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Jerry Beit haLevi

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Israeli footballer and manager

Jerry Beit haLevi
Beit haLevi in 1939
Personal information
Full name Moshe Beit haLevi
Date of birth (1912-11-14)14 November 1912
Place of birth Łódź, Congress Poland
Date of death 3 February 1997(1997-02-03) (aged 84)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1927–1943 Maccabi Tel Aviv
International career
1938 Mandatory Palestine 1 (0)
Managerial career
1947–1952 Maccabi Tel Aviv
1952–1953 Hapoel Tel Aviv
1953–1958 Maccabi Tel Aviv
1953–1954 Israel
1958–1960 Maccabi Netanya
1957 Israel
1960–1961 Nigeria
1962–1964 Maccabi Tel Aviv
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Moshe "Jerry" Beit haLevi (Hebrew: ג'רי בית הלוי; 14 November 1912 – 3 February 1997) was an Israeli football player and manager.

Playing career

Jerry played on the field with his brother Avraham. In 1939, during a tour of Australia, Avraham decided to stay in the country and it was the last time that Jerry would see his brother who ended up dying in battle against Japanese forces in New Guinea.

Managerial career

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israel

After the retirement of Egon Pollack, Beit haLevi took over the reins of the club that made him famous as a player. He built a strong side that was arguably the strongest side in the country. Star players Eli Fuchs, Itzhak Schneor and Shiye Glazer and tough tactics helped Beit haLevi capture two league championships in 1951 and 1952 as well as a double in 1954. He left Maccabi for a brief stint at city rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv before bringing Maccabi another league title in 1956.

During his time with Maccabi, Beit haLevi served two terms as manager of the Israel national team. His bunker tactics led to the national team's style of play being referred to as "Jerry's bunker". After the 1956 season with Maccabi, Beit haLevi was fired, though he returned in the 1960s and is credited with the development of such national team stars such as Giora Spiegel. After retiring from coaching, he served as the chairman for the club.

Nigeria national team

In 1960, Jerry received an offer to coach the Nigerian national football team, which he accepted. In his first match against Ghana, Nigeria lost 3–0 in Lagos. The press called for Beit haLevi to be fired, but members of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) pushed back against the exceedingly harsh criticism from the press, and Jerry remained in his position.

In November, Jerry recorded his first achievement as Nigeria beat Egypt 2–1. In April 1961, the Israeli coach led the national team to two draws against Ghana. The positive relationship with sportswriters translated into positive coverage of Jerry in most of the Nigerian press from this time onward.

At the end of 1961, Nigeria played against Tunisia in qualifiers for the 1962 Africa Cup of Nations. The first of the two games took place in Lagos on 25 November, ending in a 2–1 victory for the Green Eagles. Sportswriter Bonar Ekanem from the West African Pilot attributed this win to Jerry: "Beit haLevi has done his job. For the first time since his arrival in this country as a coach, I hand him a bouquet of roses" (27 November 1961). He went even further in this praise a few days later: "Hail, Beit Halevi!...where we hitherto had wild and ‘bushman’ soccer, we have now thoroughbred and civilized exchanges with economic of energy and goal certainty" (29 November 1961). The second game was held in Tunisia on 10 December. Beit Halevi was not permitted by the Tunisians to come to the game due to the hostile relations between Israel and Tunisia.

All in all, Jerry led Nigeria to four wins, five draws, and three losses.

During this time he was also heavily involved in trying to exhume the body of his brother for burial in Israel, but was unsuccessful.

Footnotes

  1. Jerry Beit haLevi at WorldFootball.net
  2. Schler, Lynn; Dubinksy, Itamar (2020). "Green Eagle Nation: The Politicization of Sports Journalism in the Post-Independence Nigerian Press". African Studies Review. 63 (4): 16. doi:10.1017/asr.2020.3. ISSN 0002-0206.
  3. Schler and Dubinsky 2020, p.16
  4. Onwumechili, Chuka A. (2010). Chukastats 1: History, Records, and Statistics of Nigerian Football. Mechil Publishing. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-9843390-2-0. OCLC 1045486709.
  5. Asher Goldberg (23 June 2003). הישראלי הראשון שאימן נבחרת אפריקאית [Israel's first African team coached]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 24 August 2014.
Israel national football team – managers
= caretaker
Nigeria national football team – managers
Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. – managers
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