Soccer teams chase Maccabi Tel Aviv

The 2024/25 Israel soccer league season is right around the corner, and clubs across the country have retooled, refined, and reworked their rosters for the upcoming campaign, hoping to claim the top spot come May. There are plenty of questions due to the war, which has caused problems for teams in attracting import players, but nonetheless, some have decided to come to the Holy Land for the upcoming season. Many teams will be looking to knock Maccabi Tel Aviv off its perch.

Here are outlooks for each of the 14 top-tier clubs:

Maccabi Tel Aviv enters the season not only as the defending champion but also as the only Israeli side playing in European competition. While the yellow-and-blue is still in the midst of continental qualification, it knows it will either play in the Europa League if it gets past FK TSC Backa Topola in the playoff round or drop down to the Conference League if it does not. Either way, first-year head coach Zarko Lazetic will be trying to find the best way to succeed in both the domestic and European leagues without the full complement of foreign players.

The Serbian bench boss will have returning superstar veteran goal scorer Eran Zahavi at his disposal; however, the super striker just turned 37 years old, and a repeat of the 39 goals he scored last campaign would certainly be unexpected. But there are plenty of young guns moving up the ranks, including Dor Turgeman, Hisham Layous, Osher Davida, and Elad Madmon, alongside midfielders Dor Peretz, Sagiv Yehezekel, Dan Bitton, Ido Shachar, Gaby Kanichowsky, and Joris van Overeem. Roy Revivo will be a key cog on the back line along with Idan Nachmias, Raz Shlomo, and Nir Bitton, who just returned from injury. Maccabi has a trio of foreigners thus far: Tyrese Asante, Henry Addo, and Issouf Sissokho, and will look to bolster that group as best as they can.

While Maccabi undoubtedly has the best Israelis, there may still be a question in goal with Roi Mishpati, who had some ups and downs last season with the club.

Maccabi Haifa will look to retake the league title under their new/old coach Barak Bachar, who returns to the site of some of his most successful seasons, replacing Mesay Dego, who had an admirable 2023/24 season. However, when Bachar became available after being let go by Red Star Belgrade, owner Yakov Shachar was quick to move and bring back the coach who helped win three straight championships, as well as led a tremendous Champions League campaign. The Greens have a number of solid players in their stable, both Israelis and imports, but they will still have a tough time trying to dethrone Maccabi Tel Aviv despite not playing in Europe this coming season after being knocked out very early on in qualifying.

As of now, a number of foreigners are returning to play for the club this season, including Frantzdy Pierrot, while Oleksandr Syrota and naturalized Israeli/Argentinian Tomas Sultani were fine additions. Dean David, Gadi Kinda, and Dolev Haziza are back, plus Dia Saba has returned from loan. Although there is a good base, Bachar will have his work cut out for him.

Hapoel Beersheba will enter the season with a new coach on the sidelines in Ron Kozuk, who arrives from Maccabi Petah Tikva. However, his tenure is already in question after being eliminated from European competition while being ahead 2-0 in their second-leg third-round Conference League qualifying tie. Veteran captain Miguel Vitor is back, as is Helder Lopes, Roei Gordana, Antonio Sefer, and Alon Turgeman, while newcomers Kings Kangwa, Paul-Arnold Garita, and Eliel Peretz will look to make a difference down south, along with loan returnees Or Blorian, Zahi Ahmad, and Tomer Yosefi. However, there is plenty of work to do for the new bench boss.

Beitar Jerusalem had a very successful summer as the yellow-and-black brought in some serious firepower as they look to take the club back to prominence. Patrick Twumasi returns to Israel for a second term, while Silva Kangani and Mayron George will supply head coach Barak Itzhaki with some nice scoring potential up front. In the back, Jean Marcelin and Gil Cohen are very welcome additions, while Dor Micha and Ismaila Soro will be important fixtures in the midfield.

Maccabi Netanya has a new head coach on the sidelines, Marko Balbul, who returns to lead an Israeli team for the first time in roughly half a decade. Super striker Igor Zlatanovic is back for his fourth season with the diamond city squad, while newcomers Heriberto Tavares and Freddy Vargas will help him up front, and Mohammed Djetei and Janio Bikel will shore up the back line.

Hapoel Haifa has had a renaissance under head coach Roni Levy and will look to keep up the fine momentum under the veteran manager. Captain Dor Malul returns, as does Guy Melamed and Liran Sardel, along with newcomers Dramane Salou and Dor Hugi.

Maccabi Bnei Reineh was one of the surprise packages last season under the tutelage of Sharon Mimer, who was able to win games that most would never have thought possible. But in order to repeat their fine showing, their players will need to once again rise to the occasion. Sa’ar Fadida and Guy Hadida are back, while Ezekiel Henty comes over from Ashdod and Muhamed Shaker arrives from Bnei Sakhnin. However, plenty of eyes will be on Sayed Abu Farchi, who comes on loan from Maccabi Tel Aviv, as big things are expected from the 18-year-old.

Bnei Sakhnin will look to have another competitive year, and under Slobodan Drapic, that should once again be the case with a number of solid additions, including striker Alexandre Ramalingom, midfielder Paata Gudushauri, and defender Eyad Abu Abed.

A rough start to the season

Hapoel Jerusalem had a tough start last season, but head coach Ziv Arie was able to straighten out the ship and sail the capital city reds to a decent campaign. Cedric Don is back and will provide a solid attacking option, as is Jelle Duin, while Ibeh Ransom joins the club, as does up-and-coming keeper Marko Alchevski.

Maccabi Petah Tikva captured the Israel State Cup last season, which handed it a ticket to European qualifiers. However, new head coach Dan Roman’s squad was unable to make a dent against either Braga or Cluj and was quickly sent packing. This season saw an overhaul to their roster, as Idan Vered moves over from Hapoel Petah Tikva and will be one of the veteran leaders, while Plamen Galabov, Or Roizman, and Tamir Glazer are all new signings.

Hapoel Hadera will have Haim Silvas at the helm, but he will have no easy time keeping his team competitive. The feel-good story of Menashe Zalka was incredible, as the club’s captain left the team when the war began to serve in the reserves, which was unquestionably admirable, and his decision was lauded by the entire country. However, on the pitch, the club will need solid contributions from James Adeniyi, who returned to Israel after a year abroad, as well as from Ibrahim Sangare and Ruslan Barsky.

Ashdod SC barely survived staying in the Premier League under Eli Levi, and he’s back for another go-around in charge of the port city squad. Shlomi Azulay will be called upon to provide the offense, with Stav Nachmani and Ebenezer Mamatah by his side.

Ironi Kiryat Shmona is back in the top division after a season in the Leumit, as Shay Barda will look to ensure that the northerners have a quality showing and won’t need to battle against relegation despite having to play on the road even for their home games due to the war and the constant bombardment of the city by Hezbollah. The strike force of Alfredo Stephens, Peter Onyekachi, and Lidor Cohen, along with midfielder Sékou Bangoura, will most definitely do their best to ensure that the club will play with pride and reach their goals.

Ironi Tiberias is the other newly promoted team, and Eliran Hudeda will try to do his best to keep the Kineret-based side in the top league for more than just a cup of coffee. The key signing for the team is, without a doubt, ’keeper Daniel Tenenbaum, who starred with Maccabi Tel Aviv and still has plenty to offer in the Premier League.