Nahum Stelmach

Nahum Stelmach (Hebrew: נחום סטלמך‎; born in 1936, died in 1999) was an Israeli footballer and manager.^[4]

Stellmach (on left); 1959

Biography

He was chosen third by Yediot Aharonot's greatest Israeli footballers. He made a name for himself as the leader of Hapoel Petah Tikva. At the height of his career in Hapoel Petah Tikva, Stelmach received offers to sign for Arsenal 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 Israel in an Olympic qualifier against The USSR, with Lev Yashin as goalkeeper, at the Ramat Gan Stadium on July 31, 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 in the 1970s, while training the international stars Yochanan Vollach and Itzhak Englander.

Honors

• National league (1st tier) (6):
  • 1954–55, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63
• Israel State Cup (1):
  • 1956–57

References