In 1987, Ben-Shimon began his professional career in Israeli club
Maccabi Petah Tikva's senior side, where he played until the 1994–95 season, winning two Toto Cup Artzit trophies (the Israeli second division back then) and on his last season he won the Toto Cup Leumit (then the first division), after a 2–1 victory against
Maccabi Tel Aviv, scoring the second goal for Maccabi Petah Tikva in an accurate free kick.
Avram Grant, who managed
Hapoel Haifa was interested in Ben-Shimon in order the strengthening their defense. Maccabi Petah Tikva, headed by Avi Luzon were adamantly opposed. Robbie Shapira, the then president of Hapoel Haifa and Avi Luzon agreed on an
arbitrator. of which stated that no amount can release the player from Petah Tikva. Haifa was hardly surprised as Luzon was the one who picked the arbitrator. In the end, after Hapoel Haifa lost 4–1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Toto Cup, forcing Grant to look for defensive reinforcement, and Shapira agreed to buy Ben-Shimon for 450,000
$. The amount spent was also a significant for the new era in the Israeli football, which continued to struggle against
Maccabi Haifa on players such as
Tal Banin and
Reuven Atar, and raised the bar on prices of players and their wages significantly. During his stint in Hapoel Haifa, Ben-Shimon became a leader among his teammates, and then the
captain in the 1999 Liga Leumit championship (the Israeli 1st division back then) season guided under
Eli Guttman. In 2001, he won the Toto Cup with Hapoel Haifa. Ben-Shimon also played in
Hapoel Petah Tikva in the 2001–02 season and in
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv in the 2002–03 season before retired from active football. ==International career==