Shlomo Levi ( he, שלמה לוי) was an Israeli footballer, who played for

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 ...

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

and

Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל רמת-גן גבעתיים, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim'') is an Israeli football club from Ramat Gan and Givatayim. They currently play in Liga Leumit, ...

, among others, and for

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 ...

Career

League football

Levi played youth football for

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

from the age of 13. When he was 15 he sustained an injury during play and was told to quit football for life.In My Time We Played Our Heart Out, and the Pay Was Enough for… Seeds
Shai Kfir, Davar, 23 February 1975, Historical Jewish Press While in army service, Levi participated in

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

cup, which led to signing with Hakoah Tel Aviv. In 1955, Levi transferred to

, where he played until 1958, at which point Levi put himself in "quarantine", a period of 12 months away from football after which he would be a free agent. At the end of the year, Levi signed with

, With whom Levi was the league's joint-top scorer in 1960–61 and 1961–62. In 1963, Levi transferred to

, which played in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. The club topped the league that season and won promotion to

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

. The following season, the club won the championship, with Levi being the top scorer for the club, with 14 goals. In 1966, Levi was released, on his request from Hapoel Ramat Gan, and at first signed with

Hapoel Kfar Saba Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל כפר סבא, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli football club based in Kfar Saba. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadiu ...

, but a few days later signed with Maccabi Hadera. In 1968, Levi immigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, where he stayed for four years, playing in the

Canadian National Soccer League The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

with local teams Montreal Hakoah and Superga, with whom he won the

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

cup competition. Levi returned to Israel in 1972 and tried his hand in coaching at Hapoel Kafr Qasim, but retired from football after the season ended.

National team

Levi was part of the Israel team in the

1957 Maccabiah Games Twenty-one countries sent 980 athletes to compete in the 1957 5th Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletics competition similar to the Olympics. The opening ceremony on September 15, 1957, was held in Ramat Gan Stadium, with athletes parad ...

, which won the gold medal,The Football Team's Squad to the Maccabiah Narrowed to 18
Herut, 8 September 1957, Historical Jewish Press scoring 7 goals. Levi was called to the national team ahead of the

1960 AFC Asian Cup The 1960 AFC Asian Cup was the 2nd edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by South Korea from 14 October to 23 October 1960. ...

and played his debut with the team in the first match of the tournament, against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Levi scored his first goal for the national team in the tournament's second match, against

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

and added another goal in Israel's final match against

the Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, which secured Israel second place for the tournament. Levi took part in Israel's campaign during

1962 World Cup qualification Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita ...

, scoring a hat-trick against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. In 1964, Levi was part of the squad for the

1964 AFC Asian Cup The 1964 AFC Asian Cup was the 3rd edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Israel from 26 May to 3 June 1964. The tournament ...

, as Israel won the tournament.

Career statistics

International goals

Honours

Club

Hapoel Ramat Gan

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

(1): 1963–64 *

Liga Alef Liga Alef ( he, ליגה א', , League A) is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south. History League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declar ...

(second division) (1): 1962–63

Montreal Superga

*Quebec Cup (1): 1971

International

Israel

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

(1):

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

* Football at the Maccabiah Games (1):

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

Individual

– Top Goalscorer (2): 1960–61, 1961–62

References

External links

* 1934 births 2003 deaths Jewish Israeli sportspeople Israeli footballers Hakoah Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Hapoel Haifa F.C. players Hapoel Ramat Gan F.C. players Maccabi Hadera F.C. players 1960 AFC Asian Cup players 1964 AFC Asian Cup players AFC Asian Cup-winning players Israeli expatriates in Canada Competitors at the 1957 Maccabiah Games Association football forwards Israel international footballers {{Israel-footy-bio-stub