Nahum Stelmach

{{Short description|Israeli footballer and manager}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Nahum Stelmach<br>נחום סטלמך | image = PikiWiki Israel 7321 football game.jpg | caption = Stelmach (left) with [[Yochanan Vollach]] in 1959 | fullname = Nahum Stelmach | birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1936|07|19}} | death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1999|03|27|1936|07|19}} | birth_place = [[Petah Tikva]], [[Mandate Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] (now [[Israel]]) | currentclub = | position = [[Midfielder#Winger|Right forward]] | years1 = 1951–1969 | years2 = 1969–1970<ref name="נחום סטלמך">[http://www.hpt.co.il/?ShowPlayer=11 נחום סטלמך] {{in lang|he}}</ref> | clubs1 = [[Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C.|Hapoel Petah Tikva]]<ref name="נחום סטלמך"/> | clubs2 = [[Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C.|Bnei Yehuda]]<ref name="סטלמך">[http://www.fc-bnei-yehuda.co.il/cgi-bin/SheepWool/sheepwool.pl?act=view&wiki=5280257 נחום סטלמך] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119121250/http://www.fc-bnei-yehuda.co.il/cgi-bin/SheepWool/sheepwool.pl?act=view&wiki=5280257 |date=2007-11-19 }} {{in lang|he}}</ref> | years3 = 1970 | clubs3 = [[Hapoel Herzliya F.C.]] | caps1 = 349 | goals1 = 154 | caps2 = 18 | goals2 = 4 | caps3 = 1 | goals3 = 1 | totalcaps = 368 | totalgoals = 159 | nationalyears1 = 1956–1968<ref name="Stelmach Nahum">[http://eng.football.org.il/NationalTeam/Pages/NationalTeamPlayerDetails.aspx?PLAYER_ID=80469&NATIONAL_TEAM_ID=3 Stelmach Nahum] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417235712/http://eng.football.org.il/NationalTeam/Pages/NationalTeamPlayerDetails.aspx?PLAYER_ID=80469&NATIONAL_TEAM_ID=3 |date=2009-04-17 }}</ref> | nationalteam1 = [[Israel national football team|Israel]]<ref name="Stelmach Nahum"/> | nationalcaps1 = 61 | nationalgoals1 = 22 | manageryears1 = 1967–1969 | manageryears2 = 1987–1988 | manageryears3 = 1999 | managerclubs1 = Hapoel Petah Tikva ([[Player-manager]]) | managerclubs2 = Hapoel Petah Tikva (General Manager) | managerclubs3 = [[Israel national football team|Israel]] | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's [[association football|football]]}} {{MedalCountry|{{fb|ISR}}}} {{MedalCompetition|[[AFC Asian Cup]]}} {{Medal|W|[[1964 AFC Asian Cup|1964 Israel]]}} {{Medal|RU|[[1956 AFC Asian Cup|1956 Hong Kong]]|}} {{Medal|RU|[[1960 AFC Asian Cup|1960 South Korea]]}} }} '''Nahum Stelmach''' ({{langx|he|נחום סטלמך}}{{ltr}}; {{birth date|mf=yes|1936|07|19}} – {{death date|mf=yes|1999|03|27|1936|07|19}}) was an Israeli [[Association football|footballer]] and manager.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Sports/Article.aspx?id=94823|title=Sporting Heroes: No. 49 Nahum Stelmach|publisher=}}</ref>

==Biography== Stelmach was born in [[Petah Tikva]], [[Mandate Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] (now [[Israel]]), to a [[Jewish]] family. He was chosen third by ''[[Yediot Aharonot]]'''s greatest Israeli footballers. He made a name for himself as the leader of [[Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C.|Hapoel Petah Tikva]]. At the height of his career in Hapoel Petah Tikva, Stelmach received offers to sign for [[Arsenal F.C.|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 the [[Israel national football team|Israel national team]] in an Olympic qualifier against [[USSR national football team|The USSR]], with [[Lev Yashin]] as goalkeeper at the [[Ramat Gan Stadium]] 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]] in the 1970s, while training the international stars [[Yochanan Vollach]] and [[Itzhak Englander]].

'''Israel''' *[[AFC Asian Cup]]: [[1964 AFC Asian Cup|1964]] <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/64asch.html|title=Asian Nations Cup 1964|language=en|access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>; Runner-up, [[1956 AFC Asian Cup|1956]] <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/1956_asia_squads.pdf|title=Asian Cup 1956 Squads|language=en|access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/56asch.html|title=Asian Nations Cup 1956|language=en|access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>, [[1960 AFC Asian Cup|1960]] <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/60asch-squads.pdf|title=Asian Cup 1960 Squads|language=en|access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/60asch-det.html|title=Asian Nations Cup 1960 - Final Tournament - Match Details|language=en|access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{AFC Asian Cup top scorers}} {{Navboxes |bg=#5A8AFA |fg=white |title= Israel squads |list1= {{Israel squad 1956 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Israel squad 1960 AFC Asian Cup}} {{Israel squad 1964 AFC Asian Cup}} }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stelmach, Nahum}} [[Category:1936 births]] [[Category:1999 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Israeli Jews]] [[Category:Jewish footballers]] [[Category:Israeli men's footballers]] [[Category:Israel men's international footballers]] [[Category:1956 AFC Asian Cup players]] [[Category:1960 AFC Asian Cup players]] [[Category:1964 AFC Asian Cup players]] [[Category:Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. players]] [[Category:Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. players]] [[Category:Hapoel Herzliya F.C. players]] [[Category:Footballers from Petah Tikva]] [[Category:Hapoel Haifa F.C. managers]] [[Category:Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. managers]] [[Category:Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. managers]] [[Category:Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. managers]] [[Category:Beitar Jerusalem F.C. managers]] [[Category:Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. managers]] [[Category:Beitar Tel Aviv Holon F.C. managers]] [[Category:Hapoel Hadera F.C. managers]] [[Category:Maccabi Ramat Amidar F.C. managers]] [[Category:Footballers at the 1958 Asian Games]] [[Category:Men's association football forwards]] [[Category:Asian Games competitors for Israel]] [[Category:Israeli football managers]] [[Category:Men's association football player-managers]] [[Category:Israel national football team managers]] [[Category:20th-century Israeli sportsmen]] [[Category:AFC Asian Cup–winning players]] {{Israel-footy-forward-stub}}