Avraham Bendori (June 21, 1928 – January 15, 2019) was an Israeli footballer who played for Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Israel national team. He later worked as a manager.

Career

Bendori was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

in 1928 and joined Maccabi Tel Aviv at the age of 13. He was part of the Maccabi Michael youth team, which won back to back youth championship in the mid-1940s. In 1946 he was promoted to the senior team and played with the team until the end of the 1959–60 season, winning 6 league titles and 6

cups CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular computer printer, printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a Server (computi ...

with the club. Bendori was also a member of the

Israel national football team The Israel national football team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, ) represents Israel in international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA). Israel's national team is the direct successor of the M ...

, but only made a handful of appearances, as the main goalkeeper of the national team during this time was

Ya'akov Hodorov Ya'akov "Yankele" Hodorov (Hebrew: יעקב חודורוב) (16 June 1927 – 31 December 2006) was an Israeli football goalkeeper in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. He is one Israel's best goalkeepers of all time and the leading goalkeeper of his ...

. Bendori played in Israel's first match ever, against the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, but didn't make another appearance in an official match until 1958, when he started in two group phase matches of the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games ( ja, 第3回アジア競技大会) and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A ...

, as Hodorov was injured. His final match for Israel was played against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

, in which Bendori conceded 5 goals and was substituted in the 64th minute. Israel lost 2–7 in the match, which became known as the "Wrocław Shame". After retiring, Bendori coached several teams without much success and served as the national team's director.

Personal life

Bendori, who was 20 during the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, fought in the Samson's Foxes unit, and was injured on the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian front, near Iraq Suwaydan, when the jeep he was driving was bombarded. Bendori was hospitalized for several weeks and was released to take part in the national teams' tour of the U.S. During his time with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bendori worked for Dan Bus Company.Once Players Drove Differently
Asher Goldberg, 1 December 2004, Walla!

Honours

;Maccabi Tel Aviv * Palestine League: 1946–47 *

Palestine Cup The Palestine Cup is the main national association football competition in Palestine. It is sanctioned by the Palestinian Football Association. Past competitions were more expansive including clubs from all tiers of Palestinian football. For the ...

(2):

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

* Israeli League (5): 1949–50, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1957–58 *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

(4): 1953–54, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1958–59

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bendori, Avraham 1928 births 2019 deaths Israeli Jews Israeli men's footballers Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. managers Hapoel Rishon LeZion F.C. managers Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. managers Footballers from Tel Aviv Men's association football goalkeepers Israeli football managers Israel men's international footballers Burials at Yarkon Cemetery