Rubén Jorge Israel Yelen (8 December 1955 – 5 July 2021) was a Uruguayan

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 ...

and a football team manager.

Coaching career

Libertad

In the Paraguayan championships, since the start of the Clausura 2007 tournament, Israel coached Club Libertad in 68 matches. His record was 48 wins, 16 draws, and four defeats. In the 2007 Clausura, Libertad broke a national record for a short tournament with a total of 55 points. In the Apertura 2008, Club Libertad surpassed the record with a total of 57 points. Also, under coach Israel, Libertad broke a third national record: the annual cumulative, adding up to a total of 101 points in 2008 (he added 95 in 2007). For the first tri-championship in its history, Club Libertad scored 53 goals, the top scoring team of Apertura 2008, and only allowed 13 goals, becoming the team with the best defence. Under Israel, Libertad qualified for the

2009 Copa Libertadores The 2009 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2009 Copa Santander Libertadores de América for sponsorship reasons) was the 50th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, CONMEBOL's premier annual international club tournament. The ...

and

2009 Copa Sudamericana The 2009 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes (officially the 2009 Copa Nissan Sudamericana de Clubes for sponsorship reasons) is the 8th edition of the CONMEBOL's secondary international club tournament. Internacional were the defending champions, having ...

. The sixth Annual Premios

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named Rubén Israel as the best football coach and named Club Libertad of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

the best football team.

Santa Fe

In May 2009 there was speculation that Israel would be the new coach of

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the oth ...

, and negotiations reached an advanced point. However, the emergence of several businessmen in the middle of it meant that Israel desisted from directing the club. Shortly after, Israel was confirmed as the new coach of Santa Fe. A month later, on 29 June, Israel resigned after receiving death threats if he did not include a player in the line-up. Israel and the player in question later wound up on the same team,

Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile. They currently participate in the Primera División de Chile. It has a branch of women's football, and competes ...

Unión Española

In October 2009, Israel assumed the leadership of

, and took them to the 14th place in the

standings Standings or rankings are listings which compare sports teams or individuals, institutions, nations, companies, or other entities by ranking them in order of ability or achievement. A table or chart (such as a league table, a ladder or a leaderb ...

, improving their performance by getting them qualified for the playoffs, and were eliminated by

Deportes La Serena Club de Deportes La Serena S.A.D.P., is a Chilean football club based in the city of La Serena, Coquimbo Region. The club was founded 9 December 1955 and plays in the first division of the Chilean football league. Their home games are played ...

. He quit after a year of technical management of the club, leaving the team in 5th position on league area Pre-Libertadores 2011 and reaching the quarter-finals of

Copa Chile The Copa Chile (''Chile Cup'') is an annual cup competition for Chilean football teams. Due to time constraints and club pressure, the trophy was cancelled in 2000, but returned in 2008. Its precursor was the Campeonato de Apertura (''Opening Ch ...

El Salvador

On 6 April 2011, the

Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol The Salvadoran Football Federation ( es, Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol or ) is the official governing football organization in El Salvador and is in charge of the El Salvador national football team, and El Salvador national beach soccer t ...

made official Israel's appointment as El Salvador national team coach, which was led by

José Luis Rugamas José Luis Rugamas Portillo (born 5 June 1953 in San Salvador) is a Salvadoran football manager and former professional player. He was interim manager of the El Salvador national team. As a player, he represented his country at the 1982 F ...

, and supervisor of minor national teams in the country combined. Israel coached his first match against Honduras on 29 May, which ended in a 2–2 draw, before the beginning of the

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, and the 21st CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's 50 years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition started on June ...

. Israel left for Uruguay for personal reasons on 14 April and returned on 25 April. During a press conference on 28 April, Rubén Israel announced the coaching staff that would coach the pre-Olympic U-23 and national team. The individuals that would form the coaching staff are assistant managers Mauricio Alfaro and

, physical trainers Esteban Coppia (Argentina) and Nicolás Dos Santos (Uruguay) and the goalkeeping coach Carlos Cañadas. On 9 July 2012, it was announced that Rubén Israel resigned from his duties as coach of El Salvador national team.

Atlante

On 4 September 2013, he was appointed manager of Atlante.

Millonarios

In 2015, Israel arrived to coach

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

. Israel had a great first championship in the Torneo Apertura 2016. Millonario qualified for the final of the all around.

Alajuelense

In mid-December 2017 it was reported Israel was to become coach of Costan Rican club

Liga Deportiva Alajuelense Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA, ), commonly known as Alajuelense and nicknamed La Liga (), is a Costa Rican multisport club based in the borough of El Llano, Alajuela, Alajuela province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Ala ...

. On 30 December, he left the country claiming a "health problem". On 6 January 2018, Alajuelense confirmed Israel would not return to the club.

Death

Israel died on 5 July 2021, aged 65. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Honours

With Club Libertad, Israel earned Clausura 2007 titles, Absolute Tournament 2007, Apertura 2008, and Clausura 2008, thus achieving tri-championships with the club. Thanks to his performance as coach of Libertad, he was nominated for Best Technical Director at

Awards 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel, Ruben 1955 births 2021 deaths Uruguayan Jews Uruguayan football managers 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers Club Libertad managers Unión Española managers El Salvador national football team managers C.A. Rentistas managers Millonarios F.C. managers Uruguayan expatriate football managers Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Chile Expatriate football managers in Chile Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Ecuador Expatriate football managers in Ecuador Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Colombia Expatriate football managers in Colombia Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Expatriate football managers in Paraguay Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in El Salvador Expatriate football managers in El Salvador C.A. Progreso managers Rampla Juniors managers