Apologies for all these recent soccer profiles, but it's World Cup time, so what are you gonna do? Discuss the strange case of Peter Lorimer...
Lorimer had a long an illustrious career that included over 500 games with the then-famed Leeds United club and two English titles. A Scotsman, he appeared for his country in the 1974 World Cup, and even scored a goal (against Zaire, but a goal is a goal). But as he was getting closer to the age of 40, opportunities had dried up.
Lorimer decided to go to Israel, where its nascent league could use a famous name. Unfortunately, in the 1980s, no international players were allowed...
So, Lorimer decided that the fastest way to become an Israeli is to become a Jew! He went to New York, converted, got circumcised, changed his name to Alon Ben Avraham, and used the Law of Return to go to Israel and play for Hapoel Haifa!
If this sounds far-fetched, it might just be. Even though Lorimer's supposed conversion and name change was reported at the time, he now denies it ever happened.
We told you it's a strange case! Maybe someone should check for that circumcision...