Nahum Stelmach ( he, נחום סטלמך; – ) was an Israeli footballer and manager.

Biography

Stelmach was born in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

(now

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

), to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He was chosen third by ''

Yediot Aharonot ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

s greatest Israeli footballers. He made a name for himself as the leader of

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

. At the height of his career in Hapoel Petah Tikva, Stelmach received offers to sign for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and Fenerbahçe but declined due to his loyalty to the team. He led his team to five national championships, four of them consecutive. His most recognizable attribute was the quality of his headers, with which he scored most of his international goals. As a result, he was commonly nicknamed "the golden head" in Israel. He scored what was arguably his most famous goal for the Israeli national football team in an Olympic qualifier against

The USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

, with

Lev Yashin Lev Ivanovich Yashin (russian: Лев Иванович Яшин; 22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990), nicknamed the "Black Spider" or the "Black Panther", was a Soviet professional footballer regarded by many as the greatest goalkeeper in the hi ...

as goalkeeper at the

Ramat Gan Stadium Ramat Gan Stadium ( he, אצטדיון רמת גן, ''Itztadion Ramat Gan'') is a football stadium in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. It served as the national stadium of Israel until 2014. Overview Completed in 1951 and serving ...

on 1956. Despite the fact that Israel lost the game 2:1 (his goal was a temporary equalizer), and that the game was not televised, that goal is widely considered a defining moment in the history of Israel's national team's early years.

Coach

He was the trainer of

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

in the 1970s, while training the international stars

Yochanan Vollach Yochanan Vollach ( he, יוחנן וולך, also Jochanan Wallach or Yohanan Wallach, born May 14, 1945) is an Israeli former footballer. He was a member of the Israeli national team that competed at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. He is a member of th ...

and Itzhak Englander.

Honors

National league The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(1st tier) (6): ** 1954–55, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63 *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

(1): **1956–57

References

1936 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Israeli Jews Jewish footballers Israeli footballers Israel international footballers 1956 AFC Asian Cup players 1960 AFC Asian Cup players 1964 AFC Asian Cup players Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. players Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. players Hapoel Herzliya F.C. players Footballers from Petah Tikva Hapoel Haifa F.C. managers Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. managers Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. managers Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. managers Beitar Jerusalem F.C. managers Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. managers Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam F.C. managers Hapoel Hadera F.C. managers Maccabi Ramat Amidar F.C. managers Footballers at the 1958 Asian Games Association football forwards Asian Games competitors for Israel Israeli football managers Association football player-managers Israel national football team managers {{Israel-footy-bio-stub