He was left-footed, and began his playing career with
Maccabi Haifa in the city in which he was born in his native
Israel, winning two Israeli league titles., and a trial at
Luton Town which saw him score twice in three games, Rosenthal joined English side
Liverpool on loan in March 1990, as manager
Kenny Dalglish looked to increase his options for the forward positions during Liverpool's league title run-in. He made his debut for the Reds in a 3-2 win over
Southampton at
Anfield on 31 March 1990, scoring his first goal for the club eleven days later in a 4-0 away win over
Charlton Athletic at
Selhurst Park. He scored seven goals in eight
Football League First Division games, including a hat-trick against
Charlton Athletic, which helped Liverpool secure their third league title in five seasons. His move to
Anfield was then made permanent for a fee of £1 million - double the fee which had been quoted before the loan deal was agreed. At Anfield, he became a cult hero. During the
1990–91 season, Rosenthal faced continued fierce competition for a place in the first team from Liverpool's established strikers
Ian Rush and
Peter Beardsley, and then from mid-season signing
David Speedie. He played 16 times in the league, and scored five goals as Liverpool finished second in the league. In
1991–92, Rosenthal played 20 times in the league, but it was a frustrating league campaign for both player and club, as the Reds finished sixth in the league and Rosenthal only found the net three times. Liverpool did win the
FA Cup that season, but Rosenthal was not selected for the final. Despite the pre-season departure of both Speedie and Beardsley, Rosenthal was now faced with competition for a place from new signing
Dean Saunders.
1992–93 was slightly better, as Rosenthal played 27 games in the new
Premier League, and scored six goals, but it was another frustrating season for Liverpool, who finished sixth in the league once again and spent most of the season occupying even lower positions. Saunders had been sold to
Aston Villa early in the season, while new signing
Paul Stewart proved to be a major disappointment. A memorable occasion during that first Premier League season came when Rosenthal hit the crossbar with a shot on an open goal in a league match against Aston Villa. With the arrival of
Nigel Clough in the summer of 1993, and the breakthrough of
Robbie Fowler soon after, Rosenthal played just three league games for Liverpool in
1993–94 and was sold to
Tottenham Hotspur in January 1994. He then dropped down two divisions to sign for
Watford, and played 30 games over the next seasons and scored eight goals as Watford won back-to-back promotions to reach the
FA Premier League. He then retired from playing at the age of 35. == International career ==