Magic moments: 50-year-old Eyal Berkovich - the unforgettable games

Historic double, score 10, biggest cooking, celebration at Parc de France and two slaps to Manchester United.

Even before he became a TV star, Eyal Berkowitz was a football star of a different breed.

In honor of his 50th birthday, here's a taste of 10 huge games

Walla!

sport

02/04/2022

Saturday, 02 April 2022, 08:00

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Long before he became a TV star, Eyal Berkowitz was a football star.

Or rather: a football magician.

"The Magician".

In Israel he was a wizard of devotion like no other, and then it became clear that in Britain too the little demon is a world-class playmaker.

So he has a big mouth, he was involved in a lot of confrontations and disagreements, some hated him and there was one who even kicked him.

But everyone loved watching him play football.

In honor of his 50th birthday, here's a little reminder of some great moments of Berkowitz on the grass.

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The historic double

Two months after celebrating his 19th birthday, Eyal Berkowitz was already with a championship and a trophy.

He was one of the heroes of the Maccabi Haifa championship and then provided a small glimpse of how big he is going to be in the cup final against Hapoel Petah Tikva.

The boy Margba squeezed the famous red from Guy Gat already in the second minute, cooked for Moshe Eisenberg who completed the turnaround in the second half and then signed a fantastic evening with a goal in the 86th minute.

The only double in the history of Maccabi Haifa.

Managed to hypnotize from the first moment.

Eyal Berkowitz (Photo: Maccabi Haifa)

The famous 0: 5

With all due respect to the double, Maccabi Haifa's biggest season was 1993/94, when it played dizzying football on the way to the championship without a loss.

The game that entered the Pantheon was of course the 0: 5 against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the game of the season in February 1994. Berkowitz was the senior chef of the Greens, but in the opening of that game he chose to kick from 18 meters instead of handing over and arranged a quick 0: 1.

In the 22nd minute, Roni Levy snatched a ball that bounced off him, and Berkowitz stunned the Yellows' defense when he jumped over the ball instead of touching it.

This move left Alon Mizrahi free to set up 0: 2 and for Berkowitz it was "my biggest cooking".

Reuven Atar's unforgettable goal after being released from three players also started with a pass from Berkowitz, who also cooked later with a depth ball typical of Ivan Getzko.

The maestro of the Fifth Symphony.

Cup every two years.

Eyal Berkowitz in the derby (Photo: Berni Ardov)

He will always have Paris

At 21, Berkowitz was already a proven league star with big seasons on his resume, but on the team he was still waiting for his moment.

Before the flight to Paris in October 1993, he had only one goal in the national uniform and he too in a forgotten friendly match against Cyprus in Bat Yam.

But then came the miracle in the Parc de France.

Shlomo Sharaf sent the Maccabi Haifa midfielder to the field in the 64th minute in place of Avi Nemani, saw him get into things with some good dedication against the stars of France who fought for a ticket to the World Cup, and in the 82nd minute Roni Rosenthal Peretz, Ronen Harazi was stopped by Bernard Lama and Berkowitz deflected From the air to the net - a ball that went in together with the brake Marcel Desai.

Atar became the hero of the evening with the sensational victory goal in extra time, but it was the game that established Berkowitz as the leading car player in the team as well.

Princes in the Parc de France.

Reuven Atar and Eyal Berkowitz celebrate against France (Photo: Reuters)

Greetings to the President

The victory at the Parc de France arranged for the players of the team an invitation to the President's house, where Berkowitz invited Ezer Weizmann to his wedding.

The then president accepted the invitation and even preceded Berkowitz to his own event.

A year later, the contact did not want to delay the president once again and made sure there would be no unnecessary extension in the Cup final.

In front of former friends Atar and Tal Benin, and after the trauma of Beit She'an, Berkowitz took the Greens on his back on the way to a victory over Hapoel Haifa.

His kick was repelled and led to Ofer Sheetrit's first goal, and in the second half he sent a smart pass between two players to Moshe Glam who set up a 0: 2 derby at the Ramat Gan stadium and maintained a tradition of a Green Cup every two years.

This was Berkowitz's last degree in Israel.

Three years later, he was selected as Haifa's Jubilee player.

Left Alex Ferguson in shock.

Eyal Berkowitz after his debut goal in Southampton (Photo: GettyImages)

Made fun of United

The most famous game of Berkowitz as a legionnaire and perhaps the greatest of all of any Israeli footballer in Europe.

On 26 October 1996, in his third overall appearance in the Southampton uniform, "The Magician" pulled every possible rabbit out of his hat and stunned Alex Ferguson and the great Manchester United who then went on to win the championship.

Berkowitz subdued Peter Schmeichel in the sixth minute and celebrated his first goal in England, then cooked for Matthew La Tissier and also Agile Austenstad, and in the 83rd minute completed a pair with a great volley off the field.

Before being replaced by the applause of the fans at the "Del" stadium, the Israeli added more cooking to Austenstad in an unforgettable display.

John Hartson also enjoyed it then.

Eyal Berkowitz in a West Ham uniform (Photo: GettyImages)

Hot hammer

One season in the Saints uniform was enough for Berkowitz to advance to a better club.

Destination: London.

The Israeli was already closed at Tottenham, which is associated with the Jews, but was surprised when he actually signed with West Ham.

His wonderful two years in the hammer uniform began, of course, with a gate to the refused Tottenham net.

Already in his first home game, Berkowitz captured the hearts of fans at Upton Park when he misled Ramon Vega in the 70th minute, kicked to the right of the net and celebrated a debut goal in a 1: 2 victory in the derby.

This season ended with seven goals and 10 assists, in the second season he added 11 more assists (along with three conquests) and became the only one in the club's history with a double-digit number of assists in two different seasons.

John Hartson, who later kicked him to Glasgow, was the main beneficiary of the Israeli game's excellent game vision.

There are some Austrians who are still chasing him.

Eyal Berkowitz in 1999 (Photo: GettyImages)

Score 10

Like many good people who were before him and came after him, Berkowitz did not lead the team to a big tournament.

But he was signed to some rare moments of happiness provided by the team in blue and white (for example, the equalizer on the way to a makeover in the Parc de France in 1993) and culminated that evening at the Ramat Gan stadium, June 6, 1999. Berkowitz arrived for Austria after excellence in uniform West Ham and just shone on the lawn.

He hardened the first, squeezed an offense from which Haim Revivo scored the second with a free kick, scored the third and made everyone grab their head with admiration with the cooking to Njuan Grave that set a resounding 0: 5.

"You're the greatest player in the world," Eric Bendo praised him at the end, and Berkowitz replied without blinking, "I know."

The next day he became the first ever to receive a score of 10 in a game of the Israeli national team.

Green who flattered him less, but there were beautiful moments there too.

Eyal Berkowitz in Celtic uniform (Photo: GettyImages)

Memories of Glasgow

The move to Celtic for around £ 6 million did not go well with Berkowitz and for the green crowd in Glasgow his fate was decided as soon as he praised rival Rangers immediately after the signing, but fans in the country continued to watch every game and enjoyed mostly derby ability in November 1999. A goal from a hard angle between the goalkeeper's legs in the 21st minute and completed a pair and a makeover in the 42nd minute, which he celebrated with a rooster dance that angered Rangers fans. .

One of the goals of the season.

Eyal Berkowitz's volley to the Ipswich network in 2002 (Photo: GettyImages, Ross Kinnaird)

The volley in the cup

The desire to return to the Premier League motivated Berkowitz and he returned to England and helped Blackburn move up the league, but the Rovers did not buy him from Celtic and the one who jumped on the bargain was Kevin Keegan.

The legendary Englishman built an attractive team in Manchester City with the aim of returning to the Premier League, and Berkowitz was brought in as another playmaker alongside Ali Benarbia.

The cooperation between the Israeli and the Algerian in the 2001/02 season was great for the sub-league and City went up in style, and they were responsible for magic moments in the cup as well, including Barko Bola's goulash for the Ipswich network which was then the Premier League team.

Benarbia handed it to him from the corner and Barco bombed right from the air on the way to an impressive 1-4.

One of the goals of the season.

Also conquered Maine Road.

Eyal Berkowitz in Manchester City uniform (Photo: GettyImages)

The last derby in Maine Road

Along with City, Berkowitz returned to the Premier League and also returned to pursue Manchester United.

The Israeli led the show at home 1: 3 in November 2002, which was also the last derby at the Maine Road Stadium.

Berkowitz shared smart dedication, navigating the game and showing that even after the age of 30 he can turn any gray striker into a king.

This time in the role of Austenstad it was Sean Guater, who enjoyed a soft touch of Berkowitz from the air, set up 1: 3 and ran to silence the rival fans.

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