Maccabi faced Hapoel for a Tel Aviv league 164 times so far, winning 60 drawing 58 and losing 46 derbies with a total goal tally of 205-154.

The four derby victories in succession set an all-time victory record of 60-46 which is the biggest gap (14) each club ever had over its’ arch city rivals.

Maccabi’s unbeaten run in derbies now stretches to 19 in the league and 24 in all competitions. This is Maccabi’s second longest run against any league opponent with the highest being a 21 match unbeaten run in the league against Hapoel Be’ersheva between 1991-2002.

Seven league derbies were played on MD20 with Maccabi winning 4, drawing 1 and losing twice.

One of those victories was a 3-0 win recorded in the 2003/04 season which is also nicknamed ‘The Hail derby’ following the pellets of frozen drops during the game at the Ramat Gan stadium.

This was also the only league match in history where two opponents scored own goals (Yigal Antebi and Rami Halis) after Maccabi’s Brazilian midfielder, Bruno Reis, scored the opener.

Watch: The highlights from the 3-0 victory in the 2003/04 season.

 

Sheran Yeini participated in 30 derbies and is ranked second amongst the 381 players who pulled on a Maccabi shirt in a Tel Aviv derby. Yeini is 3 derbies away from Maccabi’s all-time record holder Miko Belo who played in 33 Tel Aviv derbies.

Shiye Glazer is Maccabi’s top goal-scorer in Tel Aviv derbies with 11 goals. Eran Zahavi who scored his 8^th goal when both teams met earlier this season, is joint second with Avi Nimni.

Hapoel’s coach, Haim Silvas, faced Maccabi on 20 occasions as the coach of Hapoel Ra’anana, Hapoel Kiryat Shmona, Hapoel Haifa and Bnei Sakhnin. Of these 20 encounters, Maccabi won 15, lost 2 with 3 of those matches ending in a draw.

Hapoel hosted Maccabi at the renewed Bloomfield stadium 5 times in the league (since the 2019/20 season). Maccabi won all five encounters and have a goal tally of 14-2. In four of these victories Maccabi kept a clean sheet while the fifth match resulted with a 3-2 dramatic victory.

The International Holocaust and Remembrance Day will be marked across the world tomorrow (January 27th) – a date chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the Auscwitz-Birkenau liberation from the Nazis in 1945.

Ahead of that date, the Maccabi Tel Aviv foundation held a special activity of commemoration with the club’s playing and coaching staff.

Last week, the first team and youth team players and staff gathered at Bloomfield stadium for a virtual-reality tour of the Auschwitz- Birkenau camp , using a headset.

The joint venture with ‘Triumph of the spirit’ exposed all the participants to a powerful, rattling VR tour of what happened at the world’s most infamous concentration camp.

Maccabi’s CEO, Sharon Tammam, said: “I don’t think that anyone who took part whether that be players, staff members Israeli or foreign thought he would endure such an experience. This doesn’t just make history into a story but into an actual real experience which makes you feel and experience it. It is not the an easy thing by all means, but something that in my opinion everyone should experience”.

The players and staff also shared their feelings as Daniel Tenenbaum, said: “It is very emotional and makes you feel like you are there. This experience gave us some understanding of what it felt like being there at such a tough moment for the entire Jewish nation.” Dan Glazer added: “Most of the players never got a chance to experience that during our school years as we are athletes so this is just rattling and I am grateful to have had the chance to do it.”

Maccabi’s fitness coach, Juan Torijo, who recently rejoined Maccabi for a third tenure, said: “When you watch it all and have the opportunity to see everything to the finer details, you get to see where all those atrocities took place, which is very important as it brings you even close to the Jewish nation”.

Maccabi’s captain, Sheran Yeini, summed up: “It makes you think of how important that is to always be better human beings because we witnessed what might happen when humans get a chance to show their evil side.”         

Three days after helping Maccabi to a convincing 3-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa which cut the deficit at the top of the table to five points, Shahar Piven, addressed the media and said: “The match against Haifa was good professionally, as we did what our coach asked us to during the week. But this is in the past and history as far as we are concerned.”

The 27-year-old defender whose performance at the heart of defence helped Maccabi keep a 13^th clean sheet this season, and will now have a Tel Aviv derby to look forward to, added: “I am happy we have a game which is similar in terms of atmosphere as there are plenty of home grown players who know the meaning of a derby to the fans. Saturday’s match is just as big, as Hapoel is a tough opponent to play against.”

With the first derby of the season resulting in a 3-0 victory back in October, Piven, remained focused on the task at hand: “We will begin our preparations today, watch them and arrive ready to win the match and continue our good form.”

Piven, who appeared in 10 of the 19 league matches so far this season and 12 in all competitions, added: “From the start of the season I played in a lot of matches and was happy to help the team every time I was called upon. My job is to train as hard as I possibly can and help my team, give everything on the pitch and if the coach thinks I can help he will let me play. I need to give everything in training and in matches and look at my personal gain or my ego, as this is a club which is dear to me. I grew up here and I am always happy to help.”

Piven, who is playing his fifth season in the first team, and played in quite a few Tel Aviv derbies also at youth level summed up: “You all know the history of the derbies and even if we had won the last few, derbies have their own rules and it is our job and our coaching staff to prepare for this match. Every match has its own targets and goals. We have two more days to prepare and then arrive to win this match for the fans that keep supporting us”.

Preview

Maccabi Tel Aviv returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD19 ONE ZERO League encounter with Maccabi Haifa knowing that this top of the table clash could have a major influence on the campaign. Last week’s 2-2 draw against Beitar Jerusalem saw Maccabi’s gap from the leaders increased to eight points in the wake of Haifa’s 11^th victory in succession. Aitor Karanka was forced to make changes to his side following Derrick Luckassen’s one-match-touchline ban due to his dismissal at Teddy stadium.

With Luckassen suspended, Karanka made four changes from the side which played with 10 men against Beitar as the Spanish coach also changed the formation to a four man defence. Shahar Piven was named alongside Enric Saborit as the two central defenders in front of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. Ofir Davidzada returned to the left back position after recovering from the knee injury which side-lined him for a fortnight. Andre Geraldes who impressed against Beitar and set up the second goal, completed the defensive line on the right. Dor Peretz and Dan Glazer were both named by Karanka in the midfield engine room while Parfait Guiagon and Oscar Gloukh supplied the width and ammunition for the striking duo Eran Zahavi and Djordje Jovanovic.

On the bench, alongside goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum, Karnka, named Joris van Overeem, Gabi Kanichowsky, Sheran Yeini, Avi Rikan, Eyal Golasa, Yonatan Cohen, Maor Kandil and Dor Turgeman.

First Half

Maccabi began the match with purpose and intention as Karanka’s formation gave his side most of the possession in the opening stages. Djordje Jovanovic had the first serious shot on goal but his effort was blocked for a corner.

Aitor Karnaka’s players tried breaching the visitors’ defence mostly from the right as the combination of Andre Geraldes and Parfait Guiagon caused Haifa all sorts of problems. All the early attempts to cross the ball and find both Djordje Jovanovic and Eran Zahavi were dealt with by Haifa’s two towering defenders Dylan Batubinsika and Abdoulaye Seck.

Guiagon flashed a shot wide of Roy Mashpati’s goal as the diminutive Ivorian who looked lively as a right sided midfielder almost punished Haifa for a mistake in defence.
Dan Glazer and Dor Peretz dominated the midfield and frustrated their opponents as in the 16^th minute tempers flared with Mohamad Abu Fani going inbto the referee’s book for a barge on Glazer.

A counter attack five minutes later saw Jovanovic attempt a shot instead of passing to either Zahavi or Oscar Gloukh who were both in better positions. Maccabi continued to show their superiority as Enric Saborit volleyed a Gloukh corner on 25 but Mashpati collected the ball on his line.

In the 35^th minute Zahavi latched on a miscued Abdoulaye Seck clearance and attempted a volley from 30 meters out but his shot went wide. Two minutes later, Maccabi’s frontline created a spectacular move which almost resulted with a spectacular goal. Zahavi’s back-heal flick into the path of Guiagon allowed the Ivorian to break into the area and cut the ball back to Gloukh whose snap shot narrowly missed the target.

On the stroke of halftime the deadlock was finally broken as the majority of the 27,279 fans at Bloomfield stadium were on their feet cheering. Gloukh who was sent down the left flank managed to shrug off Batubiniska and centred the ball to Guiagon whose initial shot was blocked by the hand of Seck who slid in across the area. Referee Orel Grinfeld allowed play to continue before Guiagon blasted-in the rebound which gave Mashpati no chance as the ball rocketed into the net.

Second  Half

While Karanka stuck to his guns and didn’t make any substitutions after the break, his Haifa counterpart, Barak Bakhar, made a double change at the restart with Ali Mohamad replacing Neta Lavie and Mavis Tchibota coming on for Frantzdy Pierrot.

The second half began where the first one left off as four minutes after the restart Zahavi slid the ball into the path of Jovanovic whose shot was saved by Mashpati. Haifa’s keeper was kept busy as moments later Gloukh forced Mashpati to make a save at the near post.

In the 58th minute, a Guiagon shot deflected off a defender and threatened to go in before Mashpati pushed the ball out for a corner. Haifa’s defence struggled to clear the resulting corner as Gloukh began one of his trademark mazy runs, took on Haifa’s entire defence but was stopped by Mashpati’s outstretched foot.
A minute after the hour mark, Guiagon ran out of steam and received a standing ovation as he was replaced by Gabi Kanichowsky. Within two minutes Bloomfield was rocking once again as Jovanovic teed-up Zahavi who sent an unstoppable thunder-bolt which rocketed into the top corner to double Maccabi’s lead.

Haifa were reduced to 10 men in the 70th minute as Abu Fani was shown a second yellow card for a stamp on Glazer. Seconds later the visitors were left without a coach as well as Bakhar was sent off for protesting Abu Fani’s dismissal. In the 72nd minute Dor Peretz thought he had joined the celebrations as he slid in to convert Kanichowsky’s cross. But the intervention of VAR saw Grinfeld cancel the goal after Glazer was judged to have fouled Tjaronn Chery in the build-up.

Gloukh who worked tirelessly throughout the match limped off in the 81^st minute and was replaced by Avi Rikan before the youngster walked around the stadium receiving a standing ovation from Maccabi’s fans.

Zahavi placed a stamp on the rout in the 85th minute as he fired a shot which deflected off a defender’s back to beat Mashpati and make it 3-0. Kanichowsky came close twice within a minute but on both occasions Mashpati managed to claw the ball out and deny Haifa a total humiliation. Jovanovic was given a standing ovation of his own as Karanka introduced Eyal Golasa for the closing stages. Grinfeld’s final whistle ended the one sided contest but with the gap at the table reduced to 5 points, the performance of Karanka’s charges reopened the title race.

Eran Zahavi who scored two goals against Maccabi Haifa to take his tally this season to 12 in the league and 18th in all competitions, admitted after the game: “I know this was my best match this season”. The 35-year-old veteran marksman added: “I am working very hard in a lot of matches which is something that is not always seen, but I give everything in every training session and match. We ran for each other today, we won duals and did everything our coach demanded from us. We must continue this way and even improve and do better.”

On work under Aitor Karanka, Zahavi added: “We have only been working together for two weeks and there is a good vibe going on. Things are looking good. Our team spirit stood out today which is something I was missing a bit until last week’s match. We want to continue pushing forward as this is how we need to look. This is Maccabi Tel Aviv”.

 

Shortly before Monday’s top of the table clash against Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield, Maccabi will hold a ceremony marking the contribution of one of its’ best players of all time. Maccabi will pay tribute to Giora Spiegel who played, captained, won trophies and even coached the first team, as the Former Players Club returns to honor one of the greatest careers at Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israeli football.

Spiegel was born on July 27^th 1947 as the son of former Maccabi Petah Tikva player and coach Eliezer Spiegel before making his first footballing footsteps at Maccabi’s Youth Academy. At the age of 16 and two months, Spiegel, made a dream senior debut as he scored 5 goals in a 10-1 State Cup preliminary round victory over Beitar Mahne Yehuda. Spiegel continued to impress in his first season as he added 5 more goals in all competitions and at the age of 17 was marked as the club’s future star. In his second campaign with the senior side, Spiegel scored 21 goals in all competitions, six of which in one game against Hapoel Tel Mond in the Cup.

The talented young midfielder continued to shine and kept scoring in double figures in every full season he played for Maccabi. In one of the most memorable derby victories of all time, Spiegel scored a hat trick to help Maccabi to a 5-0 victory over arch city rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv in the 1969/70 season.

Throughout his career, Spiegel, who was identified with the number 8 shirt, scored 97 league goals and 26 in the State Cup. With 128 goals in 304 appearances in all competitions, Spiegel is ranked 6^th amongst Maccabi’s all time goal scorers.

In 10 seasons as a Maccabi Tel Aviv plyer, Spiegel won no less than 10 trophies: 4 League championships (67/68, 69/70, 71/72, 78/79), 4 State Cups (63/64, 64/65, 66/67, 69/70 ) including the League and Cup double of the 1969/70 season, as well as 2 historic Asian Club Championships (68/69, 70/71). Spiegel played a key role in Maccabi’s first Asian Cup 1968/69 campaign as he scored six goals in as many matches, including a hat trick in the 6-1 Semi Final victory over Indian outfit Mysore State. In the second successful Asian Cup campaign, Spiegel captained the side and scored two goals on the way the final which Maccabi won by default following a no-show of the Tehran Police.

Towards the end of the 1972/73 season, Spiegel moved to France and joined Strasbourg (1973-1976) and Olympique Lyon (1976-1978) before returning to Israel for a second tenure at Maccabi (1978/79) which resulted with the league championship at the end of that season.

Spiegel also played a central role in Israel’s footballing history as he led the national U19’s side to win the Youth Asia Football Championship in 1965 beating Burma in the Finals which was played in Tokyo, Japan. At national team level, he set-up the winning goal for Mordechai ‘Motalle’ Spiegler in the victory over Australia (1969) which booked Israel’s historic qualification to the 1970 World Cup. Spiegel then repeated the feat at the finals in Mexico as well, setting up Spiegler’s goal in the 1-1 group stage draw against Sweden which was the Blue and Whites only goal to date at that stage of the competition.

Overall, Spiegel scored 18 goals in 44 international appearances for Israel between 1965-1980.

After retiring, Spigel, began a coaching career returning to Maccabi in 1988 and guiding the first team to a State Cup victory in 1988 beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-1 in the final.