Zvi Rosen

Zvi Rosen was born in 1947 in Cologne

Zvi Rosen was born in Cologne, Germany, on 23 June 1947. His parents were survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto. The family moved to Israel when he was a baby, first to Bat Galim in Haifa and soon after to Jaffa.

Rosen played as a defender for Maccabi Tel Aviv from 1965 to 1977, winning league titles, State Cups and the Asian club championship. He played 42 official games for Israel, including the 1968 Olympics and the 1970 World Cup. In January 1975 he was suspended from the national team after being caught smuggling goods without paying customs.

Near the end of his playing career he joined Hapoel Yehud as player and coach and won the State Cup in 1982. He then coached Hapoel Tel Aviv and won the State Cup in his first season. He later coached several other clubs, including Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

On 17 May 2005 he became chairman of the Israel Football Association's referees' union, a post he held until 2007. He married Malka during his military service, and the couple lives in Tel Aviv with 3 children. His grandson is footballer Shahar Rosen.