Maccabi will kickoff their 73^rd season in the top-flight since the State of Israel was established. Maccabi is the only side in Israel that were not relegated and played in the top division while Hapoel Tel Aviv are second with 70 seasons.

Maccabi’s record in 2,246 matches currently stands on 1,140 victories, 597 draws and 509 defeats with a total goal tally of 3,742-2,111.

Maccabi is the club that won the highest number of championships winning the league title 25 times. Maccabi Haifa are ranked second with 15 league titles.

In fact, Maccabi hold onto almost every possible league title:

The highest success rate per season in both eras:

2 points per victory (until the 1981/82 season):

An 89.6% success rate in the 1949/50 season.

3 points per victory (from the 1982/83 season):

An 82.4% success rate in the 2018/19 season.

In 2018/19 Maccabi won the league with a staggering 31 point-gap from the runners up spot – the highest in Israel’s history. The title was secured 8 matches before the end of the season which is also the earliest won.

A 13-0 win over Maccabi Rishon Lezion on 7/1/1950 – the highest victory in the league history.

A 20-match-long-winning streak recorded between July 1949 and October 1951.

The largest number of goals scored in one season: Maccabi scored 100 goals in 23 matches of the 1949/50 season averaging 4.3 goals per game.

Eran Zahavi scored the highest number of goals per season managing 35 league goals in the 2015/16 season.

The league’s top goal scorer emerged for Maccabi 16 times – more than any other Israeli club.

The longest stretch of a clean sheet was recorded by Daniel Tenenbaum in the 2019/20 season keeping his goal locked for 1,272 minutes without conceding.

The 2019/20 season also saw Maccabi keep the highest number of matches without conceding in 29 of 36.

573 players represented Maccabi in the league over the years with Miko Belo holding the appearance record with 498.

Avi Nimni is Maccabi’s all-time top goal-scorer with 174 while Eran Zahavi is ranked behind him with 138 league goals in Yellow and Blue.

18,769,000 fans attended Maccabi’s league matches averaging 8,550 fans per game.

Maccabi’s record on the opening day of the season since the State of Israel was established stands on: 39 victories, 15 draws, 18 defeats with a total goal tally of 139-82.

A 9-1 victory over Maccabi Rishon Lezion on the opening day of the 1951/52 season is Maccabi’s best start to a league campaign. Yosef ‘Yosale’ Merimovich scored six goals in that match which places him as Maccabi’s top scorer on the opening day of any season.

Maccabi scored twice inside injury time on the opening day of a season as both goals were scored by Sheran Yeini in 2008/09 and the 2009/10 campaigns.

Barak Yitzhaki scored Maccabi’s fastest goal on the opening day of the 2013/14 season. Yitzhaki got his name on the scoresheet after only 48 seconds away to Hapoel Acco.

Sunday’s match against Maccabi Petah Tikva will be the third time Maccabi kicks off their league campaign at Hamoshava stadium. A 3-0 victory away to Maccabi Petah Tikva in the 2014/15 season and a 2-0 victory over Sektzia Ness Ziona in the 2019/20 season resulted with Maccabi winning the league title.

This will be the 11^th time Maccabi begins their league campaign against Maccabi Petah Tikva – the season Maccabi began the season against more than any other club.

After 9 successive seasons in which Maccabi began their league campaign in August – the postponement of the MD1 home match against Hapoel Jerusalem will see Maccabi start the league in September for the first time since the 2014/15 championship winning season.

Ido Shahar scored the fifth and final goal as Maccabi thrashed TSC Backa Topola 5-1 on the way to an 8-1 aggregate victory in the Playoff that booked Maccabi a place in the inagural Europa League phase. “It is great joy, we are so excited especially under the new format it is just mad. We are over the moon for qualifying but obviously there is a long season ahead and we must continue doing everything in order to keep on winning matches.”

Shahar, who scored his first goal of the 2024/25 campaign but second career goal in Europe, added: “This goal is a small bonus but I am really hapoy the team won and we reached the Europa League. We will be happy with every team we receive as it is going to be an amazing experience. We will do our best to make our fans happy and give a few moments of joy, especially during such times our country is currently experiencing.”

Maccabi will visit the Amsterdam Arena where they face Dutch giants Ajax, travel to to Portugal’s League Cup winner Sporting Braga, a long journey to Norway for an encounter with local Champions Bodo/Glimt as well as Turkish side Besiktas.
Under the new format Maccabi will host four home matches against Portuguese Cup winner Porto, Spanish side Real Sociedad, Danish Champions Midtjylland and Latvian Champions RFS.

Maccabi is the only club left flying the Israeli flag in Europe as they will joined by 35 other club representing 22 countries. Holland and Turkey will be represented by 3 clubs each, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden each has 2 clubs while Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Scotland and Ukraine each have one club.

UEFA published the dates and kickoff times of Maccabi’s fixture list for the Europa league phase:

(Kickoff times in CET – Maccabi’s home venue will be published at a later stage).

Maccabi will begin their inaugural Europa league phase with a trip to Portugal where they face SC Braga on October 26^th. Two back-to-back home matches at a venue which will be published at a later stage will see Maccabi host Danish side FC Midtjylland on October 3^rd and Spain’s Real Sociedad on October 24^th.  Two away matches against Ajax at the Johan Cruyff Arena on November 7^th and Besiktas of Turkey on November 28^th. Maccabi then host FC RFC of Latvia on December 12^th before heading for Norway where they face Bodo/Glimt at the Aspmyra stadium in Bodo on January 23^rd. Maccabi’s will end the league phase with a home match as they host Portuguese giants FC Porto on January 30^th.   

Europa League phase fixtures:

MD1 September 26th: SC Braga vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (Estádio Municipal de Braga, 21:00)

MD2 October 3rd: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs FC Midtjylland (TBC, 18:45)

MD3 October 24th: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Real Sociedad (TBC, 18:45)

MD4 November 7th: Ajax vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (Johan Crujff Arena, 21:00)

MD5 November 28th: Besiktas JK vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (Beşiktaş Stadium, 18:45)

MD6 December 12th: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs FC RFS (TBC, 21:00)

MD 7: January 23rd: Bodo/Glimt vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (Aspmyra stadion, Bodo 18:45)

MD 8: January 30th: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs FC Porto (TBC, 21:00)

The biggest change is to the group stage, which will become a single 36-team league phase. Each side faces eight different teams with four matches played at home while four away. The top eight overall advance directly to the round of 16; sides finishing from ninth to 24th will contest the knockout phase play-offs, with the winners advancing through to the last 16. From then on it is a straight knockout.

Maccabi were one of twelve clubs to qualify through the Play-offs as they were joined in the new league phase by 7 domestic Cup winners who qualified qualify automatically along with five other teams by virtue of their domestic league placing. Last season’s Conference League winners, Olympiacos, were also guaranteed a spot with an additional 11 clubs transferring from the Champions League.

The league phase matches will be played in accordance with the league system, whereby each club plays eight opponents in single-leg ties. Each club plays two teams from each pot, four home and four away matches.

 

LEAGUE PHASE DRAW

Pot 1

1. Roma (Italy)
2. Manchester United (England)
3. Porto (Portugal)
4. Ajax (Holland)
5. Rangers FC (Scotland)
6. Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
7. Lazio (Italy)
8. Tottenham Hotspur (England)
9. SK Slavia Praha (Czech Republic)

Pot 2

10. Real Sociedad (Spain)
11. AZ Alkmaar (Holland)
12. Sporting Braga (Portugal)
13. Olympiacos (Greece)
14. Olympique Lyon (France)
15. PAOK (Greece)
16. Fenerbahçe (Turkey)
17. Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel)
18. Ferencváros (Hungary)

Pot 3

19. Qarabağ (Azerbaijan)
20. Galatasaray (Turkey)
21. Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic)
22. Bodø/Glimt (Norway)
23. Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium)
24. Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
25. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
26. Midtjylland (Denmark)
27. Malmö (Sweden)

Pot 4

28. Athletic Club (Spain)
29. Hoffenheim (Germany)
30. Nice (France)
31. Anderlecht (Belgium)
32. Twente (Holland)
33. Beşiktaş (Turkey)
34. Fotbal Club FCSB (Romania)
35. RFS (Latvia)
36. Elfsborg (Sweden)

 

Draw procedure

Four bowls are prepared for the draw, one for each of the four draw pots. Each bowl comprises nine balls containing the names of the teams forming the pot.

The 2024/25 UEFA Europa League season concludes at Bilbao’s Estadio de San Mamés

Preview:

Carrying a 3-0 lead from last week’s first leg in Hungary, Maccabi Tel Aviv arrived at the TSC Arena in Backa Topola for the return leg of the Europa League Playoff.

This was a return to familiar grounds for Coach Zarko Lazetic and his coaching staff who spent the past two seasons at TSC, but also for the Maccabi players as the 4500 capacity stadium hosted their Conference League matches last season.

On his first return to his former hunting ground where he guided TSC last season in the Europa League group stage, Lazetic was aiming to secure Maccabi a place in tomorrow’s Europa League draw in Monaco.

Lazetic, made three changes to his starting line-up as Roy Revivo stepped in for Ofir Davidzada at left back. Other than that Maccabi’s defensive line remained unchanged Tyrese Asante and Raz Shlomo as the two central defenders with Sagiv Jehezkel on the right completing the back-four in front of goalkeeper Roi Mishpati. Joris van Overeem returned to the midfield anchorman role with Gabi Kanichowsy and Dor Peretz completing Maccabi’s midfield trio.

Henry Addo returned to the side on one wing with Osher Davida on the opposite flank supplying the width to Maccabi’s formation. After scoring the opener against the Serbians last week, Dor Turgeman kept his place upfront in a bid to add to the two goals he scored for Maccabi this season.

While new signing Nemanja Stojic joined Maccabi after the deadline for this stage, the Serbian defender was unable to make a return to his former club as well but instead limited to watch both his former and new teammates from the stands.

On the bench Lazetic named amongst the substitutes goalkeeper Osher Melika, Avishay Cohen, Idan Nachmias, Eran Zahavi, Dan Biton, Elad Madmon, Ofir Davidzada, Issouf Sissokho, Matan Baltaxa, Hisham Layous, Ido Shahar and Nir Bitton.

First Half

Maccabi and Lazetic couldn’t have wished for a better start as they took the lead with less than two minutes on the clock and at the end of a spectacular team effort. Tyrese Asante picked Osher Davida with a long diagonal ball before the winger knocked it down for Dor Peretz. Maccabi’s captain on the night flicked the ball to Gabi Kanichowsky who slipped it for Henry Addo. With only the keeper to beat the Ghanian forward kept his calm and found the bottom far corner with a clinical finish.

Three minutes after scoring his debut goal for Maccabi, Addo celebrated a brace with Kanichowsky adding another assist. The diminutive midfielder chipped the ball over the defense before Addo volleyed home his second in style. Maccabi continued to dominate as they were rewarded for their efforts in the 12th minute as Asante scored his debut goal. TSC’s defense failed to clear a corner which fell to Asante at the far post before the Dutch defender swept the ball home from close range to give Maccabi a 3-0 early lead. 

In the 17th minute Dor Turgeman came close to join in the celebration as he curled a free kick from 25 meters out which narrowly missed the target. Maccabi took their foot off the pedal a bit allowing TSC to gradually gain possession but Joris van Overeem, Asante and Raz Shlomo thwarted any attempts to reach Roi Mishpati. In the 35th minute Davida tested Veljko Ilic with a powerful drive which the keeper pushed for a corner. Maccabi’s well drilled corner saw the ball reach Roy Revivo who blasted his effort high over the crossbar. Two minutes later at the opposite end Mishpati was drawn into the action but Maccabi’s keeper was well positioned to catch the long range effort which was fired at him.

On the brink of halftime Maccabi charged forward for yet another counter attack but Turgeman who picked the ball on the edge of the area, managed to send his dipping low drive wide of the post.

Second Half

With a 3-0 lead at halftime and 6-0 on aggregate, Lazetic, made two changes at the restart. Idan Nachmias came on for Sagiv Jehezkel at right-back while Hisham Layous came on for Osher Davida on the left wing.

In the 52nd minute TSC came close to cut the deficit as Aleksandar Cirkovic picked Milos Pantovic unmarked at the far post before the forward who had the goal at his mercy headed wide. Maccabi extended their lead to 4-0 on 56 as van Overeem picked the ball in the middle of the park and fed Peretz whose flick released Turgeman through. The 20-year-old striker charged forward and slotted his shot beyond the reach of Ilic to score his third goal of 

In the 62nd minute Aleksa Pejic managed to make his way through past Maccabi’s defensive line, but a last gasp tackle from van Overeem prevented the TSC player from having a shot on goal. Lazetic reacted with a triple change as he introduced Nir Bitton for Shlomo at the back, Ido Shahar replaced Peretz in midfield while Elad Madmon came on for Turgeman upfront.the campaign.

A minute later TSC had their best chance as Pejic blasted a shot which beat Mishpati and hit the underside of the crossbar only to land in front of the goal-line before the danger was cleared. With the tie clearly put to bed, Maccabi kept pushing forward trying to increase their lead as Shahar and Layous could have done better on 81 only for the winger to miscue his shot at the keeper. Bitton required medical treatment in the 84th minute for a cut above his eye and returned to the field a couple of minutes later with a blue bandage over his head.

In the 89th minute Maccabi scored the fifth as Roy Revivo broke into the box and fired a left foot shot which was saved by Ilic before Shahar pounced on the lose ball and tapped in the rebound from point blank range.Inside injury time TSC scored a consolation goal as a poor clearance of a corner fell to Prestige Mbounngou whose toe poke went in off the post to set the score on 5-1.