Feiwel Bar

Born in Germany in 1948, Feiwel Bar immigrated to Israel one year later, where he joined the youth team at the Maccabi Netanya football club. Bar made his senior début for the side in 1965, when he was just 15-years-old, playing for them for 13 seasons until 1978. After winning the league title in both 1971 and 1974, he then did the league and cup double in the 1977–78 season, before finishing his domestic career with Hapoel Ramat Gan.

From 1968 to 1972 Bar also played in 34 matches for the Israel national football team. After making his international début in a friendly against Northern Ireland in September 1968, he then played in two friendlies against the United States. One month later he was part of Israel’s squad for the football tournament at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Their opening fixture was against Ghana, which turned into an ill-tempered affair in the second half, with a fight breaking out between the players, including two Ghanian players attacking the French referee. Israel then played El Salvador in their next match, with Bar scoring his only goal in his international career in their 3–1 victory. With two wins from three games, Israel advanced but were unlucky to be eliminated in the quarter-finals. Following a 1–1 draw after extra time with Bulgaria, lots were drawn to decide the winner, as had been the case in the 1960 Olympic semi-final, with Bulgaria advancing to the semi-finals.

One year later Bar played in several qualification matches for the 1970 FIFA World Cup, including both legs of the AFC and OFC final against Australia in December. Israel won the first leg 1–0, with the second leg ending in a 1–1 draw, resulting in Israel qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in their history. At the World Cup in Mexico, Bar came on as a second-half substitute in their opening fixture against Uruguay, with the South American side winning 2–0. Bar played in Israel’s two remaining group games, a 1–1 draw against Sweden and a 0–0 draw against Italy, with them finishing bottom of their group to be eliminated. Bar’s final international matches came in March and April 1972 as part of Israel’s qualification campaign for the München Olympics. Despite winning their group, however, they were eventually eliminated in the semi-finals of their qualification pathway.