Uri Malmilian

During his illustrious career, Malmilian appeared in 49 international games and scored 13 goals for the Israeli National team. Israeli sports fans love to argue. You will often hear people say that Mordechay Spiegler was over-rated, Giora Shpigel was limited or that Eli Ohana was useless. On one player there is a consensus. To this day, in the produce markets of Israel, a salesman will say "every apple is a Malmilian," as an advertisement for his wares' perfection.

Birth and Death Dates:
unknown

Career Highlights:
Malmilian is a Jerusalem native who grew up across the street from Betar Jerusalem's old stadium in the YMCA. His talent was recognized early on. By the age of 18, he played for Betar's senior side, and his impact during his rookie year was evident; Betar won its first league title in history. They then won the 1975-76 State Cup and Malmilian scored the winning goal against heavily favored Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In 1979, Betar won the Cup again, and Malmilian was considered the best player in the club's history. The 1984-85 season saw another Cup win and then, in 1985-86, with the improvement of Eli Ohana, Betar moved from a great Cup team to genuine Israel League title challengers. That year, Malmilian led the league in goals with 14 as Betar won the Cup on an extra time Malmilian goal, and nearly won the league championship.

In 1986-87, Malmilian scored 15 goals and led Betar to its first, and only, national title. Two seasons later, Betar captured another State Cup on yet another Malmilian winner. Uri then left Betar to join Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1989-90, and though he did not replicate the success he achieved in Jerusalem, he led the league again with 16 goals during the season.

Upon his retirement from play, Uri became a sought after, though difficult, coach. He took struggling Hapoel Jerusalem and built an excellent infrastructure. He won promotion to the top league, but quit when the team's budget was not high enough for his liking. Malmilian turned down several coaching jobs before taking on Netanya, once a great dynasty team; he led them back into the top of Israeli soccer, but quit when they released Itzhik Zohar against his will.

Origin:
Jerusalem, Israel

Position:
Midfielder

Career Statistics:
159 goals in 465 games (fifth place on the all-time list)