en Jan Talesnikov

Jan Talesnikov
	Talesnikov as Beitar Jerusalem assistant coach, 2012
Personal information
Date of birth	December 11, 1972 (age 51)
Place of birth	Soviet Union
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Maccabi Ironi Ashdod
Senior career*
Years	Team
1990–1996	Maccabi Ironi Ashdod
1996–1998	Beitar Jerusalem
1999–2000	Dundee United
2000–2003	Beitar Jerusalem
2003–2005	F.C. Ashdod
2005–2007	Hapoel Jerusalem
International career
1998–2001	Israel
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jan Talesnikov (Hebrew: ז'אן טלסניקוב, Russian: Ян Талесников, born December 11, 1972) is an Israeli retired footballer and the current manager.

Early life

Talesnikov was born on 11 December, 1972, in the Russian Republic of the Soviet Union, emigrating to Israel at the age of 7. He started playing football in the Youth Section of Maccabi Ironi Ashdod.

Playing career

Club

Talesnikov was promoted to the senior squad at Ashdod in 1990. Following relegation in 1995, he was transferred to Beitar Jerusalem in 1996, going on to win two league titles and the Toto Cup.

In 1999, Talesnikov joined Dundee United in the Scottish Premier League, before rejoining Beitar Jerusalem one year later.^[1] He signed for F.C. Ironi Ashdod in 2003, and then for Hapoel Jerusalem in 2005, before announcing his retirement in May, 2007.

International

Talesnikov played international football for his adopted country of Israel. He made his debut in a friendly match against Turkey in 1998, scoring a goal. In total, he played 21 games for Israel and scored 4 goals.

Coaching career

Before his retirement, Talesnikov began studying football coaching at the Wingate Institute. In 2007, he coached in the Israeli Beach Soccer League before being appointed as coach of the Beitar Jerusalem youth team in 2008.

In 2009, he was appointed as the assistant coach to Guy Azouri at Hapoel Be'er Sheva. After the resignation of Azouri, Talesnikov continued to assist his successor, Vico Haddad. In 2010, he was appointed director of the youth department of F.C. Ashdod, a position he held until his resignation in 2011.

In January 2012, Talesnikov was appointed assistant coach of Beitar Jerusalem. He left this job in June, 2013. In September 2013 he was appointed assistant coach at the girls' football academy of the Israel Football Association.

Acting career

In 2005, Talesnikov finished his acting studies at the Camera Obscura School of Arts, and graduated in screenwriting at the Sam Spiegel School in 2006. That year, he played a supporting role in the film Little Heroes. He has also appeared in the TV series Champion and Love Anna.