"We learned that if a check is written in red pen, it will return from the bank, blue pen - it will be honored"
The secret pen of the Maccabi Tel Aviv treasurer, the joint Bar Mitzvah with Giora Spiegel, and the referee who admitted in Yiddish that he invented a penalty at the YMCA stadium to look big in front of Beitar fans. An interview with Michael 'Mackey' Gershovich.
Michael 'Mackey' Gershovich was one of the prominent players in the golden age of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the sixties, and during the seven years he played in the center of the defense for the yellow team, he won no less than nine titles. In the interview, he tells about the stars he played alongside, the experiences from the world of football, and the explanation for his excellent nickname.
Your roots?
"Father Haim, seventh generation in Israel, mother Batya immigrated to Eretz Israel from Bucharest, Romania. We lived at first on Rashi Street and moved when I was 10 to Tsirlson Street in north Tel Aviv. I studied in elementary school at Bilu Rothschild and in high school at ORT Yad Singalovski, which I did not finish due to football at Maccabi Tel Aviv. We are three brothers in the family, and I am number two. I was born on July 30, 1947".
Your football beginnings?
"As a teenager, I was at a friendly match of the Yugoslavia national team against the Israel national team. The Yugoslav goalkeeper was Soskic, one of the greatest goalkeepers in Europe, I asked to be a goalkeeper. I went to the Maccabiah field on the banks of the Yarkon and the senior player Nissim Bachar did juggling tests for dozens of children who came to be tested, I passed the test".
Meeting with coach Dov Malis?
"After a few training sessions, Malis decided that I would not continue as a goalkeeper and the suitable role for me would be a stopper, with pleasure".
Players you admired in your youth?
"I admired only one player above all, Gideon Tish - the great star of Hapoel Tel Aviv and the Israel national team".
Are you in the glorious youth team of Maccabi Tel Aviv?
"The great Maccabi Shimon, a star team of the club with names like Giora Spiegel, David Levy (who played with glasses), Miko Belo, Uri Kadmi and Tzvika Rosen".
Who promoted you to the seniors?
"Jerry Beit haLevi promoted me at age 16 to the senior team, the nickname in the media was 'Jerry's babies'".
One of those babies was Giora Spiegel?
"There is no player and personality in our football today like Giora. A role model, he did the maximum with minimum effort".
Your Bar Mitzvah and Spiegel's?
"Giora Spiegel was born three days before, we celebrated the Aliyah to the Torah together at the synagogue on Ben Zion Boulevard".
Youth national team at the Asian Championship?
"The youth national team under Emmanuel Scheffer in Bangkok, Thailand with names like Lefardon, Spiegel, Belo, Rosen, Gershgorin, Natan Hirsch and more. A great experience".
South Korea's military regime?
"We were together in the same hotel in Bangkok with the South Korea national team. They were under a military regime in the hotel, we went out for shopping and entertainment. In conversations with them, they did not understand how we were allowed".
Seder night in Bangkok with American army officers?
"The Israeli embassy in Thailand organized a magnificent Passover Seder for the youth national team. Dozens of Jewish officers of the American army were also invited and I read the Haggadah in an orderly manner because I studied in a religious state school, an unforgettable event".
The Holy Grail of 1965?
"We met Bnei Yehuda at Bloomfield, the neighborhood players were at their peak, they dominated the field and found our goalkeeper Haim Levin at his peak. For some reason, Rosen and Spiegel did not play for Maccabi. I played as a stopper alongside Shaul Matania, the latter from the generation of the early 50s. Asis set 0:1 for Maccabi, Emmanuel Tasa equalized and the game went to overtime. The then Foreign Minister Abba Eban was supposed to award the cup, it was explained to him that if there was no decision at the end of 120 minutes, he would arrive again a week later. Penalties were not known then as a decision. In the 112th minute, a huge breakthrough by Rafi Barness, who like Tasa also passed away this summer, which set 1:2 for Maccabi Tel Aviv and my run with the cup around the field".
How did the nickname Mackey stick to you?
"In 1965 we played against the great Tottenham with Jimmy Greaves and Dave Mackay, probably the greatest midfielder on the British Isles, at least then. At the end of the game where we lost 3:2, Jerry said in the locker room that I played excellently like Mackay, the nickname stuck to me to this day".
1966 World Cup?
"Maccabi Tel Aviv went to England to watch the 1966 World Cup matches, the only title of the English to this day. We were at the English training camp and watched games. I was 19 and it was exciting".
Cup at the expense of Hapoel Tel Aviv?
"In November 1967, the Cup final, a derby against the reds. It was a huge game, Bloomfield was packed with fans. Kadmi set 0:1 for us, Borba equalized, but Talbi with a sweeping breakthrough brought the cup with 1:2. I played as a stopper alongside Karko. In the Champion of Champions a few months later we beat Bnei Yehuda 1:2 and Rosen played with me in the lineup".
The double season 1966/68, the championship is yellow?
"Wow, a season of 60 games in a huge struggle against the great Hapoel Petah Tikva of Nahum Stelmach. We preceded them by 3 points, Spiegel scored 26 goals, my contribution - a single goal".
The unforgettable championship of 1969/1970?
"The championship with Spiegel's 0:5 concert in the derby at the rainy Bloomfield. I sat on the bench, a result that will not be forgotten. I played in the Champion of Champions, where we lost 2:1 to Hapoel Tel Aviv".
Your military service?
"The period was the peak of interest in the IDF championship, most generals did not like that the Armored Corps took the most prominent ones, it was decided that all the command champions would choose the famous names, put them in a hat and take out the names. Ezer Weizman, the Air Force commander, took out my name. I was sent to an instructor course at Wingate, I gave sports lessons to the squadron personnel in the pool of the Avia Hotel and more, a service that allowed me regular training and games".
Salary at Maccabi Tel Aviv?
"Little money, a little more than 100 liras a month and victory bonuses. Later I managed to buy an apartment because the prices then allowed buying a beautiful apartment cheaply".
The secret pen of the treasurer Bernard Chwost?
"We would receive a check once a month. We learned that if the check is written in red pen, it will return from the bank, blue pen - the check will be honored".
The story of the referee Handwerg against Beitar Jerusalem?
"Referee Handwerg was one of the best and most colorful referees in football. We played at the YMCA against Beitar, we led 1:3 and he whistled for a Jerusalem penalty that never existed. He explained in Yiddish that we should move away from him, because it doesn't matter if it's 1:3 or 2:3, because afterwards he will whistle for the end and they won't be able to equalize, and they will make him big among the fans at the YMCA, and so it was".
Who from your time would play today in the first lineup of the current Maccabi?
"There is no doubt that Haim Levin, Belo, Rosen, Spiegel and Shalom Shikva. Such names and players would be perfect for the lineup".
Avile Cohen?
"I remember Avile Cohen as a child training at the Maccabiah after us, with the legendary coach Yehuda Livni. Avile was a huge libero".
When do you leave Maccabi Tel Aviv?
"Maccabi Tel Aviv won the Asian Club Championship under Yosele Mirmovich, in the huge victory over the South Korean champion in overtime from a historic goal by Bar Nur, a game in 40 degrees heat and one hundred percent humidity. The head of the delegation was Kerner from Beitar Tel Aviv who managed to bring me to his team. Just as I replaced David Karko as a stopper, I was replaced alongside Rosen by the excellent young Roni Luria".
What kind of Beitar Tel Aviv was it then?
"The team trained then at the Abu Kabir field opposite the prison, there were excellent players like Topolanski, Avraham Lev, Zweig, Moshe Tsvi. I became the captain of Beitar Tel Aviv".
You retire from Beitar Tel Aviv and become a senior board member?
"Beitar Tel Aviv was relegated and I decided that I would not play in the second league. The owner Ganish let me bring the great midfielder Nissim Cohen from Maccabi Petah Tikva for 90 thousand dollars, a huge and enormous sum then, really a fortune".
Your family situation?
"I met my late wife Esther who passed away a year ago at the bowling games in Tel Aviv. We have three daughters and six grandchildren. One of the daughters, Halit Gonen (my surname changed to Gonen) was the captain of the women's national football team. And the grandson Eli Barness Gonen plays in the children's team of Beitar Jerusalem".
You insure Maccabi Tel Aviv?
"True, for 12 years I have been managing the insurance portfolio of the team where I grew up".
