Shmuel Rosenthal ( he, שמואל רוזנטל, also known as Sam Rosenthal, born 22 April 1947) is an Israeli former international
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 le ...
. With Israel he participated in the Olympic Games of 1968 and the World Cup 1970. When he moved from
Hapoel Petah Tikva
Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit.
Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...
to the German club
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
in 1972 he became the first Israeli professional hired by a European club.
Career
Rosenthal commenced his career 1965 with the Israeli first division side
Hapoel Petah Tikva
Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit.
Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...
. Already in the same year he debuted with 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 ...
. With Israel he took part in the
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
in Mexico. In Mexico the team reached the quarterfinals, where the side held Bulgaria to a 1–1 draw after extra time. The match was eventually decided for Bulgaria by drawing of a lot, as penalty shootouts had not yet been introduced.
With Israel he also
qualified for the
1970 World Cup in Mexico via a walkover against North Korea, which refused to play in Israel and the Oceanian teams of New Zealand and Australia. There Rosenthal participated in all three matches of his team. Israel initially lost to Uruguay, but managed to hold Sweden and the later finalist Italy to draws.
Altogether Rosenthal played 30 times for his country, scoring once. Including matches in the context of Olympic tournaments and the like his tally here rises to 43 matches and two goals. A contemporary of his in the Israeli sides of this era was
Mordechai Spiegler
Mordechai "Motaleh" Shpigler ( he, מרדכי "מוטל'ה" שפיגלר; born 19 August 1944) is a retired Israeli footballer, and manager. Shpigler is placed second in Israel's all time goalscoring list, with 32 goals in 83 caps.
Early life ...
, who is considered the one of the greatest players of all times of his country.
In 1972, Rosenthal joined the then reigning German champions
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
, becoming the first professional Israeli player finding an engagement in Europe. In the first half of the season he played for the club in 13
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
matches, scoring one goal, and a number of
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 ...
matches. By the end of the season the club ended the league as fifth, but won the
DFB-Pokal and reached the finals of the UEFA Cup. With Mönchengladbach, Rosenthal played mainly
libero, a position he filled "often somewhat too careless", according to the chronicles of the club.
In 1973, he returned to Hapoel Petah Tikva. In 1976, he switched to
Beitar Tel Aviv
Beitar Tel Aviv Football Club (Hebrew: מועדון כדורגל בית"ר תל אביב) was an Israeli football club based from Tel Aviv. The club merged in 2000 with Shimshon Tel Aviv to create Beitar Shimshon Tel Aviv,[Oakland Stompers
The Oakland Stompers were a soccer team based out of Oakland, California that played the 1978 season in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Stompers played in the Western Division of the American Conference and finished the year with ...]
in the then fashionable
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
, which in that era featured some well known stars from Europe and South America.
In 1979, he returned to Israel as he returned to play for Beitar Tel Aviv. Later on he moved to
Hapoel Lod there he finished his career in 1983 and became the club's manager for a short period of time.
References
External links
*
*
NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Shmuel
Living people
1947 births
Israeli Jews
Israeli footballers
Association football midfielders
Israel international footballers
Footballers from Petah Tikva
Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. players
Borussia Mönchengladbach players
Beitar Tel Aviv F.C. players
Oakland Stompers players
Hapoel Lod F.C. players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Footballers at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Israel
Liga Leumit players
Bundesliga players
1968 AFC Asian Cup players
1970 FIFA World Cup players
Israeli expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Israeli expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients