Ben-Zion Shabbtai "Boni" Ginzburg (or Bonni, he, בן-ציון שבתאי "בוני" גינצבורג; born 12 December 1964) is an Israeli footballer who played as a goalkeeper and retired in 2001. He played for 11 different clubs during his extensive career from 1983 to 2001, and collected 68 caps for Israel.

Early life

Ben-Zion Shabbtai Ginzburg was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

descent. His father died of a heart attack when he was eight.

Club career

In 1983, at the age of 16, he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv FC as a goalkeeper. He also played for

Maccabi Petah Tikva FC Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...

, Maccabi Haifa F.C. and Beitar Jerusalem FC, before signing for

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

in 1989. After two seasons in Glasgow playing second-fiddle to England's Chris Woods, Ginzburg returned home, representing successively Maccabi Yavne FC, Beitar Tel Aviv FC,

Maccabi Ironi Ashdod FC Maccabi Ironi Ashdod F.C. ( he, מכבי עירוני אשדוד), commonly known as Ironi Ashdod, is an Israeli football club based in Ashdod city. In 1999, the club was forced to merge with local rivals Hapoel Ashdod to create F.C. Ashdod ...

, Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv FC,

Maccabi Haifa FC Maccabi Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל מכבי חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Maccabi Haifa'') is an Israeli professional football club, based in the city of Haifa, Israel, a section of Maccabi Haifa sports club. The clu ...

Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל אשקלון, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ashkelon'') is an Israeli football club based in Ashkelon. The club currently competes in Liga Alef and plays at the 5,250-capacity Sala Stad ...

and Hapoel Kfar Saba FC, and retiring at nearly 37.

International career

Ginzburg made his debut for Israel 10 June 1984 in a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

with Wales keeping a

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

as the game ended 0–0. His last match was in another exhibition game, this time against Romania on 14 August 1996, a 0–2 away loss.Boni Ginzburg International Games and Goals
; at RSSSF In addition to the 62 caps won in

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

-recognised games, Ginzburg gained another six in qualifying games for the 1988 Olympic football tournament. In his full side appearances he kept 15 clean sheets, adding four in the Olympic ones.

Media career

After retiring Ginzburg began working, eventually as the main presenter, for Channel One's ''Rishon beSha'ar'', a football highlights programme. He also participated in Israel's version of

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

. Nowadays, Boni works as a commentator for the Israeli sports channel Sport 5.

Awards and recognition

Israeli 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 ...

: 1986–87, 1988–89

References

External links

Maccabi Haifa player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ginzburg, Bonni 1964 births Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Jewish footballers Living people Israeli men's footballers Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players Maccabi Yavne F.C. players Beitar Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Ironi Ashdod F.C. players Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. players Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. players Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Israel men's international footballers Israeli expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Scottish Football League players Footballers from Tel Aviv Men's association football goalkeepers Israeli Football Hall of Fame inductees