Shmuel Rosenthal

Rosenthal's connection to the game ran through his family before it ran through him. His father, Motla Rosenthal, had traveled to Mandatory Palestine in 1935 as a member of Lithuania's delegation to the Second Maccabiah Games.[1] Most of the family Motla left behind in Lithuania later perished in the Holocaust.[1]

Shmuel Rosenthal began playing organized football at the age of nine in Hapoel Petah Tikva's youth setup and joined the club's senior squad at seventeen.[1] There he played alongside Nahum Stelmach and other figures associated with the celebrated side that had won five consecutive championships.[1] It was a foundation that would eventually propel him toward the highest levels of Israeli football and, in time, toward Europe.

Rosenthal began his senior international career in 1965 and went on to accumulate a reported 43 appearances and two goals for Israel.[1][2] His international career spanned some of the most consequential moments in Israeli football history.

At the 1968 Asian Cup, Israel faced Iran in the decisive match in Tehran. Rosenthal later recalled the atmosphere as intensely hostile, with police surrounding the pitch and pointing rifles toward the crowd. Israel lost 2–1, and Rosenthal reflected on the outcome with dark humor: "Luckily, they beat us 2–1. Otherwise, I'm not sure we would have returned home alive."[1] Two years later, he was part of the Israeli squad that qualified for and competed at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico — a landmark achievement for the country.[2]

The experience of facing world-class opposition at that World Cup gave Rosenthal the confidence to pursue a European career. He later said: "I thought to myself that if we managed to stop Facchetti, Mazzola and other great stars from the Italian national team, then in potential we are no less good. In any case, I should try."[3] A February 1974 Yediot Ahronot report lists him among seventeen players called up by national-team coach David Schweitzer for a training session ahead of a planned match against Romania, suggesting his international involvement continued into 1974.[4]

The path to Germany was not straightforward. Hapoel Petah Tikva resisted releasing Rosenthal, resulting in a year-long international transfer holdout during which he trained with lower-division teams.[1] When the move finally went through, Rosenthal received 100,000 marks as a signing fee. His signing made him the first Israeli to secure a long-term professional contract with a leading European club.[1][3]

He joined an established and ambitious squad coached by Hannes Weisweiler, with teammates who included Günter Netzer, Rainer Bonhof, and Jupp Heynckes.[3] Rosenthal made an immediate impression, being named the outstanding player at a friendly tournament in Barcelona and later scoring against Hannover.[3] His father's reaction to the move carried the weight of family history: Motla Rosenthal told his son before the transfer, "My whole family was murdered in the Holocaust, but if it brings you a sporting achievement, I'm in favor."[3]

Rosenthal played in the early rounds of Mönchengladbach's 1972–73 UEFA Cup campaign but was not included in the squad for the final, in which Liverpool defeated the German side 3–2 on aggregate.[5] His run as a regular Bundesliga starter ended after a match against Bayern Munich, when he lost his place in the lineup.[3] Accounts differ on his appearance total: Maariv gives 13 league matches, while Ynet says he played 15 consecutive Bundesliga matches.[1][3] ONE lists 17 appearances for the club without specifying a competition breakdown.[2]

After leaving Germany, Rosenthal returned to Hapoel Petah Tikva before moving to Beitar Tel Aviv. In 1978–79 he spent a season with the Oakland Stompers in the American league.[2][3] He ended his playing days at Hapoel Lod, where he served as player-coach and helped the club earn promotion to the top division, retiring in 1983.[3]

A September 1972 Haaretz sports item also connects his name to a match involving Borussia Mönchengladbach in Hamburg, though the OCR rendering of that text is badly corrupted and his precise role cannot be reliably established from it.[6]

Rosenthal went on to work for the Israel Electric Corporation, retiring from that position at the age of sixty-seven.[1] He subsequently moved to the city of Arad with his partner Orna and took up volunteer coaching for children at the local football club.[1]

Rosenthal's significance in Israeli football rests less on the length of his Bundesliga career than on the precedent it established. His professional contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach opened a path that later generations of Israeli players would follow. Borussia marked his 75th birthday in 2022 with a tribute highlighting his pioneering role and the historical context of an Israeli joining a German club in the early 1970s.[2]

Ynet has likewise characterized his move as a breakthrough that changed attitudes in Israel toward releasing players for professional careers abroad.[3]

In 1997, Rosenthal was arrested and convicted under a plea agreement for attempting to smuggle cocaine from Mexico to Israel.[7] He received a thirteen-year prison sentence and was released after serving four years.[7] Sources differ on the quantity involved: a 2025 Ynet account reports thirteen kilograms, while a 2004 Ynet report gives twenty kilograms.[7][8]

Regarding his departure from Germany, Rosenthal linked his return to Israel not solely to footballing reasons but to security fears and threats following the 1972 Munich Olympics.[3] This explanation rests on his own account rather than independently verified documentation.