Vasyl Ishchak

Vasyl Ishchak

Personal information
Full name	Vasyl Yevhenovych Ishchak
Date of birth	(1955-04-05) 5 April 1955 (age 69)
Place of birth	Dubie, Ukrainian SSR
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defender/Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1974	SC Lutsk	?	(1)
1975	SKA Lviv (reserves)
1976–1977	FC Mashuk Pyatigorsk	56	(9)
1977–1990	FC Chornomorets Odesa	357	(13)
1990–1993	BVSC Budapest	62	(1)
1993–1994	FC Blaho Blahoyeve (amateur)	14	(0)
1994	Toronto Italia	?	(?)
Managerial career
2008–2015	FC Chornomorets Odesa (youth teams)
2015	Toronto Atomic II
2015–2016	Toronto Atomic FC
2018	Unionville Milliken SC
2024–	FC Ukraine United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vasyl Yevhenovych Ishchak (Ukrainian: Василь Євгенович Іщак; born 5 April 1955) is a retired Ukrainian professional footballer and manager who coaches FC Ukraine United.

Club career

Early career

Ishchak's football career began in the Lviv region with Sokol Lviv in 1972.[1] After two seasons in his native region, he joined SC Lutsk while serving in the army.[2] In 1976, he continued his professional career with Mashuk-KMV Pyatigorsk in the Soviet Second League.[1]

Odesa

He began playing in the country's top-tier league in 1977 with Chornomorets Odesa.[3] Throughout his lengthy tenure with Odesa, he managed to play in two continental tournaments.[1] His first international tournament was in the 1985–86 UEFA Cup.[3] After the 1986 season, the club was relegated to the Soviet First League and managed to secure a promotion by winning the league title.[2][1] His next European tournament occurred in the UEFA Cup 1990–91.[1] Ishchak's final piece of silverware won with Odesa was the USSR Federation Cup where they defeated Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk.[4]

Hungary

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he ventured abroad to play in the Hungarian top-tier league with BVSC Budapest FC.[1] Following his two-year stint in Hungary, he returned to Ukraine to play with FC Blaho Blahoyeve.[1] He made 14 appearances with Blaho in the national amateur league.[5]

Canada

Ishchak emigrated to Canada in 1994 and played in the Southern Ontario-based Canadian National Soccer League with Toronto Italia.[6][1] In his debut season, he helped Toronto win the regular season title.[7] The Italians would also win the league championship by defeating St. Catharines Roma in the postseason finals.[8]

Managerial career

After he retired from professional football, he coached the youth teams of his former club Chornomorets Odesa.[9]

Ishchak returned to Canada in the summer of 2015, as the head coach for Toronto Atomic's reserve team in the second division of the Canadian Soccer League.[10] Midway through the season, he was elevated to the senior team to replace Ihor Yavorskyi as the head coach.[11][12] He led the team to a playoff berth by finishing fifth in the league's first division.[13][14] Toronto was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs, by SC Waterloo Region.[15] Once the season concluded the league named him the division's coach of the year.[16][17]

In 2016, Toronto Atomic extended his contract.[18][19] Ishchak secured another postseason berth for Toronto by finishing fifth in the division.[20] The Serbian White Eagles eliminated Toronto in the quarterfinal round.[21]

In 2018, he managed Unionville Milliken SC.[22]

Ishchak joined the coaching staff of Ukraine United in the Ontario Soccer League in 2024.[23]

Personal life

Ishchak is married to Odesa-born ballerina Tatiana Stepanova.[1]

Honours

Player

Chornomorets Odesa

• Soviet First League: 1987[1]
• USSR Federation Cup: 1990[4]

Toronto Italia

• Canadian National Soccer League Championship: 1994[8]
• Canadian National Soccer League Regular Season: 1994[7]

Manager

Individual

• Canadian Soccer League Coach of the Year: 2015[17]

References

1. "ФУТБОЛ. Василий ИЩАК. Ну кто его не знает" [Football. Vasily Ishchak. Well, who doesn't know him?]. Odesa Sport. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
2. "Василий ИЩАК: "Черноморец" остался во мне на всю жизнь"" [Vasily ISHCHAK: "Chernomorets" has remained in me for life"]. ПРО ФУТБОЛ (in Russian). 22 April 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
3. "Поздравляем. Василию ИЩАКУ – 57!" [Congratulations. Vasily ISHCHAK is 57!]. Агентство Одеса-Спорт. Новини одеського спорту (in Russian). 5 April 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
4. "Inside Atomic FC - Vasyl Ishchak". torontoatomic.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
5. "Ищак Василий Евгеньевич, Родился 05.04.1955 г. Все футболисты России, СССР и СНГ. Информация, Биографии, Команды, Матчи, Голы, Интервью" [Player profile]. footballfacts.ru. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
6. Yaremko, Ivan. "Старі і нові українці в американському футболі" [Old and new Ukrainians in American football]. ZAXID.NET (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 18 August 2019.
7. "Canadian National Soccer League 1993 to 1997" (PDF). Retrieved 21 April 2020.
8. Wallace, Jim (17 October 1994). "Roma's title quest ended". St. Catharines Standard. pp. C1 – C2.
9. "Легенда "Чорноморця" очолив "Торонто Атомік"" [The legend of "Chronomorets" headed "Toronto Atomic"]. football24.ua (in Ukrainian). 16 August 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
10. "Скільки у Канаді заробив легендарний футболіст Ігор Яворський?" [How much did the legendary football player Ihor Yavorsky earn in Canada?]. Спорт Тернопільщини (in Ukrainian). 16 September 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
11. "Український тренер очолив канадський клуб "Торонто Атомік"" [The Ukrainian coach headed the Canadian club "Toronto Atomic"]. sport.segodnya.ua (in Ukrainian). 15 August 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
12. Shemshuchenko, Sergey (15 August 2015). "Український тренер очолив Торонто Атомік" [The Ukrainian coach headed Toronto Atomic]. Champion.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 22 February 2024.
13. Adamson, Stan (5 October 2015). "Milton In.......clinch final playoff berth following 4-3 cliffhanger with Brantford Galaxy". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
14. "Украинский футбол в Канаде: как при скромном бюджете создать хорошую команду" [Ukrainian Football in Canada: How to Create a Good Team on a Modest Budget]. footboom1.com (in Ukrainian). 5 November 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
15. Malchevsky, Roman (12 October 2015). "Приключения украинцев в Канаде: "Торонто Атомик" ввосьмером уступил в четвертьфинале" [Adventures of Ukrainians in Canada: Toronto Atomic lost in quarterfinals with eight players]. footboom1.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 21 July 2024.
16. "Українця визнали найкращим футбольним тренером Канади" [The Ukrainian was recognized as the best football coach in Canada]. espreso.tv. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
17. "Наставника екс-гравців "Буковини" визнано найкращим тренером першості Канади" [The coach of the ex-players of "Bukovyna" was recognized as the best coach of the Canadian championship]. promin.cv.ua (in Ukrainian). 4 November 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
18. "CSL Kickoff at Brantford May…… Galaxy will host Toronto Atomic". Canadian Soccer League. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
19. ""Нашого цвіту по всьому світу"" ["Our flowers around the world"]. SPORTARENA.com (in Russian). 30 August 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
20. Adamson, Stan (10 October 2016). "York Region Shooters on Top at the End of Regular Season.....First year Ukraine United second". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
21. Adamson, Stan (16 October 2016). "Ukraine United, Serbian Eagles Advance........CSL playoffs continue Sunday". Canadian Soccer League. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
22. Glover, Robin (22 September 2018). "Unionville Milliken SC vs North Mississauga Panthers SC game review". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
23. "News - Coaching Staff". fcukraineunited.com. 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.