Having grown up in Israel and Florida, soccer has always been one of Eyal Yechezkell’s passions since he can remember. Eyal played youth soccer in several local clubs in South Florida, was the captain of his High School soccer team but chose not to pursue soccer in college.
Today Eyal enjoys playing both outdoor and indoor soccer three to four times a week.
Bergen County, New Jersey – SC Hakoah Soccer Club
During the Fall and Spring seasons, Eyal Yechezkell meets with his soccer club to play in the North Jersey Soccer League. The team now carries on a long tradition with their soccer team. Originally founded in Europe, Eyal Yechezkell’s team has come a long way to play in New Jersey.
SC Hakoah Soccer Club History
SC Hakoah, has a history leading it back before World War II, and even World War I. In 1909, a group of Jewish sportsmen founded the Hakoah Sports Club in Vienna. The club was said to be founded, among many reasons, to combat a prejudice at the time and to illustrate that Jewish people could in fact play sports, and play them quite well.
The team became so successful that after quickly becoming a premiere team in Europe, they were invited to tour internationally. Though the original team in Europe was disestablished by the Nazis in World War II, when the team traveled to the United States in 1926 and was welcomed by the President of the United States, various players signed on to American teams, and the club took roots here in America.
In 2009, Ron Glickman decided to carry on the tradition of the Hakoah Sports Club and re-established the soccer club in Teaneck, New Jersey as part of the North Jersey Soccer League. Eyal joined the club as a player and then in 2013 became one of the two managers that took over for Ron Glickman to continue the tradition and vision that Mr. Glickman started with the club.
Eyal Yechezkell is a huge soccer fan. A religious follower of professional soccer, Eyal’s favorite team is Liverpool FC. He still follows his home team of FC Haifa, the Israeli National Team, and the U.S. National Team. Eyal and his son are also season ticket holders of the New York RedBulls.