November 17, 1990. It just looked like any other “Football Saturday” but when Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa faced each other even during some of the Yellow & Blue’s lean seasons, the country’s football fans and of course the supporters of both teams who packed Ramat Gan Stadium paid close attention to the matchup.

It wasn’t just any Classico as former Green’s star Nir Klinger joined the ranks of Maccabi Tel Aviv and faced the club in which he grew up in for the first time. How did the contest end? Watch the highlights below to find out:

It had been 9 years since the last win at Kiryat Eliezer as all of the headlines made sure to put that fact front and center prior to the Israeli Classico that was going to be held on September 23, 2013.

Jordi Cruyff’s Maccabi which was under the direction of Paulo Sousa made their way up north with one goal in mind; to end the streak in the last season that Kiryat Eliezer hosted matches.

How did the contest end? Watch the highlights:

For many fans, the 5:0 Derby win in the first round of Ligat Ha’Al action was the best game they had ever witnessed. However, a look back in history, 47 years ago to be precise will take us to another great moment. On January 24, 1970, the Yellow & Blue defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 5:0 which was the Club’s biggest Derby win to date. “This Week in History” takes us back to this special encounter at Bloomfield Stadium.

Right before the opening whistle one could feel that something was in the air. The weather conditions weren’t ideal for football as the rains came down on a wintery January day turning the Bloomfield pitch into a soggy field that would make things a bit more difficult for both sides.

During the day fans talked about the contest being to close to call as both sides were on equal footing. On the morning after the match, Emanuel Galili of the Chadashot HaSport newspaper wrote: “Since both clubs were battling it out at the top of the table, everyone expected an even fight with one side taking the win by a goal. However, when reality set in both sets of fans were surprised. No one thought that there would be such superiority by one club and yet by such a score in a match that should have been so much closer.”

Despite the bad weather, over 21K fans filled the stands at Bloomfield Stadium. With the pitch muddy as ever, legendary coach Dubir Schweitzer z”l realized that there would be no tiki-taka and prepared his players for the conditions that lay ahead. “They adapted to the pitch and didn’t dribble very much, sending long ball after long ball from side to side allowing the ball to do most of the work,” wrote Galili in his Derby match report.

The big hero was of course Giora Spiegel who also featured for the Israel National Team at the World Cup in that same year, as he delighted the crowd with a hat trick. Spiegel put home his first goal in the 7th minute while he doubled the score twenty minutes later via a free kick. But not only did he score, he also assisted on Rachamim Talbi’s strike in the 47th minute for the third goal and Nissim Bachar’s marker in the 54th minute. But the cherry on top was Spiegel’s third goal thanks to a Talbi helper in the 61st minute as the 5:0 scoreline held up until the end of the match as the greatest Derby win. Of course, that was until September 25, 2016 when Nosa Igiebor, along with braces from Tal Ben Chaim and Vidar Kjartansson equaled the feat.

Galili finished his piece by stating: “Thousands of fans besieged the dressing room for up to an hour following the game, cheering the Maccabi players on for one of the best and most exciting matches that had been seen in such a long time.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Starting XI: Micki Michaeli, Meir Nimni, Tzvika Rosen, Menchem “Miko” Belo, Giora Spiegel, Avraham Shatemnerg, Ezra Ozeri, Nissim Bachar, Dror Bar Nur, Rachamim Talbi, David Karako. Substitutes: Shalom Shikva. Coach: David (Dubir) Schweitzer.

The year  was 1965. Two Tel Aviv sides met head-to-head in the Israel State Cup Final with Maccabi coming into the match as the defending Cup holders. The Yellow-and-Blue got onto the scoreboard first as Moshe Asis scored in the 25th minute, however the Oranges drew even before the break.

The final then headed into extra time and Rafi Baranes gave Maccabi the lead. There were plenty of players who graced the pitch in that final but one player was head and shoulders above everyone else. Haim Levine, the Maccabi keeper who put on a magnificent performance that led to the club hoisting the Cup for the second straight year.

Haim  Levine was born 79 years ago today, March 3, 1937 and his name became synonymous with the all time great keepers as he collected two Championships and four State Cups. Due to his uncanny abilities and the fact that he wore a dark colored uniform he became to be known as the “Black Panther”. Levine played for Maccabi Tel Aviv between 1960-1969 in what was the best era of his goalkeeping career.

In addition to playing for Maccabi, the shot stopper also donned the keepers shirt for Hapoel Petach Tikva, Hapoel Kfar Saba, Hapoel Hadera, Maccabi Netanya, Maccabi Haifa, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Jerusalem. Levine made his Israel National Team debut in a 5:0 loss to the Brazil National Team and took part in all of the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. In total he played in 22 Israel National Team matches.