Binyamin Weinberg ( he, בנימין ויינברג) is a former Israeli professional

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player.

Biography

After having disputes with management at boyhood club, Maccabi Sha'arayim, he had two offers from other clubs. After turning down

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jeru ...

, he joined Maccabi Haifa where he enjoyed limited success. During his time at Haifa, the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

broke out and Weinberg was called up for reserve duty to the Israeli Armor Corps, in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

. When on the offensive of an

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 military outpost, his

Centurion tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...

shook. It was hit by an anti-tank guided missile, killing the tank driver, about three kilometers into Egyptian territory and hours away from the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. The tank commander ordered the remaining soldiers out of the tank before it would catch fire and blow up. The injured soldiers, Weinberg among them, hid for an entire day in a water tower until the

Paratroopers Brigade The 35th Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת הַצַּנְחָנִים, ''Hativat HaTzanhanim''), also known as the Paratroopers Brigade, is an infantry brigade unit of paratroopers within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and forms a major part of ...

rescued them. Word broke out around Israel that an Israeli goalkeeper from the top flight was severely injured during the war and censors prevented Weinberg's name from being released. Football fans in Israel held a lottery trying to guess which goalkeeper had been injured. After two surgeries and a recovery period in Ashkelon, Weinberg returned to practice with Haifa and eventually took back the starting position from Yosef Hedni. In the beginning of the 1974-75 season, Weinberg was transferred to city rivals Hapoel for a sum of IL50,000 and the proceeds from a friendly between the two clubs. After eight season at Hapoel Haifa, and a short stint with Bnei Yehuda, Maccabi Haifa signed Weinberg to serve as the back up for Avi Ran. That year, Haifa won the league without Weinberg seeing any match time and he subsequently retired from football after the season. Weinberg is Married to Yafa (née Popovski) and has a son, Ori Weinberg and a daughter, Dana Guri (Weinberg).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinberg, Binyamin Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Israeli Jews Israeli men's footballers Maccabi Sha'arayim F.C. players Hapoel Haifa F.C. players Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Liga Leumit players Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers from Rehovot