Maccabi Haifa F.C.

Maccabi Haifa F.C. (MHFC) is one of the top football clubs in Israel. It was founded in 1913.

History

1980 - 1990

Maccabi Haifa has only entered the Israeli champions club at the 1980s. In the 1983/4 season Maccabi Haifa won its 1st ever championship, under the guidance of coach Shlomo Sharf, overcoming Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv in a dramatic struggle. This was a total surprise to the Greens, a club was known for its "all-around-offense" and flashy technique football style - often resulting in bad defensive formation and as a result losses. Sharf's team played with 4 strikers, positioned at point and midfield and managed to build their defense around the late legendary goalkeeper Avi Ran. A year later, Maccabi Haifa won a second championship in a decisive performance. At 1986 MHFC lost the championship in a controvesial final match against runner-ups Hapoel Tel Aviv. The single goal scored in that match by Gili Landau was said to be scored from a passive offside position, which by the rules of the time should have resulted in a disqualification of the goal and a nil-nil result, guaranteeing MHFC the title. Due to a less-than-satisfactory TV coverage, the issue has never been fully resolved.

Related Topics:
1980 - Shlomo Sharf - Beitar Jerusalem - Hapoel Tel Aviv - Avi Ran - Gili Landau

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1990 - 2000

In 1990 Maccabi Haifa established itself as an elite, and dominating club in Israel. It began by winning the "double" - League championship and the national cup at the 1990/1 season and the introduction of three talented young players: Eyal Berkovich, Reuven Atar and Tal Banin. In 1992 Maccabi Haifa was purchased by Ya'akov Shahar, who became the owner and president of the club. Under Shahar's management, Maccabi Haifa enjoyed a financial stability and a professional working regulation similar to European football clubs' standards. Maccabi Haifa's highlight season was 1993/4. After winning the 1993 cup, Maccabi Haifa gave a stunning performance in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (CWC), beating Torpedo Moscow FC 3-1 and Parma A.C. 1-0 in 1/8 final, only to lose on penalties. During the season in the domestic league (then called Liga Leumit), the team went unbeaten for the entire season, out of an overall unbeaten streak of 48 games, thus winning a spectacular championship, and braking many Israeli records. The Maccabi Haifa 1993/4 squad, under the guidance of coach Giora Spiegel, is considered one of the best squads in Israeli football history.

Related Topics:
Eyal Berkovich - Reuven Atar - Tal Banin - 1992 - Ya'akov Shahar - Cup Winners' Cup - Torpedo Moscow FC - Parma A.C. - Liga Leumit - Giora Spiegel

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In 1996 Eyal Berkovich and Haim Revivo left Haifa to European clubs. While the two gained great personal success there, Maccabi Haifa went into a slump. The team's standards of maintaining the services of the manager for multiple seasons was thrown as the team went through several managers during 4 years. As result, the team failed to win the national championship title, despite securing the National cup in 1998.

Related Topics:
Eyal Berkovich - Haim Revivo - 1998

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In 1999, under the guidance of the Czech manager Dushan Ohrin, Maccabi Haifa beat French giants Paris Saint-Germain and Austrian club SV Reid to reach the 1/4 of the Cup Winners' Cup. In the middle of the season, Haifa's excellent striker Alon Mizrahi left to French club Nice resulting in a loss at the CWC quarter finals and an overall decrease in the club's league performance. The club's winning record continue to falter until the arrival of Avraam Grant.

Related Topics:
1999 - Czech - Dushan Ohrin - Paris Saint-Germain - SV Reid - Cup Winners' Cup - Alon Mizrahi - Nice - Avraam Grant

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2000 and henceforth

Previously Maccabi Tel Aviv's coach, Avraham Grant was appointed in 2000 as manager of Maccabi Haifa. Under Grant's guidance, the team regained their dominating offensive style, which, along with a much improved staff, giving the club with an almost unstoppable team, winning the championship with a series of virtouso performances by Israeli prodigy Yossi Benayoun, including what some consider to be several of the finest goals in Israeli league history. The championship ended Haifa's "seven year itch" and the spontaneous burst of celebrating fans onto the pitch caused a tragic disaster. A young fan, Amir Rand, was crushed against the guarding rails and went into a come, from which he hasn't managed to recover as of yet.

Related Topics:
Maccabi Tel Aviv - Avraham Grant - 2000 - Maccabi Haifa - Yossi Benayoun - Amir Rand

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A year later, Grant won a second championship with relative ease, relying on a trio of foreign footballers: Giovanni Rosso (Croatia), Reimondas Zutautas (Lithuania) and the young Nigerian striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni. Following the second championship, Avraham Grant left Haifa for the Israeli national team, and Itzhak Shum, who until then managed the U21 national team replaced him.

Related Topics:
Giovanni Rosso - Croatia - Reimondas Zutautas - Lithuania - Nigeria - Yakubu Aiyegbeni - Itzhak Shum

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In 2002, Haifa made Israeli club history by becoming the first Israeli team to qualify for the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. In the group phase, the team defeated Olympiacos CFP and the legendary Manchester United (albeit not in their strongest form after securing their 1/8 finals place earlier in the stage). Haifa scored 7 points overall in the group table, finishing in the third place, allowing it a place in the UEFA Cup.

Related Topics:
2002 - Champions League - Olympiacos CFP - Manchester United - UEFA Cup

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In the 2003/4 season Maccabi Haifa won an easy but somewhat unconvincing championship with the young coach and ex-Maccabi footballer Ronnie Levy. In the eyes of football fans and media, the team failed to show their usual offensive flair, winning the championship due to an overall weakness of the other league teams. The team's squad, considered the finest in the leage due to a consistent high budget in domestic standards, is seen as one that should score many goals in every match, resulting in a dissapointment when this fails to occur. In this season, Maccabi Haifa youth club (ages 16-18) won the domestic championship, and an Israel national kids team which was constituted from Maccabi Haifa players won Fox Kids World Cup for 12-years-old.

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