Rafi Levi (; 22 February 1938 – 25 February 2021Rafi Levi , Nostalgia Online) was an Israeli footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career in Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Football career Rafi Levi won the Season Top Scorer award twice. First in the 1957–58 season with 19 goals and the second time around during the 1959–60 season with 15 goals. He also was among the top players leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to two championships and in the 1955–56 and 1957–58 seasons, and two Israeli State Cups (1958 and 1959). Later he played in Australia and South Africa, and retired from football in 1972.
Levi made 17 appearances in Israel national team. His most celebrated international performance came on 10 April 1960 in Belgrade, when Israel faced Yugoslavia in the 1960 Summer Olympics European qualifying group. Playing before a crowd of 35,000 at the Partizan Stadium, Levi scored both of Israel's goals in the 2nd and 67th minutes, securing a 2–1 victory. Yugoslavia, who won the group on goal difference despite finishing level on points with Israel, went on to win the Olympic gold medal at the Rome Games that summer. Israel finished second in the group and did not qualify for the Olympics. The result nonetheless stood as one of the most celebrated performances in Israeli football history. One of the best games was the victory over the Yugoslavia in the 1960 Summer Olympics qualification. In the game Levi scored two goals and was considered one of the heroes (along with the Israeli goalkeeper Ya'akov Hodorov). This victory, one of the most surprising in the history of Israeli football, caused a great wave of elation among Israeli sports fans.
Honours Israeli Championship: 1955–56, 1957–58 State Cup: 1955, 1958, 1959 National South African Championship: 1960, 1964, 1966, 1968 South African Cup: 1965, 1966, 1967 New South Wales Federation Championship: 1961, 1962 New South Wales Federation Cup: 1961, 1963
See also Sports in Israel
References