Johann Ignace Tax (9 April 1909 – 7 January 1977), also known as Ignaz Tax was an Austrian-French footballer who played as a midfielder.

Ignace Tax
Ignace Tax at Saint-Étienne
Personal information
Full name Johann Ignace Tax
Date of birth (1909-04-09)9 April 1909
Place of birth Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Date of death 7 January 1977(1977-01-07) (aged 67)
Place of death Perpignan, France
Position Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1927–1930 Wacker Vienna 54 (18)
1931 First Vienna
1931–1935 Servette
1935–1945 Saint-Étienne 133 (54)
Managerial career
1943–1950 Saint-Étienne
1954–1955 JGA Nevers
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Tax joined Wacker Vienna in 1927, and spent three and a half seasons there, before joining First Vienna halfway through the 1930–31 season. In the summer of 1931, he joined former teammate Karl Rappan at Servette, where Rappan was the player-manager. He helped Servette win two Swiss Nationalliga titles, and finish runners-up in the 1933–34 Swiss Cup.[1]

On 4 July 1935,[2] Tax joined Saint-Étienne for a transfer fee 50,000 francs. While there, he formed a duo with former Yugoslav international Ivan Bek.[2] Following the German invasion of France during World War II, he was captured by the Germans, and interned in Belgium until the end of 1941. Afterwards, he returned to playing for Saint-Étienne.[1][2]

In 1943, Tax was appointed as the manager of Saint-Étienne. Around the same time, Saint-Étienne president Pierre Guichard [fr] registered four players, including Tax, as employees of his company to circumvent Vichy France's ban on both professionalism and foreign players. Because of this, they were banned by the French Football Federation, but were pardoned following the liberation of France. In July 1950, after Guichard return to the club as president following the ban, Tax was dismissed and replaced by former teammate Jean Snella.[1][2]

Legacy

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One of the streets near the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is named after him.[1][2]

Honours

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Karembeu, Auteur Julian (4 October 2011). "Les légendes du SFC : Ignaz Tax, transféré pour 50 000 francs à l'ASSE" [SFC legends: Ignaz Tax, transferred to ASSE for 50,000 francs]. Les Enfants du Servette (in French). Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Fiche de: TAX Ignace". www.anciensverts.com (in French). Retrieved 23 April 2026.
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