Ronny Rosenthal

He was left-footed, and began his playing career with Maccabi Haifa in the city in which he was born in his native Israel, winning two Israeli league titles. Rosenthal left his homeland to sign for Belgian side Club Brugge KV in 1988. He scored 15 goals in two seasons, and won the Belgian league title one season. After a deal to join Udinese fell through due to a failed medical, and a trial at Luton Town which saw him score twice in three games, Rosenthal joined English side Liverpool on loan in March 1990, as manager Kenny Dalglish looked to increase his options for the forward positions during Liverpool's league title run-in. He made his debut for the Reds in a 3-2 win over Southampton at Anfield on 31 March 1990, scoring his first goal for the club eleven days later in a 4-0 away win over Charlton Athletic at Selhurst Park. He scored seven goals in eight Football League First Division games, including a hat-trick against Charlton Athletic, which helped Liverpool secure their third league title in five seasons. His move to Anfield 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 and Peter Beardsley, and then from mid-season signing David Speedie. He played 16 times in the league, and scored five goals as Liverpool…

Rosenthal was also a regular member of the Israel national 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.

Club

International

Israel score listed first, score column indicates score after each Rosenthal goal

Rosenthal was born in Haifa, Israel. His father, who was born in Bucharest, Romania and is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, immigrated to Israel later on. His mother, born in Morocco to a Moroccan Jewish family, also immigrated to Israel. His brother Lior Rosenthal is also a former footballer who played for Maccabi Haifa and the Israeli national team. Rosenthal married a Belgian, Nancy, who converted to Judaism. Their two sons, Dean Rosenthal—who was Bar Mitzvah in Israel—and Tom Rosenthal, were born in England. Dean is director of a sporting management company; while Tom, formerly on the books of Queens Park Rangers as a midfielder, formerly played for the Dutch team FC Dordrecht, and has been capped by Belgium at the under-18 and U19 levels—where he scored three goals—and has switched to Israel and was named to its U21 national team in 2018 for the Euro 2019 qualifiers against Germany and Norway. Rosenthal now resides in London, and has worked as a football agent and consultant. His nephew is Israeli international 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, England.