Yohanan Sukenik (Hebrew: יוחנן סוקניק) was a Jewish footballer, who played for Hapoel Tel Aviv and Mandatory Palestine national football team.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yohanan Sukenik | ||
| Date of birth | 1909 | ||
| Place of birth | Łódź, Russian Poland | ||
| Date of death | 18 January 1986 (aged 75–76) | ||
| Place of death | Israel | ||
| Position(s) | Half back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1923–1927 | Nordia Tel Aviv | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1927–1940 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | ||
| International career | |||
| 1934–1938 | Eretz Israel | 4 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1945 | Hapoel Ramat Gan | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Biography
Sukenik was born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Empire and immigrated to Mandatory Palestine with his family in 1923.[2] A keen footballer, he joined Maccabi Tel Aviv's youth team, Nordia. In 1927 he moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv, with whom he played until retiring in 1940.[2] With the Hapoel Tel Aviv, Sukenik won 4 championships and 5 cups.
Sukenik was also part of the Mandatory Palestine national football team, playing four matches for the team, two against Egypt in 1934, scoring the consolation goal for Mandatory Palestine in a 1–4 defeat,[3][4] and two against Greece in 1938, including appearing as a substitute the first match between the teams.[5]
Sukenik retired in 1940, as he felt that playing football was damaging his feet and settled in Ramat Gan, where he worked as a builder. He tried his hand in coaching Hapoel Ramat Gan, but quit the position as he considered his players weren't making the effort to train properly and quit football altogether.[2]