Ben Lederman (Hebrew: בן לדרמן; born May 8, 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ekstraklasa club Raków Częstochowa. Born in the United States, he was a youth international for Poland.
_(2).jpg) Lederman with Raków Częstochowa in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ben Lederman | ||
| Date of birth | 8 May 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Los Angeles, California, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Raków Częstochowa | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2011–2015 | Barcelona | ||
| 2015–2017 | IMG Academy | ||
| 2017–2018 | Barcelona | ||
| 2018–2020 | Gent | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020 | Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | 1 | (0) |
| 2020– | Raków Częstochowa | 80 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2022 | Poland U21 | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:20, 8 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
Early life edit
Lederman was born in Los Angeles, California to Israeli expatriates of Polish-Jewish descent, Danny and Tammy.[1] His father was a small business owner and his mother, a real estate agent.[1] In 2011, the entire family moved to Barcelona so Ben could join La Masia, FC Barcelona's youth academy.
Club career edit
At age 11, Lederman was identified by scouts from FC Barcelona in a friendly match between his California State U10 team and FC Barcelona Academy Benjamin A.[1] He was subsequently invited to train at La Masia and joined the academy thereafter.
In January 2020, Lederman left Belgium and joined Beitar Jerusalem on trial.[2] He did not earn a contract with the Premier League side and instead signed with Liga Alef's Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan.[3] On February 14, 2020, Lederman made his first and only appearance for Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan in a Liga Alef South match against Maccabi Sha'arayim. Lederman started and went 65 minutes before being replaced by Michael Ben Baruch in a 1–0 loss.[4] Lederman was released by the club on February 27, 2020 so he could join Raków Częstochowa in the Polish Ekstraklasa.
Lederman made his first team debut on June 20, 2020, coming on as a substitute for David Tijanič in the 84th minute against Wisła Kraków. On May 2, 2021, Lederman won the first trophy of his professional career as Raków Częstochowa defeated Arka Gdynia in the final of the Polish Cup.[5][6]
International career edit
Lederman represented United States at under-15 and under-17 levels.[citation needed]
In May 2021, he was invited to a training camp with the Poland under-21 team in Warka.[7] Later that year, he earned his first official U21 call-up for 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Germany U21 and Latvia U21 on 12 and 16 November 2021.[8][9]
In March 2023, he received his first call-up to the Poland senior national team for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Czech Republic and Albania.[10]
Personal life edit
Lederman is Jewish and celebrated his bar mitzvah at a local synagogue in Barcelona.[1]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
- As of 8 December 2023[11]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan | 2019–20 | Liga Alef | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Raków Częstochowa | 2019–20 | Ekstraklasa | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Ekstraklasa | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Ekstraklasa | 23 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| 2022–23 | Ekstraklasa | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Ekstraklasa | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11[d] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 28 | 1 | |
| Total | 80 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 111 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 81 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 112 | 3 | ||
- ^ Includes Polish Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
- ^ a b c Appearance in Polish Super Cup
- ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours edit
Raków Częstochowa
Individual
- Ekstraklasa Young Player of the Month: December 2021[13]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Borden, Sam (2013), "An American Boy Wonder in Barcelona", The New York Times, retrieved June 24, 2020
- ^ Sa'ar, Ophir (January 20, 2020). "בעקבות דלילות הסגל: בן לדרמן הגיע להתרשמות בבית"ר ירושלים" [Due To Light Squad: Ben Lederman Arrived On Trial At Beitar Jerusalem]. Walla! (in Hebrew). Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ "מבארסה ועד לליגה א': בן לדרמן חתם בהכח" [From Barca To Liga Alef: Ben Lederman Signed With Hakoah]. Sport5 (in Hebrew). February 12, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ "בן לדרמן". football.org.il (in Hebrew). Israel Football Association. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ a b "Raków Częstochowa 2-1 Arka Gdynia". 90Minut (in Polish). May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ "Football: Raków Częstochowa beat Arka Gdynia in Polish Cup final". Polskie Radio. May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
- ^ "U-21: Powołania na zgrupowanie selekcyjne w Warce". PZPN. May 7, 2021. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
- ^ "U-21: Powołania na mecze z Niemcami i Łotwą" (in Polish). Polski Związek Piłki Nożnej. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
- ^ "W takim składzie reprezentacja Polski U-21 zagra z Łotwą! 75 minut do #POLLVA" (in Polish). Łączy nas piłka. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ "Powołania na mecze z Czechami i Albanią - Reprezentacja A". PZPN - Łączy nas piłka (in Polish). March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ Ben Lederman at Soccerway. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ "Walka o Superpuchar trwa nadal! Śledź relację! [NA ŻYWO]" [The fight for the Super Cup continues! Follow the report! [LIVE]]. sport.tvp.pl (in Polish). July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ "Młodzieżowiec Grudnia PKO Banku Polskiego: Ben Lederman (Raków Częstochowa)" (in Polish). Ekstraklasa. December 31, 2021. Archived from the original on January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.