Real name	Eyal Berkovic
Height	5.07
Weight	10.06
Date of birth	02-04-1972
Place of birth	Haifa,Israel
Position	Midfielder
Nationality	Israel

The controversial but undoubtedly talented Eyal Berkovic arrived at Celtic Park in the summer of 1999 in a £5.75 million move from West Ham United.

The capture of the Israeli star was meant to signal an exciting new era for the Hoops under new management 'Dream Team' of coach John Barnes and Director of Football, Kenny Dalglish.

Berkovic had impressed enough during his spell in England with Southampton and the Hammers to have most Celtic fans wetting their lips in anticipation of the season ahead. But despite showing fleeting glimpses of his talent the little midfielder failed to settle into a Celtic side which struggled badly in the league after the loss of talisman Henrik Larsson to an horrific leg break in Lyon on October 21.

However, as 1999 drew to a close Berkovic strung together some excellent performances to inspire Celtic to an unbeaten run which gave the fans renewed hope for the new Millenium. That hope was soon dashed as Celtic and Berkovic emerged from the mid-winter shutdown looking decidely off key.Rumours were rife that Berkovic was a troublemaker and that the Celtic dressing room was far from a happy place.

Just how unhappy was made painfully clear on Tuesday February 8th 2000 when a pathetic Celtic were humiliated in front of their own fans by First Division Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup third round. The 3-1 defeat to the Highlanders was the final straw for Celtic fans who had witnessed one too many spineless displays from Berkovic and some of his equally lavishly paid team-mates.

While that match signaled the end for John Barnes, Berkovic would stick around a little while longer. He continued to tease the fans with moments of magic.His performance against Killmarnock in the April of that season was simply scintilating as he ran the Ayrshire side ragged as Celtic recorded a 4-2 victory. Even then though he spoiled matters by by making undignified gestures to a Hoops support which with some justification had previously demanded more effort from their big money signing.
These brief cameos of genius could not disguise Berkovic's infuriating lack of heart and when Martin O'Neil was appointed as Celtic manager in June 2000 everyone knew time would soon be up for the workshy Berkovic.

O'Neil used the Israeli sparringly and by the start of 2001 he was barely on the fringes of the Celtic first team. In February - a year after the Caley debacle - Berkovic headed to Blackburn on loan and most Celtic fans would have happily paid the taxi fare to take him to Lancashire. He eventually left for good in the Summer of 2001, joining Manchester City for £1.75 million. By then he had made 38 appearances for the Hoops, scoring 8 goals. There can be few Celtic players who had promised so much, only to deliver so little..


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