IN 1970, West Ham United’s manager, Ron Greenwood, a student of the global game, returned from Mexico with what he thought was a trump card. He was interested in signing  Israel’s captain and star player, Mordechai Spiegler. His fascination with overseas talent preceded the late-1970s trend, which gained fresh legs through Tottenham’s audacious acquisition of Ardiles and Villa, by some eight years. But 1970 was a different time. Israel was a subject that didn’t sit comfortably with a lot of people and Britain was still a rather insular place. Spiegler was stymied by red tape and for a mature player with limited mileage remaining in his career, there were just too many hurdles. Spiegler had been highlighted as one to watch in the Mexico…