Shmuel Rosenthal

Rosenthal commenced his career 1965 with the Israeli first division side Hapoel Petah Tikva. Already in the same year he debuted with the Israel national football team. With Israel he took part in the 1968 Summer Olympics 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, who is considered one of the greatest players of all times of his country. In 1972, Rosenthal joined the then reigning German champions Borussia Mönchengladbach, 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 matches, scoring one goal, and a number of UEFA Cup matches. By the end of the season the club ended the league as…