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Avraham Menchel

Avraham Menchel was an Israeli footballer and coach who played his whole career as a midfielder for Maccabi Haifa and also played for the Israel national team.

1935 to 2023Midfielder for Maccabi HaifaMaccabi Haifa's 1962 State CupThe nickname the BallerinaCoaching Maccabi Haifa

Born: 12 December 1935, Chernivtsi
Died: 24 November 2023, Haifa
Occupation: association football player, association football coach

Avraham Menchel was born in 1935 in Chernivtsi

Menchel was born in Chernivtsi, then part of Romania. During the Holocaust his family was deported to Mogilev and then to the ghetto in Dzhurin. In 1950 he immigrated to Israel with his family, which settled in a transit camp near Haifa.

He played as a right midfielder for Maccabi Haifa from 1952 to 1965, with 225 league games and 64 goals. In 1962 he scored 2 goals in the State Cup final, a 5-2 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv that gave the club its first title. He was nicknamed the Ballerina for his technical skill.

From 1959 to 1963 he played 30 games for Israel and scored 7 goals. In 1960 he won second place with the national team at the Asian Cup.

He coached Maccabi Haifa from 1965 to 1969, then Hapoel Beersheba, Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Acre. He later returned to coach Maccabi Haifa for 2 more years, after which the club was relegated to the second division. During the First Lebanon War he served in a reserve battalion.

After he stopped coaching, he ran an insurance agency in Haifa. He died on 24 November 2023.

Avraham Menchel's life in 8 milestones

1935
Born in Chernivtsi.
1950
Immigrated to Israel with his family.
1952
Began playing for Maccabi Haifa.
1959
Began playing for the Israel national team.
1960
Won second place at the Asian Cup with Israel.
1962
Won the State Cup with Maccabi Haifa, scoring 2 goals in the final.
1965
Retired as a player and became coach of Maccabi Haifa.
2023
Died.

Avraham Menchel served in the military

In the First Lebanon War he served as signals officer, with the rank of master sergeant, in a reserve battalion of the Hiram Formation on the eastern front.