David Keltjens

David Yair Keltjens (or Klatins,[1] Hebrew: דוד יאיר קלטינס; born 11 June 1995) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or as a defender for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Tel Aviv and the Israel national team.

David Keltjens
Keltjens with Beitar Jerusalem in 2016
Personal information
Full name David Yair Keltjens
Date of birth (1995-06-11) 11 June 1995
Place of birth Mevaseret Zion, Israel
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder, defender
Team information
Current team
 Hapoel Tel Aviv
Youth career
2007–2015 Beitar Jerusalem
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2019 Beitar Jerusalem 113 (4)
2019–2022 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 60 (2)
2022– Hapoel Tel Aviv 23 (0)
International career‡
2013 Israel U-18 2 (0)
2013–2014 Israel U-19 7 (0)
2016 Israel U-21 6 (0)
2017– Israel 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 October 2017

Early and personal life

Keltjens was born in Mevaseret Zion, Israel; to his father Yossi Keltjens who is of Dutch origin; and to his mother Flori (née Ben-Harush) who is of Moroccan Jewish descent and hails from the neighborhood of Katamon in Jerusalem, Israel.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] He has a sister named Emily, and a brother named Michael.[8] His late maternal grandfather was also a footballer in Morocco.[6][9] He was enlisted and served in the Israel Defense Forces.[5][10][9]

He also holds a Dutch passport, which eases the move to certain European football leagues.[11][12][5][6]

He has been in a relationship with his Israeli girlfriend Yael Alexandra Gold since 2021.[13][14][15]

Club career

Beitar Jerusalem

From age 6 to 8, Keltjens was part of the Hapoel Tel Aviv Youth Academy.[6] At the age of 12, he joined the Beitar Jerusalem youth system, where he eventually also made his senior debut for the senior club of Beitar Jerusalem in an Israeli Premier League away match against Maccabi Tel Aviv, which ended in a 2–4 victory for his team; on 26 October 2015.[16]

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

On 25 June 2019, he signed with Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Be'er Sheva for five years.[17]

International career

On 6 November 2016, Keltjens was first called up to the senior Israel national team, ahead of their match against Albania.[18] On 24 March 2017, he made his senior international debut, coming on as a 60th minute substitute against Spain in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) away match that ended in a 2–4 defeat for his native Israel.[19]

Honours

Club
Hapoel Be'er Sheva

See also

References
  1. "Israel Football Association - David Yair KLATINS". Israel Football Association.
  2. "David Keltjens on Instagram: "I'm Blue 🎶 #שבתשלום💙"".
  3. "David Keltjens on Instagram: "Next round and shabbat shalom ✌🏼😄"".
  4. "David Keltjens on Instagram: "שנה טובה ומתוקה 🍎🍯 #כמוהעניבה #וחסרתמסיכות"".
  5. "האס החדש של דראפיץ': הכירו את דוד קלטינס". 27 October 2015.
  6. "דוד קלטינס בראיון: "באופי אני הולנדי, על המגרש אני מרוקאי" - וואלה! ספורט". Sports.walla.co.il. 14 March 2016.
  7. שימול, דוד בן (3 November 2015). ""רציני ומשקיען": הכישרון החדש של בית"ר". Ynet.
  8. "חד משמעית, אני חנון. החלום? להגיע לארסנל - ספורט 5".
  9. "דוד קלטינס, הסיפור האמיתי: ההתנהלות וההשפלות שהובילו לעזיבה - וואלה! ספורט". 26 June 2019.
  10. "דוד קלטינס: "אני לא רוצה למתג את עצמי כדוגמן, קודם חושב להצליח בכדורגל"". הארץ.
  11. "David KELTJENS". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  12. "David Keltjens". Worldfootball.net.
  13. "David Keltjens on Instagram: "שתהיה שנה של חיוכים 🥰🙏🏼"".
  14. "Yael Alexandra Gold on Instagram: "🤍"".
  15. "Yael Alexandra Gold (@yael_gold_) • Instagram photos and videos".
  16. "Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Beitar Jerusalem - 26 October 2015 - Soccerway".
  17. Ben Ziv, Guy (25 June 2019). "דוד קלטינס חתם לחמש שנים בהפועל באר שבע". One. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  18. "Ponturi pariuri pentru meciul Albania - Israel". intelbet.ro. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  19. "Spain vs. Israel - 24 March 2017 - Soccerway".
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