Yohai Aharoni (יוחאי אהרוני; born 8 June 1943) is an Israeli former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

player and coach who played as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He is best known for playing in Hapoel Mahane Yehuda and

Hapoel Petach 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 ...

in Israel's prime league. On the Israel national team, Aharoni contributed to Israel's only Asia Cup victory.

Club career

On 30 September 1967, Aharoni scored the first goal in Hapoel Mahane Yehuda's 5–2 defeat of

Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל רמת-גן גבעתיים, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim'') is an Israeli football club from Ramat Gan and Givatayim. They currently play in Liga Leumit, ...

in Israel's first tier of that era, the

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

. In January 1968,

pressured Mahane Yehuda, through the

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 ...

Worker's Council A workers' council or labor council is a form of political and economic organization in which a workplace or municipality is governed by a council made up of workers or their elected delegates. The workers within each council decide on what thei ...

of Israel's largest trade union, to trade Aharoni against three specific players of their own. Mahane Yehuda refused the offer and Aharoni went on quarantine so he could be released from his club. After the quarantine, in 1969–70, Aharoni had 18 caps for Hapoel Petach Tikva, 17 of which were in the opening squad. His Hapoel Petach Tikva debut was on 18 October 1969, in a 0–0 draw against

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 (1 ...

. In the summer of 1971, after a season at Beitar Tel Aviv, he quit his playing career due to an injury.

International career

Aharoni earned five caps for the Israel national team, scoring one goal against India in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. His first cap was on 26 May 1964 against the Hong Kong national team, a game that Israel won 1–0. His last cap was a friendly game against the Netherlands on 26 January 1965, ending in a 1–0 loss for Israel.

Managerial career

After his active playing career, Yohai Aharoni was a manager for Hapoel Mahane Yehuda, Hapoel Jaljulia, and Hapoel Aliyah Kfar Saba. He also coached in

Rosh Haayin Rosh HaAyin ( he, רֹאשׁ הָעַיִן, lit="fountainhead", , ar, روش هاعين) is a city in the Central District of Israel. To the west of Rosh HaAyin is the fortress of Antipatris and the source of the Yarkon River. To the southea ...

Legacy

In 2021 Aharoni was included in the Star Boulevard of Hapoel Mahane Yehuda, highlighting 12 footballers who starred for the club while it played in Israel's prime league.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aharoni, Yohai Living people 1943 births Israeli men's footballers Israeli football managers Men's association football wingers Israel men's international footballers 20th-century Israeli people Beitar Tel Aviv F.C. players Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. players Hapoel Mahane Yehuda F.C. players Hapoel Mahane Yehuda F.C. managers Place of birth missing (living people)