The Curious Case of Eyal Berkovic

Every now and then, a player comes along that develops an exceptional record against one particular opponent. The kind of player that opposition fans just dread because "he always scores against us".

Take Thierry Henry for example. Granted, he was pretty good against just about anyone. But you'd be forgiven for thinking the Frenchman just had it out for certain opponents in particular. For instance, Henry scored 13 goals in 16 matches against Middlesbrough - more than any other team in his career. But he also has amazing goal-to-game ratios against a few other opponents: 12 goals in 13 games against both Charlton Athletic and Leeds United, 12 in 15 against Aston Villa and 9 in 7 against Portsmouth.

Arsenal have been on the receiving end of such players too. Harry Kane has 15 goals in 21 matches against us. Jamie Vardy has 11 goals in 16 clashes with Arsenal. Some players just love playing against certain teams.

But for some unfortunate players, the thought of coming up against one particular team must strike fear into their hearts. An opponent that, no matter how many times you face them, you just cannot seem to come out on top. I came across one such player during my research.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Eyal Berkovic

Who is Eyal Berkovic?

For some of the younger fans among us, here's a brief summary of the main man:

• Eyal Berkovic is an Israeli former footballer. He made over 200 appearances and represented 5 clubs in English football.

  
  

• Berkovic began his career at Maccabi Haifa before a successful loan spell at Southampton in 1996-97. He then joined West Ham for a couple of seasons and had a brief stint at Celtic in Scotland (where he played alongside Ian Wright).

  
  

• The midfielder returned to England with a loan move to Blackburn Rovers, helping them achieve promotion to the Premier League in 2001. He then signed for Manchester City where he again contributed to a successful promotion campaign.

  
  

• After 3 seasons at City, during which he achieved cult hero status, Berkovic joined Portsmouth. Here, he reunited with his former West Ham manager Harry Redknapp. The 2004-05 season was to be Berkovic's last in England.

  
  
  
  

• Now aged 33, Berkovic returned to Israel, signing with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He spent just one season there before retirement.

  
  

• These points barely scratch the surface of the career of Eyal Berkovic: he clashed and fell out with managers, he praised Rangers not long after joining Celtic (for a then-record transfer fee in Scotland) and, infamously, got a kick in the head from teammate John Hartson during a training ground clash at West Ham...

  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  

• But all of this matters little in comparison to the standout statistic about the career of Eyal Berkovic: he had an utterly appalling record against Arsenal.

Berkovic against Arsenal

According to transfermarkt, Berkovic faced Arsenal more than any other opponent in his career - 14 times.

• In those 14 games, Berkovic never tasted victory. Not once. Zero wins, two draws and TWELVE defeats.

  
  

• He actually scored in his first appearance against Arsenal. That was in a 3-1 Arsenal win over Southampton in December 1996. That was just about as good as it ever got for Berkovic against the Gunners...

  
  

• The only times Berkovic avoided defeat against Arsenal both came in the 1997-98 campaign when he was at West Ham. He played 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw between the clubs at Upton Park in March of that season - Arsenal's final dropped points before a 10 game winning run towards the title.

  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  

• A week after that league stalemate, the sides met again in an FA Cup quarter-final at Highbury. A 1-1 draw meant that a replay was required. This brings us to a section I've decided to call...

Eyal Berkovic must hate facing Arsenal in the quarter-final stage of an English cup competition

I know, it just rolls off the tongue. But hear me out...

• Earlier in the '97-'98 season, Berkovic's Hammers faced Arsenal in the quarter final of the League Cup. Despite home advantage, West Ham were beaten 2-1 thanks to goals from Ian Wright and Marc Overmars. Berkovic played the entire game.

  
  

• In the FA Cup quarter-final replay, Arsenal went down to 10 men in the first half when Dennis Bergkamp was sent off. Although a man down, Arsenal took the lead through a Nicolas Anelka goal. However, a late John Hartson goal for West Ham forced the game into extra time and, eventually, penalties.

  
  

• With the sides level at 2-2 in the shootout, Berkovic stepped up to take West Ham's 4th penalty. He missed. It would have put West Ham in front with just one penalty remaining for both sides. The Gunners ended up victorious after Tony Adams' made it 4-3 in sudden death in the shootout. The footage I found of this game is a great 14 minute segment of the highlights. For an unknown reason (but honestly, rather fittingly) the clip skips over Berkovic's penalty. The man cannot catch a break...

  
  

• In 2001, Berkovic was playing for Blackburn Rovers. The Championship side made it to the FA Cup quarter-finals under Graeme Souness. Arsenal made light work of lower league opposition, winning 3-0. All three goals were scored before half time. Berkovic played just 45 minutes in that game. The first 45 minutes...

  
  

• In March 2004 and now at Portsmouth, Berkovic once again found himself up against Arsenal in an FA Cup quarter-final. Granted, Premier League survival would have been the priority for Pompey in their first top flight campaign in decades. But a crushing 5-1 defeat at home to Arsenal probably wasn't on the agenda either. Well, maybe it was for Berkovic... Once again, he was subbed at half time with the Gunners already 3-0 up.

The Drubbings

As well as the aforementioned 5-1 FA Cup defeat in his Portsmouth days, Eyal Berkovic was on the receiving end of a couple other heavy losses at the hands of Arsenal:

• In February 1999, Arsenal won 4-0 away to West Ham. Goals from Bergkamp, Overmars, Anelka and Parlour saw Arsenal ease to victory. Strangely enough for a Berkovic-related substitution in an Arsenal match, the Israeli midfielder was subbed on at half time in this one.

  
  

• A little over four years later, now at Manchester City, Berkovic once again felt the pain of going up against an Arsene Wenger side in full flow. The Gunners went 4-0 up after just 19 minutes at Maine Road. Patrick Vieira added a 5th in the second half before City got a late consolation through Nicolas Anelka. Berkovic played the entire game in this one. As far as I can tell in my amateur research, this is Man City's heaviest defeat at home in the Premier League era (I am willing to be corrected on this one). Another feather for your cap, Mr. Berkovic.

To the nay-sayers...

I know what some of you are probably thinking. "But Berkovic played for some middling teams at the time and Arsenal were one of the best teams around back then. Surely his record is just as bad against other top sides of the time and this whole thing isn't as unique as your making it out to be..." I can hear you saying that. All of you. And to that, I present this...

• Eyal Berkovic faced Manchester United 9 times in his career. His record against them is a beautifully symmetrical 3 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats. His victories over United came at 3 different clubs - Southampton, Manchester City and Portsmouth. He even scored twice against United in a 6-3 Southampton win in 1996.

  
  
  
  

• Berkovic had a pretty decent personal record against Liverpool too. In 10 matches, he also experienced 3 wins over the Anfield club. On two occasions, Berkovic even scored the winning goal. He was also part of a Portsmouth side that knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup.

  
  

• Somewhat comparable is his record against Chelsea. In 7 matches, Berkovic lost 5 times. Although he did still beat them at least once - something he never managed against Arsenal.

The Conclusion

12 defeats in 14 games against Arsenal is the kind of record that says "screw you in particular". He's been on the end of hammerings, been whipped off at half time, missed a penalty in a shootout and played in a Premier League clubs heaviest home league defeat - all against Arsenal. Berkovic also never made it past the quarter-final stage in any English cup competition. In three of the five occasions he did play in a domestic cup quarter-final, it was Arsenal that knocked his team out.

We could go even deeper into this, get a little "tinfoil hat" about the whole thing. Eyal has a younger brother, Nir Berkovic. At 16, he signed a 2-year youth contract at Arsenal. But due to work permit issues, he never made it at Arsenal and returned to Israel after just 4 months. Not exactly Arsenal's fault that it didn't work out for Nir but maybe Eyal is the kinda guy that reads into things like that. Who's to say?

The moral of the story - Eyal Berkovic hates Arsenal... probably...