Nir Bitton
Nir Bitton (or Biton, ; 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. He also occasionally captains both. Early and personal life. Bitton was born in Ashdod, Israel, to a Sephardic Jewish family. He served as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. He married his Israeli girlfriend Bar ( Shimon) in 2014, and the couple have two children Emma and Tom. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 defender Dave Mackay. Celtic winger Derk Boerrigter 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. 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. 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. He also occasionally captains the team. International career. In 2009, Bitton was selected to represent his native Israel at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, 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 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. He scored his first goal for the national team against Andorra 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 for the senior Israel national team. 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. Honours. Club. Celtic