On the field he used his hands and feet, outside of it he organizes hands and feet for those in need.
Yehuda Filosof/relation
"About a month and a half into the fighting in Gaza, when we already had wounded and amputated limbs, I took care of a young man who had a prosthesis fitted. He wanted to identify with the army's wounded and asked me to fit him a prosthesis with a special coating. He sent a picture with the pattern he wanted and it was done. Now he appears in the hospitals and encourages the heroes of the IDF fighters."
Former goalkeeper Yehuda Filosof was born on April 14, 1952. "Father Israel and mother Rachel came from Bulgaria, my grandfather on my father's side is from Thessaloniki and I love Greek music.
Father immigrated to the Land of Israel before the establishment of the state and has a British certificate of Palestine, mother arrived on a Ma'apilim ship.
They lived in Kfar Baruch, father was a good friend of Moshe Dayan Nehalel.
Later we moved to Haifa and a veterans' housing in Ramat Gan.
I studied elementary school in 'Nitzanim' and later in a tent there, where they told me that 'everything is fine, but in terms of studies not at our school'.
I moved to Ort Ramat Gan."
Today he is a prosthetics technician at the Y.D. Gefim company. "I am a graduate of Israel's four wars and have dealt with the issue of prosthetics for soldiers for many years.
Now, in the operation in Gaza against Hamas, I am taking care of three wounded fighters and another civilian who was injured in Kibbutz Ra'im inside the Mezur compound. The soldiers being treated and those I meet in the hospitals are heart-warming superheroes. The wounded are always in an uplifted mood, encouraging those around them and believing in the state Israel and in the ongoing operation in Gaza. I need a lot of psychology in rehabilitation and the patients with their willpower will return to their strength."
What about the patient citizen?
"The citizen from the north, he is in post-trauma, it is difficult for him to accept his new situation, his treatment continues."
The special prosthesis that Yehuda Filosof put together for a soldier/courtesy of the photographer
Assembling a prosthesis for the goalkeeper of the Soviet Union Lev Yashin.
"In the 1960s, we mostly knew Elvis Presley and the Beatles. I admired Lev Yashin, the greatest goalkeeper in the world, and also Pele. In 1989, a veteran team of the Russian national team came to Israel for a friendly match, the one that defeated Israel in 1956 (0:5 in Moscow) and 1:2 in Ramat Gan - A.G.) and Lev Yashin arrived with the delegation and met, among others, Khodorov, Stelmach, Koffman, Khaldi, Glazer, Marimovich and other legends of the past. Yashin's condition was bad, his leg was amputated due to various medical complications My friend Dr. Mark Rusnovsky offered to install a prosthesis for him. As a fan of Yashin, it was agreed that he would receive a free prosthesis from a limb company in Tel Hashomer."
And how was the meeting and the installation of the prosthesis?
"Yashin arrived, I looked at him admiringly, his palm was like a tennis racket. I asked to put my palm on his, it was huge. Each of Yashin's fingers was like two hot dogs. I helped fix his teeth as well, I passed him a pair of jeans Yes, but Yashin continued to smoke and drink and two years later he passed away, I was saddened by the fate of the legend. His meetings and conversations in Herzliya with Stelmach, Glazer and Khudorov still stand before my eyes."
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Lev Yashin arrives for treatment.
On the right is the journalist Asher Goldberg, on the left is the doctor of the national team Dr. Mark Rosnovsky/courtesy of Asher Goldberg
Football called him as a child.
"In the neighborhood in the club games I liked the role of the goalkeeper, the soccer field on which Beitar Ramat Gan played in the second league was then near Mount Napoleon in Shikon Vatikim, where I moved to the youth at the age of 14."
At Beitar Ramat Gan two people played with him who became famous in a slightly different field than football .
"Uzi Hitman, the great singer and composer, was a great talent in Kishore, but he preferred music instead of moving to the Tel Aviv Beitar.
Arnon Zadok, known from 'Behind the Bars', also played with us. My coaches were Yehoshua Wechsler and Moshe Haliva.
At the age of 16 and a half, I was transferred to the Tel Aviv Bethel along with Moshe Lerman and David Shemesh.
The team's goalkeeper was the excellent Shmuel David, he studied at the Technion, rarely practiced and I played a lot under Yosla Marimovich.
We moved up from A-South League to the top league, then the national league.
"The youth team participated in the Cannes tournament, I was the first goalkeeper, we beat Chelsea 0:1, with my tremendous game, it was impossible to subdue me in any situation, Moni Niño and Shraga Topolanski played before me. Towards the end I was injured and taken to a hospital, after two days I escaped treatment In my place, Avi Binyamin, who played in the historic victory over the Soviet Union 0:1, entered the goal. Chelsea wanted me, they contacted the chairman of the delegation Yitzhak Land, but then who knew what it was beyond England, I didn't know what to say like a fool and the topic fell through.
When we returned to Israel, we were invited to Foreign Minister Yigal Alon who spoke about the historic achievement against the Russians.
I was invited to the youth team and participated in two Asian championships with Schaffer and once with Schweitzer."
Moni Niño, give your angle.
"Philosopher was a very brave goalkeeper at that time, a fearless goalkeeper, who I think should have been a goalkeeper of big teams."
A brave goalkeeper.
Yehuda Filosof/Courtesy of Yehuda Filosof
At the same time as football, he started working at "Gefim": "Before the army I didn't do anything, I talked on the streets. The daughter of the CEO of the company who studied with me asked her father to take me to work in the company so that I wouldn't turn out to be a criminal.
That's how the romance with the prosthetics company began."
He arrived at the Tel Aviv Bethel, where he received a kind of protection.
"I wanted to play and not be a replacement goalkeeper for Shmuel David, who helped and supported me in training, he is a wonderful person and athlete. I approached the management and Miki Mandelblit. I was a friend of his daughter Fazit, and Marimovich also liked me and I got more games in the starting lineup."
A painful and sad story with Avi Benjamin.
"I was friends with him, an excellent goalkeeper who also played in Austria. Years later, his medical condition deteriorated, he had diabetes, his leg was amputated and a prosthesis was fitted. Benjamin had an accident and was hospitalized in Bat Yam. I visited him every day, in the last month of his life, I talked to him and it was my intention To make him a prosthesis for the other leg, but I didn't have time, he passed away. At the same time, I tried to arrange a tribute game for him between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Jaffa, it didn't work out in the end."
There was also a story with an actor named Sebag.
"Shmuelik Sebag played with me in Hapoel Netanya, an outstanding midfielder. I saw him in a wheelchair at Beit Levinstein, I recognized him, he remembered me and asked me to help him install a prosthesis through a special committee. We both cried uncontrollably at this meeting. I was worried that they would make him a prosthesis, but two years later He passed away."
What happened to David Schweitzer back from Bangkok?
He laughs: "We came back with the Asia Cup from Bangkok, and also with a lot of shopping in our suitcases. Schweitzer promised that we wouldn't be checked at customs, they know him and us. At customs they stopped us, stripped us and caused problems. David just disappeared from the scene."
A sad and painful story.
Filosof and Avi Binyamin (both in black, Philosof on the right) in the uniform of the youth team/courtesy of the photographer
A philosopher moved to Maccabi Netanya.
"I demanded to leave Beitar Tel Aviv, I moved to Maccabi Netanya, in a deal that came to Beitar Sharga Topolansky. I was the replacement of Miki Scheinfeld and after two years I redeemed my player's card, I moved to Hapoel Netanya under Amnon Raz."
Later we wandered between different groups.
"After Hapoel Netanya, I moved to Hapoel Jerusalem, from there I continued for one season in Hapoel Petah Tikva. I continued to Hapoel Hadera which was coached by the legendary Nahum Stelmach, I played in Hapoel for two years, then I continued to Hapoel Ramat Gan."
A story from the derby against the power.
"At the time, I was a fan of both teams, Hapoel Ramat Gan and Hakah, a game played at the Makhtesh field. Hakah's strikers Rafi Jarbi and Ziggy Mansour sought to annoy me with every corner and goalkeeper kick. On one occasion, catching a ball against Mansour, I broke my ribs. I turned around and saw him, I started choking him, I told him that I raised him and this is what he does to me. Mansour asked for forgiveness, but with the broken ribs I continued to play, and he continued to annoy me, a game in which we lost 1:0."
Later he moved to Hapoel Rishon Lezion, returned to Beitar Tel Aviv and went on to Beitar Netanya which was promoted to the National League.
At the age of 40 he decided to retire from football.
"Today I don't go, but I meet a lot with football friends from the past, starting with the youth teams and all the teams I played in. I connect the past with the present, time continues to run fast."
A brave goalkeeper.
Philosopher/Courtesy of the photographer
He is married plus 3, six grandchildren, including 11-year-old Ariel who excels at ping pong and next year will start playing regular soccer at a club in Hapoel Rishon Lezion.
He is very connected to religion: "30 years ago, I repented, following mysticism and Kabbalah. In the family it was not easy, the thought that I would be a 'healer', a rabbi with tassels. But we manage."
Did you get a lot of money from football?
"The contracts then were not high, I took care of a signing bonus and a salary that I knew not to waste. I managed because I had a good job."
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