Maccabi will begin the Playoff of the 2025/26 season with a Tel Aviv derby against arch city rivals Hapoel and aim to avenge the dramatic late defeat in the regular season.

A repeat of the State Cup Semi Final will see Maccabi head to Sammy Ofer and face Maccabi Haifa on MD28. Maccabi then host leaders Hapoel Be’ersheva on MD29 before traveling to Jerusalem for a match against second place Beitar on MD30.

Hapoel Petah Tikva that reached the Top Playoff in their first season back in the top-flight, travel to Bloomfield on MD31.

The second round of the Playoff kicks off with the fourth Tel Aviv derby in the league hosted by Hapoel. Maccabi will remain at Bloomfield for the third match in succession as they host Maccabi Haifa on MD33.  Maccabi’s final home match of the season will see them host Beitar Jerusalem at Bloomfield on MD34. 

A trip to Turner stadium for a match away to Hapoel Be’ersheva awaits Maccabi on MD35. 

The 2025/26 league campaign will come to an end with a short trip and a match away to Hapoel Petah Tikva on MD36.

Playoff fixtures:

MD27:

Hapoel Be’ersheva v Hapoel Petah Tikva

Beitar Jerusalem v Maccabi Haifa

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Hapoel Tel Aviv

MD28:

Hapoel Petah Tikva v Hapoel Tel Aviv

Hapoel Be’ersheva v Beitar Jerusalem

Maccabi Haifa v Maccabi Tel Aviv

MD29:

Beitar Jerusalem v Hapoel Petah Tikva

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Hapoel Be’ersheva

Hapoel Tel Aviv v Maccabi Haifa

MD30:

Hapoel Petah Tikva v Maccabi Haifa

Hapoel Be’ersheva v Hapoel Tel Aviv

Beitar Jerusalem v Maccabi Tel Aviv

MD31:

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Hapoel Petah Tikva

Hapoel Tel Aviv v Beitar Jerusalem

Maccabi Haifa v Hapoel Be’ersheva

MD32:

Hapoel Petah Tikva v Hapoel Be’ersheva

Maccabi Haifa v Beitar Jerusalem

Hapoel Tel Aviv v Maccabi Tel Aviv

MD33:

Hapoel Tel Aviv v Hapoel Petah Tikva

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Maccabi Haifa

Beitar Jerusalem v Hapoel Be’ersheva

MD34:

Maccabi Haifa v Hapoel Petah Tikva

Hapoel Tel Aviv v Hapoel Be’ersheva

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Beitar Jerusalem

MD35:

Hapoel Petah Tikva v Beitar Jerusalem

Hapoel Be’ersheva v Maccabi Tel Aviv

Maccabi Haifa v Hapoel Tel Aviv

MD36:

Hapoel Petah Tikva v Maccabi Tel Aviv

Beitar Jerusalem v Hapoel Tel Aviv

Hapoel Be’ersheva v Maccabi Haifa

 

 

Yaakov Zilberstein, affectionately known by his friends as Yankele, was born in the shtetl—a vibrant Jewish community filled with spiritual atmosphere—in the town of Tomaszów Mazowiecki, located near Łódź, Poland, nestled among three rivers that created a peaceful ambiance.

Alongside his studies in the yeshiva and his dream of becoming a great rabbi, Yankele, like his friends, loved to play soccer during school breaks, keep up with current events, and glance through the secular daily newspaper Hayntike Nayes, which reported on the games of Maccabi and Maccabi Krakow—teams that proudly wore blue and white uniforms with the Star of David, unafraid of the antisemitism they faced.

These were the foggy days on the eve of war, and suddenly, from out of nowhere, World War II erupted. On the 13th of September, the face of his town changed—on the eve of the Jewish New Year, the Germans entered the city.

Yankele was arrested by German soldiers. “Come here, boy, help us with this. Finish the task and you’ll return to your parents.”

At the end of that day, as the sun set and Rosh Hashanah began, with its prayers echoing in his mind, Yankele was taken along with 90 other townspeople—30 of them boys aged 14–15 like him—on a journey through hell. He would never again see any member of his family and was left alone in the world.

On Rosh Hashanah, instead of apples and honey, he was forced into hard labor without food or water. With no mother to come and show him compassion, Yankele arrived at the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp.

Three years later, on October 15, 1942, Yankele was transferred in a cattle train to the Auschwitz death camp. Upon arrival, as they were led to their slaughter, the prisoners were ordered: “Take off your clothes, go take a shower.” Suddenly, a man on a motorcycle appeared and shouted, “Stop! These are craftsmen—we need them here as skilled workers.”

Despite the harsh labor, starvation, and the body’s weakening will to live, a resistance began to form and grow within Auschwitz III—Buna Monowitz. This international underground movement, composed of both political and Jewish prisoners—including the frail yeshiva student Yankele—started secretly transferring gunpowder to Auschwitz II in an effort to blow up the crematoria. Eventually, the revolt failed, and only Crematorium IV was destroyed on October 7, 1944.

Yankele was caught due to an informant. The German guards lashed him with a 75-strand whip made of animal tail, demanding he count each blow. Yankele counted the lashes, recited the Shema Yisrael, and fainted. He was carried away on a stretcher. Days later, summoned again for interrogation, he refused to betray the names of his comrades. Another 75 lashes. Again, he fainted. Again and again, he was brought in and tortured. At one point he was hung from a tree by both hands raised above his head—but he remained silent, never revealing the names of those in the resistance. In the heart of the inferno, with his life hanging by a thread, this was true Jewish heroism.

Yankele survived the 60-kilometer death march back to Buchenwald and was liberated on April 11, 1945.

He made his way to the Land of Israel via displaced persons camps in Italy, where he was among the founders of “Kibbutz Aliyah.” There, he and his friends took in and cared for orphaned children in preparation for immigration to Israel. On the way, aboard the ship Bracha Fold, they were intercepted by the British and sent to a detention camp in Cyprus. There, Yankele married the love of his life, Rachel—a fellow Holocaust survivor. In June 1947, before the establishment of the State of Israel, they arrived in the country and settled in the town of Rishon LeZion, where Yankele joined the local defense force.

In 1978, before Israel and Poland had diplomatic relations, Yankele marched at the head of a delegation of Holocaust survivor organizations through Auschwitz. With his head held high, he carried a large Israeli flag—the first time such a flag had been seen on Polish soil at the death camp. Ignoring Polish soldiers who demanded he remove the flag, he walked proudly, unafraid of arrest.

Like his parents, Yankele followed the path of the Gur Hasidic dynasty. He began studying in a cheder (traditional Jewish school) as a child, and as a teenager, continued at the famed Yeshiva of Chachmei Lublin. After proving mastery of over 400 pages of Talmud, he was accepted into the yeshiva.

When he arrived at Buchenwald, he was welcomed as a spiritual father by Rabbi and Professor Frankfurter, who asked him before his death: “Tell the world what happened here.” Yankele honored this final wish by lecturing in Israel and around the world.

Through these lectures, he reconnected with Maccabi Tel Aviv, which he saw as the spiritual successor of the fearless Maccabi Poland teams. His love for the club was passed on to his grandson Daniel, who continues to proudly support Maccabi to this day.

Yankele was laid to rest in the Land of Israel as a free man on November 24, 2021, at the age of 100 years and one month.

May his memory be a blessing.

Dor Peretz enjoyed better nights as Maccabi’s captain but on a night the side he captained suffered a 3-1 defeat to Hapoel Be’ersheva. The 30-year-old faced the cameras and said after the match: “We are very disappointed, mainly with our performance in the first half. We didn’t show up. It’s disappointing, collectively, individually, everything. That said, we managed to perform much better in the second half, but we still handed them the game. It wasn’t convincing football from either side, but we made mistakes that, at this stage of the season, we simply cannot make.”

Saied Abu Farchi’s second half penalty canceled Be’ersheva’s early lead before a Kings Kangwa brace inflicted Maccabi a 3-1 defeat. “The plan wasn’t to sit so deep, but it didn’t really work out. The easy goal we conceded made us feel uncomfortable” Peretz explained: “It didn’t come off, we move on.”

The defeat leaves Maccabi on 49 points and extended the gap from the leaders to 10 points. Focus will now turn to the Cup as Maccabi travel to Jerusalem and face Maccabi Haifa in the Semi Final. “We’ll talk about Wednesday’s match first. I am always optimistic, but right now Wednesday is our focus, and we’ll deal with the league after that.”

Preview

Forty-eight days since the 3-2 victory over Ashdod on MD24 which was the last home league match, and a week after returning to league action with a 4-1 victory away to Hapoel Haifa – Maccabi returned to Bloomfield stadium. Ronny Deila’s side that are currently third in the table with 49 points, host leaders Hapoel Be’ersheva for MD26 of the WINNER League which will conclude the regular season. Deila will seek to extend the 5-match unbeaten run since he took charge but also to beat Be’ersheva for the first time this season and cut the seven-point gap from the top on the eve of the Playoff.

Deila kept an almost unchanged starting line-up from the side that won at Haifa apart from Heitor dis Santos who replaced Ali Camara at the heart of defense. The 25-year-old Brazilian teamed up with Tyrese Asante as the two central defenders in front of goalkeeper Ofek Melika. Roy Revivo, who added another assist to his name at Haifa to take his tally to 11 in all competitions started at left back. Noam Ben Harush completed Maccabi’s back-four on the opposite side. In midfield, Deila, who is still missing injured duo Kristijan Belic and Issouf Sissokho stuck with the same trio that dominated the match at Haifa. Itamar Noy continued in the anchorman role just behind Maccabi’s two leading goal-scorers Dor Peretz (13) and Ido Shahar (14). Helio Varela who scored his 4th goal at Haifa and Osher Davida who bagged his 6th were named by Deila on both flanks. Saied Abu Farchi who scored 5 goals in the league and 9 in all competitions this season led the line upfront aiming to reach double figures in his first season with the senior side.

On the bench, Deila received a boost following the return of Emir Sahiti, as the Kosovar winger was named among the substitutes together with: Roi Mishpati, Ali Camara, Sagiv Jehezkel, Raz Shlomo, Yonas Malede, Elad Madmon, Ben Lederman and Lotem Asres.

First Half

The match began with high tempo from both sides who wanted to make an early impact. Roy Revivo came close to draw first blood in the sixth minute following a cut back by Helio Varela. Revivo unleashed a powerful left foot drive that forced Be’ersheva’s keeper Niv Eliasi to stretch himself and palm the ball away. Two minutes later Be’ersheva struggled to clear the danger as the ball fell to Osher Davida whose volley cleared the crossbar. In the 19^th minute, Itamar Noy was the first player to go into the referee’s book for a professional foul on Kings Kangwa which stopped a Be’ersheva counterattack. Two minutes later Kangwa came close as he latched on a loose ball and blasted a low powerful drive which narrowly missed the target.

Be’ersheva began to dominate pressing Maccabi in their own half as the visitors took the lead in the 28th minute. Mohamad Abu Rumi curled a cross into the box that eluded Maccabi’s defense allowing Eliel Peretz to nod the ball past Ofek Melika from close range. Two minutes after the half hour mark Abu Rumi tried catching Melika off guard with a powerful shot that Maccabi’s keeper parried away. Referee Gal Leibovic then booked Revivo in the 36th minute after he was judged to have fouled Abu Rumi.  

In the 42nd minute Leibovic was at the center of the action once again as Saied Abu Farchi went in for a tackle on Djibril Dio near the halfway line. Leibovic pulled out the red card, but the intervention of VAR saw the referee called to the screen before he changed his initial decision and replaced the red card with a yellow one. Abu Farchi’s Farchi’s fifth card prevented him from a dismissal but will sideline him from Wednesday’s State Cup Semi Final against Maccabi Haifa.

On the stroke of halftime, Be’ersheva thought they had doubled their lead as pressure on Noy and Heitor gifted Amir Ganah with the ball inside Maccabi’s box. Melika managed to save Gana’s initial shot, before Kangwa beat Noy on the goal-line to push the ball over the line. But the visitors’ celebrations were short-lived as VAR spotted the Zambian using his hand to score and the goal was scratched off.

Second Half

The second half began almost exactly as the first one ended with Kangawa denied a chance to double the score. Be’ersheva’s midfielder stripped Noam Ben Harush of the ball on the halfway line and charged forward but Melika pulled a stunning save with his feet to keep Maccabi in the game. In the 53rd minute a Heitor shot deflected off the hand of Lucas Ventura and sailed over. VAR intervened and called Leibovic to the screen once again as Maccabi were awarded a penalty. Abu Farchi stepped up, sent Eliasi the wrong way and levelled the score. But Be’ersheva responded almost instantly to restore their lead right from the kickoff after Kangwa received the ball from Peretz skipped past a Tyrese Asante challenge charged and beat Melika with a deadly strike.

Deila made a double substitution in the 63rd minute as Sagiv Jehezkel and Emir Sahiti replaced Ben Harush and Davida. Deila made another double substitution on 77 as Noy and Varela bowed out and were replaced by Elad Madmon and Yonas Malede. Ali Camara stepped in for Heitor in the 80th minute as Deila made his fifth and final change for the closing stages.

Camara came close in yhe 87th minute as he rose high to head Ido Shahar’s free kick but from the goalmouth couldn’t keep his header down.Shortly after the 4th official raised his sign for eight minutes of added time, Dor Peretz had a half volley saved by Eliasi from a corner. The resulting corner saw Be’ersheva block Maccabi’s attempt before Kangwa charged forward for a counterattack bursting for the half the length of the pitch. This time the Zambian gave Melika no chance as blasted his shot into the top corner to seal Macabi’s fate with the third.
Deep inside injury time Madmon tried a solo run into the box, but his effort was blocked for a corner. The final whistle confirmed that was not going to be Maccabi’s night as attention now turns to the Cup.

The MD26 WINNER League match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Be’ersheva will be the 138^th time both teams face each other in the league. The overall record currently stands on 65 Maccabi victories, 32 Be’ersheva victories while 40 matches ended in a draw and a goal tally of 193-116.

Maccabi hosted Be’ersheva on 70 league matches of which 40 matches were won, 20 drawn and 10 lost with a goal tally of 110-47.
Over the past four seasons (2022-2025), all four of the home matches in the regular season against Be’ersheva ended with the same result – a 1-0 victory for Maccabi.

Since the start of the 2018/19 season, Maccabi has a 14-match unbeaten run against Be’ersheva at home of which 9 matches were won and 5 drawn. This is the longest unbeaten home against Be’ersheva, and the 10th longest unbeaten home unbeaten run against any opponent in the club’s history.

A total of 334 Maccabi players featured against Be’ersheva. Sheran Yeini holds the appearance record with 34 matches while Dor Peretz is second with 29 appearances.

Eighty seven Maccabi players scored against Be’ersheva as Benny Tabak leads the chart with 9 goals. Eli Driks and Eran Zahavi are in the joint second place with 8 goals to their name.

Maccabi at the end of the regular season:

Until the 1986/87 season (with the exception of the 1966-68 campaign, which lasted two years and four rounds), the league followed a classic round-robin format, at the end of which the Champions and relegated teams were determined. Since 1987/88, a Playoff or three rounds was added (with a temporary return to a round-robin format between 1995-1999).

Since the 2012/13 season under the current league format, 14 clubs play two full rounds and a total of 26 matches. After Matchday 26, the regular season is concluded and the Playoff begins.

Since the State of Israel was founded (73 seasons), Maccabi finished the regular season 19 times in the top spot – the most in the league. Maccabi Haifa finished 16 times in second place. On 11 Eleven occasions finishing top at the end of the regular season, resulted by winning the title (no Playoff). In the other 8 seasons, Maccabi also went on to win the title after the Playoff.

In the 2024/25 and 2002/03 seasons, Maccabi won the league title despite not finishing top at the end of the regular season.

Maccabi’s record on the final day of 73 regular-season’s match currently stands on: 37 victories, 12 draws, and 22 defeats with a goal tally of: 118-76.

Under the current format, Maccabi’s record on Matchday 26 (final round of the regular season) stands on 11 victories, 2 draws and goal tally of 30-6.

The biggest victory in a final regular-season match was recorded in the 1997/98 campaign – a 7-1 victory over Ironi Ashdod. Ben Luz (2), Nir Klinger, Efi Tzafrir, Haim Hajaj, Guy Tzarfati, and Alec Nilesh were on target.

Maccabi faced 25 different opponents on the final matchday. Hapoel Tel Aviv (9), Hapoel Petah Tikva (8), Hapoel Haifa (7 including the last 3 seasons). Sunday’s match will be the 6^th time Maccabi faces Hapoel Be’ersheva on the final day of the regular season.

Benny Tabak made the most appearances as a Maccabi player on the final day of the regular season with 16 matches between 1973-1989, excluding 1985. Miko Belo (15) and Eli Driks (13) are in second and third place respectively.

Eran Zahavi is the top scorer on the final day of the regular-season with 8 goals in 7 matches, including a hat-trick in the 3-2 derby win in 2013/14.