Mordechai Spiegler Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Mordechai Spiegler
Personal information
Spiegler in 1970
Date of birth	(1944-08-19) 19 August 1944 (age 80)
Place of birth	Asbest, Russian SFSR, USSR
Height	5 ft 10 in
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1957–1961	Maccabi Netanya
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1961–1972	Maccabi Netanya	301	(196)
1972–1973	RC Paris	39	(11)
1973–1974	Paris Saint-Germain	13	(10)
1974–1975	Maccabi Netanya	26	(5)
1975	New York Cosmos	17	(6)
1975–1978	Maccabi Netanya	61	(11)
1978–1979	Hapoel Haifa	20	(1)
1981–1982	Beitar Tel Aviv (player-manager)	15	(2)
Total		492	(252)
National team
1963–1977	Israel	83	(32)
Teams managed
1979	Maccabi Haifa
1979–1980	Hapoel Haifa
1980–1982	Beitar Tel Aviv
1982–1984	Maccabi Netanya
1984	Hapoel Tel Aviv
1985	Maccabi Jaffa
1990–1992	Maccabi Netanya
1994–1996	Tzafririm Holon
2013	Maccabi Netanya (general manager)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Mordechai "Motaleh" Spiegler (Hebrew: מרדכי "מוטל'ה" שפיגלר; born 19 August 1944) is a famous Israeli retired football player and manager. He was a great forward who scored many goals. He is second on Israel's all-time goal-scoring list, with 32 goals in 83 games for his country.

Early Life
Playing for Clubs
Playing for His Country
After Football
Awards and Trophies
- Player Honours
- Manager Honours
See also

Early Life

Mordechai Spiegler was born in Asbest, which was part of Soviet Russia at the time. He is Jewish. When he was a boy, his family moved to Netanya, Israel. This move is called Aliyah.

Playing for Clubs

Spiegler was a fantastic striker. He played for several football clubs. He spent a lot of his career with Maccabi Netanya in Israel.

He also played in France for teams like Paris Saint-Germain. A cool fact is that he played alongside the legendary Pelé for the New York Cosmos in the 1970s. This team was part of the North American Soccer League.

Spiegler was chosen as the best Israeli Player of the Year four times. This was a record! He won the award in 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, and 1970–71.

Playing for His Country

Israeli teammates (Spiegler in the middle) holding the 1964 AFC Asian Cup after beating South Korea in the final round

Mordechai Spiegler started playing for the Israeli national team on January 2, 1964. His first game was against Hong Kong. He helped Israel win the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. He scored two goals in that tournament, making him one of the top scorers.

One of his biggest achievements was helping Israel get into the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. This was a huge deal for Israeli football. He scored Israel's only goal ever in a World Cup game. It was a 1–1 draw against Sweden.

Spiegler scored 32 goals for the national team. This was the Israeli record for many years. Later, in 2021, another player named Eran Zahavi scored more goals. Spiegler also captained the Israel Olympic team in 1968. They reached the quarter-finals in Mexico City.

After Football

After he stopped playing, Spiegler continued to be involved in football. In 2003, he was named the best Israeli player of the past 50 years. This was part of the UEFA Jubilee Awards. He also works on the Education and Publicity Committee for the IFA.

In 2007, he received a special award for his lifetime contributions. This award was for his role in the 1970 FIFA World Cup with the Israeli national team.

Awards and Trophies

Mordechai Spiegler won many awards and trophies during his career.

Player Honours

Maccabi Netanya

Israeli Premier League: 1970–71, 1977–78
Israel State Cup: 1977–78
Israeli Supercup: 1971, 1978

Israel National Team

AFC Youth Championship: 1964
AFC Asian Cup: 1964

Individual Awards

Israeli Premier League top goalscorer: 1965–66, 1966–68, 1968–69
Israeli Player of the Year: 1965–66, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71
Member of the Israeli Football Hall of Fame

Manager Honours

Beitar Tel Aviv

Second Division: 1980–81