Sporting Heroes for 60 years: No. 44: Mischa Yosifovitch
In the early days of handball in Israel, Mischa Yosifovitch emerged as one of the sport's first stars.
By LEAH P. WEIS
In the early days of handball in Israel, Mischa Yosifovitch emerged as one of the sport's first stars. Having made aliyah aged 17 from present-day Ukraine in 1973, soon after the Yom Kippur War, Yosifovitch soon became involved in handball.
For seven years Yosifovitch played for Hapoel Rehovot before an emotional decision to leave the country to advance his career. At 26, he moved to Italy where he helped Aldecroma win the Italian handball championship.
However, his international trip was shortlived. In 1981, Yosifovitch returned to Hapoel Rehovot where he continued for another two seasons before transferring to Maccabi Rishon Lezion. The forward ended his career in Rishon having won a total of 10 Israeli league titles and three cups.
Yosifovitch's eldest son has continued in his footsteps and currently plays handball for Maccabi Rishon Le Zion.
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