International association football match
Football match
The 1940
association football
match between the national teams of
Mandatory Palestine
and
Lebanon
was the latter's first official international match, and the former's last before they became the
Israel national team
after 1948. The match took place on 27 April 1940 at the
Maccabiah Stadium
in
Tel Aviv
. Officiated by
John Blackwell
of the
British Army
, the game was watched by 10,000 spectators and ended in a 5?1 victory for the home side.
Mandatory Palestine scored in the second minute of the game, doubling their lead 10 minutes later with a
penalty kick
. Two more goals by the home side meant the first half ended 4?0. Mandatory Palestine's forced substitution at half-time due to injury hampered their control of the game and in the fifth minute of the second half, Lebanese forward
Camille Cordahi
scored to become Lebanon's first official international goalscorer.
Werner Kaspi
scored his second goal of the game in the 60th minute, with the match ending 5?1.
Lebanon's next official games were all
friendlies
against
Syria
, one in 1942 and two in 1947. In 1948 the Mandatory Palestine national team formally became the Israel national team, with the
establishment of the State of Israel
. They played their next official game in a friendly against
Cyprus
in 1949. Out of Lebanon's 11 players, six went on to play at least one more international game.
Shalom Shalomzon
was the only Mandatory Palestine player to make another international appearance.
Background
[
edit
]
During the 1930s,
Lebanon
was a regular destination for
friendly
tours by
football
clubs in
Mandatory Palestine
.
[1]
Teams such as
Maccabi Tel Aviv
,
Maccabi Petah Tikva
, and
Maccabi Haifa
regularly played teams from
Beirut
,
Tyre
, and
Sidon
.
[1]
At the end of 1939,
Lebanese Football Association
(LFA) chairman Jamil Sawaya visited family in
Jerusalem
and
Jaffa
.
[2]
Sawaya had friendly relations with several presidents of Palestinian football clubs, especially with the president of the
Palestine Football Association
(PFA).
[2]
During his visit to Jerusalem, Sawaya met with the PFA president where they arranged a friendly match between the national teams of Lebanon and Mandatory Palestine in
Tel Aviv
.
[2]
Plans were announced in late March 1940 for a four-team football tournament with the national teams of Mandatory Palestine and Lebanon, and teams from the
British Army
in Palestine and the
French Army
in Lebanon.
[3]
However, with the two armies put on alert in mid-April in anticipation of the
Battle of France
, the tournament was called off and only the match between Mandatory Palestine and Lebanon went ahead.
[4]
The game was set for 27 April 1940 at the
Maccabiah Stadium
, located on the banks of the
Yarkon River
estuary in Tel Aviv.
[2]
On the eve of the game, the Mandatory Palestine players, mostly
Jewish
,
were invited to tea and cake at a cafe on
Rothschild Boulevard
.
[1]
[2]
They were told that each player had to go to the locker room at the stadium on their own.
[1]
[2]
The players did not train for the game and, in the small dressing room, 14 received the light-blue-and-white kit.
[2]
Arthur Baar
, an Austrian football coach, was in charge of selecting the Mandatory Palestine team, sending out the call-ups to the players.
[2]
Baar became the
de facto
coach as
Egon Pollak
, the team's coach at that point, was spending time in Australia.
[2]
On the day of the match, Baar invited
Armin Weiss
, Maccabi Tel Aviv's coach, to serve as the acting coach of the game.
[2]
Weiss accepted the task, giving the Palestinian players a pre-match talk, and instructing them from the sidelines during the match.
[2]
Match
[
edit
]
The match was Lebanon's first official international game, and proved to be Mandatory Palestine's last.
Mandatory Palestine had previously played and lost four official games, all
FIFA World Cup qualifiers
(two in
1934
and two in
1938
).
[7]
Lebanon, on the other hand, had only played a few unofficial games prior, against clubs from Romania (
CA Timi?oara
and
Unirea Tricolor Bucure?ti
) and Austria (
Admira Vienna
).
[8]
[9]
The stadium was decorated with the flags of both nations, and around 10,000 spectators came to watch, many of whom were British.
[1]
[2]
The referee was
John Blackwell
of the British Army.
[2]
[10]
Summary
[
edit
]
In the first half, Mandatory Palestine played against the wind.
[11]
In the second minute of the game, Mandatory Palestine right winger
Herbert Meitner
scored against Lebanese goalkeeper
Nazem Sayad
.
[12]
This was followed by a
penalty kick
by
Avraham Schneiderovitz
in the 11th minute, doubling the advantage for the home side.
[12]
Although the Lebanese team began to respond offensively, they failed to score against goalkeeper
Binyamin Mizrahi
,
who made several saves.
[13]
Mizrahi was especially cheered by the crowd for his two saves in the 18th and 23rd minute.
[13]
Mandatory Palestine regained control of the game later in the first half and in the 31st minute
Gaul Machlis
scored Mandatory Palestine's third goal.
[12]
He was assisted from the left wing and ran around the defence to score into an empty goal.
[10]
In the 40th minute
Werner Kaspi
, the Mandatory Palestine
captain
, scored a solo effort, with the first half ending 4?0.
[12]
Mizrahi saved eight shots from Lebanon in the first half, several drawing "wonder from the crowd", whereas goalkeeper Sayad was described as having "had much work".
[13]
The second half was more balanced;
Lebanon played against the wind.
[11]
Mandatory Palestine centre-half
Zvi Fuchs
was replaced at halftime by left-back
Lonia Dvorin
following an injury, and left-back
Yaacov Breir
moved up to centre-half.
[12]
The change hindered Mandatory Palestine's control of the game.
Lebanese forward
Camille Cordahi
scored against Mizrahi in the 50th minute,
[12]
with
Muhieddine Jaroudi
providing the assist;
[10]
Cordahi was Lebanon's first official international goalscorer.
[14]
[15]
A few moments after the goal, Jaroudi crossed the ball to the center, with Mizrahi getting low and comfortably collecting the ball.
[11]
Lebanon tried to attack twice more, before the offensive momentum passed to Palestine.
[13]
In the 60th minute Kaspi scored his second goal of the game.
[12]
After the goal, the Lebanese coach asked Mandatory Palestine coach Arthur Baar to
go easy
.
Baar later stated that the Lebanese coach had sought to maintain good
relations between the two countries
, and asked not to defeat them in a harsh manner.
[1]
The home side began to pass the ball back and forth,
and won by a final score of 5?1.
[12]
The match was Lebanon's first international, and their first defeat.
[15]
Mandatory Palestine's win was their first (and only) in a match before they became the Israel national team after 1948.
Details
[
edit
]
Post-match
[
edit
]
The Palestine Post
described the match as "rather one-sided" and stated it had not lived up to expectations, with the home side both physically and technically superior.
[10]
In general, it wrote, the Mandatory Palestine team played efficiently throughout the whole game;
[10]
exceptions being the two full-backs (Shalomzon and Dvorin), who were not deemed up to par in the second half.
[10]
Despite the scoreline, Mandatory Palestine goalkeeper Mizrahi had been kept busy.
[10]
With his two goals, captain Werner Kaspi became the first player of the
Israel national team
(Mandatory Palestine's successor) to score a
brace
.
[2]
Following the game, commentators expressed surprise regarding coach Arthur Baar's decision to exclude
Peri Neufeld
from the match, given that he was one of "Palestine's most prominent players at the time".
[2]
Although the Palestinian forwards scored five goals between them, Lebanese goalkeeper Sayad made many saves, several "brilliantly", and played very well; "[t]he goals that did get past him would have beaten any custodian", the
Post
wrote.
[10]
HaBoker
added: "The Lebanese goalkeeper doesn't bear any responsibility for the five goals and he's not to blame for them".
[17]
Lebanon's front line was their "weakest link", the
Post
continued, with centre-forward Cordahi and outside-right Jaroudi being the only two "up to international standard".
[10]
Although Lebanon's midfield was not "very effective", their back line played particularly well, especially
Yeghishe Darian
at right-back.
[10]
After the game, Palestinian fans enthusiastically waited outside the locker room to greet the players.
[1]
[2]
The last two players to come out of the stadium were Dvorin, who supported his injured teammate Fuchs.
[1]
[2]
Both walked to the
Hadassah Hospital
for Fuchs to receive treatment.
[1]
[2]
The two coaches agreed for another friendly match, to be held in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1941.
[2]
However, the match never came to fruition.
[2]
Lebanon's next official matches were all friendlies against
Syria
?one in 1942 and two in 1947?losing all three games.
[18]
Israel did not play their first official match under their new identity until 1949, in a friendly against
Cyprus
, although they played an unofficial match against the
United States Olympic team
in 1948.
[19]
Regarding Palestine's 12 players involved, the match was the only appearance for eight (Mizrahi, Breir, Fuchs, Meitner,
Erlich
, Kaspi, Schneiderovitz, Dvorin), and the last cap for three (
Friedmann
,
Reich
, Machlis).
[20]
Shalomzon, who debuted in the game,
[20]
would become the only player of the match to go on to make an appearance for the Israel national team?albeit unofficial?playing in the 1948 friendly against the United States.
[21]
As for the two unused substitutes, Neufeld's only two international caps were in the
1938 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
, where he scored once, whereas Asi Asher would ultimately never be capped at international level, neither for Mandatory Palestine nor for Israel.
[20]
The game was the only cap for five of Lebanon's eleven players (Sayad,
Guiragos
,
Barbir
,
Nercesse
,
Ourfalian
).
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
Three players went on to play another game against Syria:
Sakr
and
Falah
on 19 April 1942,
[27]
[28]
and Darian on 4 May 1947.
[29]
The remaining three players played two more friendlies, all against Syria: Cordahi on 19 April 1942 and 4 May 1947,
[30]
Jaroudi on 19 April 1942 and 18 May 1947,
[31]
and
Ajemian
on 4 May 1947 and 18 May 1947.
[32]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Goldberg, Asher (11 October 2003).
"??????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ??????? ????, ???? ??? ????????"
[The players were given a telegram to present themselves with their football boots, at a cafe in Rothschild].
Haaretz
(in Hebrew)
. Retrieved
24 March
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
Goldberg, Asher (15 March 2012).
"????? ????? ???-????"
[Lebanon team in Tel Aviv] (in Hebrew).
Israel Football Association
. Retrieved
24 March
2020
.
- ^
"????? ???????? ???????? ???????? ??? ?????"
[An International Sport Event With the Participation of Eretz Israel].
Haaretz
(in Hebrew). Jerusalem. 31 March 1940
. Retrieved
26 March
2020
.
- ^
"????? ???? ????? ????? ???????"
[Lebanon and Eretz Israel Will Compete in Football].
Davar
(in Hebrew). Tel Aviv. 14 April 1940
. Retrieved
26 March
2020
.
- ^
Cazal, Jean-Michel; Bleicher, Yaniv.
"British Mandate of Palestine Official Games 1934?1948"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
7 April
2020
.
- ^
Mubarak, Hassanin; Morrison, Neil.
"Lebanon ? International Results ? Early History"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
20 April
2020
.
- ^
Sakr, Ali Hamidi (1992).
?????? ??? ????? ????????? 1991?1992
[
1991?1992 Lebanese Football Encyclopedia
]
(PDF)
(in Arabic). Nofal Distribution Corporation.
ISBN
9780000281241
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"Lebanon outclassed by Palestine selected"
.
The Palestine Post
. 30 April 1940
. Retrieved
25 March
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
???-????? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? 5:1 (4:0)
[Eretz Israel Beat Lebanon in Football 5:1 (4:0)].
Haaretz
(in Hebrew). 30 April 1940. p. 5.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Cazal, Jean-Michel; Bleicher, Yaniv.
"British Mandate of Palestine ? Lebanon 5?1"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
22 March
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"???????? ???? ?? ??????"
[Eretz Israel Beat Lebanon].
HaMashkif
(in Hebrew). 28 April 1940. p. 6.
- ^
Nehme, Ale (27 April 2020).
"The Cedars' first game"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
10 August
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Courtney, Barrie.
"Lebanon ? List of International Matches"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
22 March
2020
.
- ^
"????? ? ??? ?????"
[Lebanon ? Eretz Israel].
Haaretz
(in Hebrew). 26 April 1940
. Retrieved
26 March
2020
.
- ^
??? ????? ? ????? 1:5 (0:4)
[Eretz Israel ? Lebanon 5:1 (4:0)].
HaBoker
(in Hebrew). 28 April 1940
. Retrieved
28 August
2020
.
- ^
"Lebanon National Team Results ? Men Official (Total)"
. Archived from
the original
on 8 May 2021
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
Cazal, Jean-Michel; Bleicher, Yaniv.
"Israel National Team ? List of Official Games"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
20 April
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Cazal, Jean-Michel; Bleicher, Yaniv.
"Israel National Team ? Appearances and Goalscoring"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
20 April
2020
.
- ^
Cazal, Jean-Michel; Bleicher, Yaniv.
"USA Olympic ? Israel 3?1"
.
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
. Retrieved
20 April
2020
.
- ^
"Nazem Sayad"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Guiragos"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Toufic Barbir"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Nercesse"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Oksen Ourfalian"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Antoine Sakr"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Salah Falah"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Yeghishe Darian"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Camille Cordahi"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Muhieddine Jaroudi"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
- ^
"Jerard Ajemian"
.
FA Lebanon
. Retrieved
8 April
2021
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
This audio file
was created from a revision of this article dated 19 September 2022
(
2022-09-19
)
, and does not reflect subsequent edits.
|
---|
|
Venues
| |
---|
Records and statistics
| |
---|
Players
| |
---|
Goals
| |
---|
Results
| |
---|
AFC Asian Cup
| |
---|
Other tournaments
| |
---|
Notable matches
| |
---|
Other LFA teams
| |
---|
|