Yochanan Vollach
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | יוחנן וולך | ||
| Date of birth | May 14, 1945 | ||
| Place of birth | Kiryat Bialik, Mandatory Palestine | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1958–1962 | Maccabi Kiryat Bialik | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1965 | Maccabi Kiryat Bialik | ||
| 1965–1977 | Hapoel Haifa | ||
| 1977–1979 | Maccabi Haifa | 30 | (1) |
| 1985–1990 | HKFC | ||
| National team | |||
| 1968–1971 | Israel | 12 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Yochanan Vollach (Hebrew: יוחנן וולך, sometimes spelled Jochanan Wallach or Yohanan Wallach, born May 14, 1945) is a former Israeli footballer. He was a member of the Israeli national team that competed at the 1970 FIFA World Cup. Vollach is president of the Maccabi Haifa sport organization as well as being the CEO of The Chamber of Shipping of Israel.
Born in Kiryat Bialik, Vollach began his career with his local club, Maccabi Kiryat Bialik. In 1963, he was drafted to the IDF's Nahal as an infantry soldier. One of only a handful of professional footballers to serve in active combat in the Nahal, Vollach actually missed an entire season of football while serving his country. During his service, he won the IDF football championship in 1965 . Still quite anonymous, Vollach yearned for a move to a bigger club. By 1965, at age 19, his rights were sold for 5,000 Israeli lira to Hapoel Haifa, the place where he would kick start his career and become a role model and a symbol for thousands of supporters until this very day.
Originally a striker, because of his height advantage and large build, he was dubbed "The Tank". He was unable to reach his full potential so he was moved to the defender position where he excelled and played til the end of his career. He subsequently won the Israeli State Cup competition twice in 1966 and 1974, and was close several times to winning Liga Leumit (then the top division). His most major achievement though, was helping the Israel national team qualify for their first World Cup in Mexico in 1970. At the 1970 world cup, Vollach played against Uruguay. At the following match, Vollach broke his leg in the second half in a tough and brutal match from the Swedish (1–1) side, and so the dream of man marking Gigi Riva and Gianni Rivera, in the last match against Italy was over. Because of his performances on the national stage, Vollach was twice loaned out to other Israeli clubs to strengthen their rosters for the sole purpose of UI Cup games. The first time was in 1976 with Hapoel Be'er Sheva and the second in 1977 with Maccabi Tel Aviv, both Israeli title holders. Over the years, Vollach managed to keep his position as one of the biggest sports stars in Israel.
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