Roni Kalderon

Roni Kalderon was born in 1952 in Tel Aviv

Aharon "Roni" Kalderon was born on February 5, 1952, in the Shabazi neighborhood of Tel Aviv. He began playing in the youth team of Hapoel Tel Aviv. After talks with Shimshon Tel Aviv, his club barred him from training for half a year, and he was later suspended again for playing with a forged card.

During his suspension he moved with his family to San Francisco and played there. He turned down an offer from a team in Atlanta and returned to Israel to play for Hapoel and join the army. He joined the senior team during the 1968/1969 title race and won the championship that season.

He played mainly as a midfielder and was nicknamed "the Architect." He also had discipline problems, including a ban of one month for kicking an opponent. In September 1969 he and 3 other players were arrested on suspicion of trying to abduct a 15-year-old girl.

In the summer of 1970 he received an offer from Ajax and trained there under Rinus Michels, then trained with Feyenoord. He returned to Israel after half a year without playing for any team. Considered a deserter, he spent 35 days in military prison. He won the AFC Youth Championship in 1971 and the State Cup in 1972, and was later convicted of drug smuggling.