuted daily from his home in Bat Yam to training in northern Israel, travelling by train and hitchhiking with a teammate because he did not own a car — all while the club was competing near the top of the National League.[1]

Following his breakthrough season in the National League, Bitton joined Hapoel Be'er Sheva in 2013 at age 22.[2][3] He arrived as a reserve right back, but an early opportunity thrust him into action when Hapoel Be'er Sheva's starting right back was sent off against Hapoel Acre; Bitton entered the match without warming up, and the referee initially failed even to record his substitution in the official match report.[1] He used that chance to establish himself, eventually becoming a regular starter and making 19 league appearances in his first season with the club.[2]

A scout who had recommended Bitton to club owner Alona Barkat reportedly told her: "These are the two best fullbacks in the National League" — referring to Bitton and his teammate Ben Turjeman.[1] The endorsement proved well-founded. Over seven seasons with Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Bitton won three Israeli league championships and the State Cup.[3] In Europe, he played in Hapoel Be'er Sheva's victories at Southampton and Inter Milan and in a campaign that reached the round of 32.[4] In his second season at the club he recorded one goal and five assists, though he also accumulated three red cards.[2]

Bitton received his first call-up to Israel's senior national squad in 2016 and was selected to start at right back against Italy.[1][2] The debut was a testing one — criticism focused on space conceded on his flank — but Israel's coaching staff backed him afterwards, noting that the first goal conceded also reflected a lack of midfield cover.[2] He went on to earn five caps for the senior national team during this period.[3]

After his time at Be'er Sheva, Bitton had a short spell with Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning the Toto Cup and the Super Cup and taking part in a European campaign that reached the round of 32.[4][5]

In January 2021, Bitton returned to Hapoel Tel Aviv — the club where he had grown up — describing the move as both a desire for a greater role and a sentimental homecoming.[4] Hapoel were struggling at the bottom of the Ligat Ha'Al standings with only 10 points when they brought in Bitton alongside Dan Einbinder, Shlomi Azulay, and Lidor Cohen under coach Nir Klinger in an effort to avoid relegation.[6] He made an immediate impression in April 2021, striking from 18 meters in the second half to give Hapoel Tel Aviv a 1–0 victory over Maccabi Netanya after Netanya goalkeeper Raz Carmi had saved Omri Altman's penalty earlier in the match.[7]

During his first half-season back at Hapoel, Bitton said the club reached a State Cup final.[5] In subsequent seasons the team reached the upper playoff, finishing one match away from European qualification, and Bitton contributed four goals and a double-digit number of assists across the period.[5] Another notable goal came in a February 2022 Tel Aviv derby, when Bitton was still playing for Hapoel. Around the 23rd minute, he received the ball in the penalty area, turned Enric Saborit, and scored past Daniel Peretz to equalise at 1–1; Maccabi went on to win 3–2.[8]

In the summer of 2023, after two and a half years at Hapoel Tel Aviv, Bitton signed with Beitar Jerusalem.[3] He played for Beitar during the 2023–24 season, and by 2024, aged 33, he was reported to be close to joining Hapoel Lod in Liga Alef.[3]

In 2025, Bitton was described in Israeli sports media as having recently retired from professional football.[9] He subsequently appeared publicly as a former Israel international, including in discussions about the careers of former teammates such as Ofir Davidzada.[9]

Bitton's career came to be defined by persistence rather than early stardom. After failing to make an official senior appearance for Hapoel Tel Aviv and spending three seasons on loan in the National League, he became a regular for Hapoel Be'er Sheva and part of a side that won three league championships and a State Cup; he also earned five senior Israel caps.[1][3]

After retiring, Bitton identified playing abroad as the main ambition he had not fulfilled. In 2025, he said Alona Barkat had sought €2 million for him after Hapoel Be'er Sheva's second championship, a price he believed made an overseas transfer unrealistic.[9]