Ronny Rosenthal ( he, רוני רוזנטל; born 11 October 1963), nicknamed "Rocket Ronny", is an Israeli former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. After starting his career in his birth city with

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

, Rosenthal went on to play in Belgium with Club Brugge and

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

. He moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in 1990 for a fee of £1.1 million, becoming the first non-UK player to move to an English club for more than £1 million. After four years at Liverpool, Rosenthal finished his career with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

and

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. Between 1983 and 1997 he made 60 appearances for 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 ...

, scoring 11 goals.

Early and personal life

Rosenthal was born in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to a

Romanian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...

father from

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

who

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to Israel. His brother Lior Rosenthal also played for Maccabi Haifa, and also represented Israel. Rosenthal married a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

, Nancy, who

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. " ...

. Their two sons, Dean Rosenthal—who was Bar Mitzvah in Israel—and Tom Rosenthal, were born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Dean is director of a sporting management company; while Tom, formerly on the books of

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

as a midfielder, formerly played for the Dutch team

FC Dordrecht Football Club Dordrecht, or simply FC Dordrecht () is a professional Dutch association football club based in Dordrecht, a city in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie, ...

, and has been capped by Belgium at the under-18 and U19 levels—where he scored three goals—and has switched to

and was named to its U21 national team in 2018 for the Euro 2019 qualifiers against Germany and Norway. Rosenthal now resides in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and has worked as a football agent and consultant. His nephew is Israeli footballer Denny Gropper. On 11 May 2019, Rosenthal and his family were subjected to a "terrifying ordeal", when masked machetes-holding robbers, raided his home in

Cricklewood Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north- ...

, England.

Club career

He was left-footed, and began his playing career with

in the city in which he was born in his native

, winning two Israeli league titles. Rosenthal left his homeland to sign for Belgian side

Club Brugge KV (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.

in 1988. He scored 15 goals in two seasons, and won the Belgian league title one season. He then joined English side

on loan in March 1990, as manager

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...

looked to increase his options for the forward positions during Liverpool's league title run-in. He scored seven goals in eight

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

games, including a hat-trick against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

, which helped Liverpool secure their third league title in five seasons. His move to

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

was then made permanent for a fee of £1 million - double the fee which had been quoted before the loan deal was agreed. At Anfield, he became a cult hero. During the 1990–91 season, Rosenthal faced continued fierce competition for a place in the first team from Liverpool's established strikers

Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a t ...

and

Peter Beardsley Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE (born 18 January 1961) is an English football coach and former footballer who played as a forward or midfielder between 1979 and 1999. In 1987, he set a record transfer fee in the English game and represented his coun ...

, and then from mid-season signing

David Speedie David Robert Speedie (born 20 February 1960) is a Scottish former footballer who played for several clubs in England during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably Chelsea, Coventry City, Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers. He accumulated more than 500 f ...

. He played 16 times in the league, and scored five goals as Liverpool finished second in the league. In 1991–92, Rosenthal played 20 times in the league, but it was a frustrating league campaign for both player and club, as the Reds finished sixth in the league and Rosenthal only found the net three times. Liverpool did win the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

that season, but Rosenthal was not selected for the final. Despite the pre-season departure of both Speedie and Beardsley, Rosenthal was now faced with competition for a place from new signing

Dean Saunders Dean Nicholas Saunders (born 21 June 1964) is a Welsh football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a striker in a career which lasted from 1982 until 2001. He played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in the 1990s, and s ...

. 1992–93 was slightly better, as Rosenthal played 27 games in the new

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, and scored six goals, but it was another frustrating season for Liverpool, who finished sixth in the league once again and spent most of the season occupying even lower positions. Saunders had been sold to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

early in the season, while new signing Paul Stewart proved to be a major disappointment. A memorable occasion during that first Premier League season came when Rosenthal hit the crossbar with a shot on an open goal in a league match against Aston Villa. With the arrival of

Nigel Clough Nigel Howard Clough (born 19 March 1966) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Mansfield Town. Playing predominantly as a forward, but later in his career used as a midfielder, Clough was c ...

in the summer of 1993, and the breakthrough of

Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football manager and former player, who most recently managed East Bengal in the Indian Super League. As a player, he was a striker, and is the eighth-highest goalscorer in the history ...

soon after, Rosenthal played just three league games for Liverpool in 1993–94 and was sold to

in January 1994. Rosenthal scored on his debut in February 1994, in a home defeat to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. He became a regular member of the first team at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

, playing 15 league games and scoring twice before the season's end. Despite

Teddy Sheringham Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham, MBE (born 2 April 1966) is an English football manager and former player. He played as a forward, mostly as a second striker, in a 24-year professional career. Sheringham began his career at Millwall, where ...

overcoming injury problems, and the close season signing of

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...

, Rosenthal still managed to appear in 20 Premier League games in 1994–95, though he failed to score. His best form came in the

, in which he scored five goals in Tottenham's run to the semi-final. This included a hat-trick in a 6–2 fifth round replay win at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. Klinsmann was then sold to

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

and Spurs signed Chris Armstrong, but Rosenthal still played in all but five of Tottenham's 38 Premier League games in 1995–96, mostly as a substitute, but only scored one goal. 1996–97 brought a similar story for player and club. For the third consecutive season, Spurs fell short of a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

place, while Rosenthal was on the scoresheet only once in the league, and this time was restricted to 20 league appearances. In more than three years in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

, Rosenthal had appeared in 88 league games (55 of them starts) but scored just four goals. He then dropped down two divisions to sign for

, and played 30 games over the next seasons and scored eight goals as Watford won back-to-back promotions to reach the

FA Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. He then retired from playing at the age of 35.

International career

Rosenthal was also a regular member of the

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

national football team for most of his career. He won his first senior cap in 1983, and by the time his international career drew to a close in 1997, he had been capped 60 times and scored 11 goals.

References

External links

*
Ronny Rosenthal's page on Official Liverpool F.C. web site

Ronny Rosenthal's index at Sporting-heroes.net

LFChistory.net player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Ronny 1963 births Living people Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli footballers Association football forwards Israel international footballers Israeli expatriate footballers Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Club Brugge KV players Standard Liège players Liverpool F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Watford F.C. players Liga Leumit players Belgian First Division A players Premier League players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in England Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Israeli expatriate sportspeople in England Footballers from Haifa Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent

Early and personal life

Club career

International career

See also

References

External links