Maccabi Haifa F.C.

History

Early years

Maccabi Haifa Football Club was established in 1913 in the port city of Haifa in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem (present-day Israel). As the local football association wasn't founded in Mandatory Palestine until July 1928, there were no officially organized competitions during the season, and the club played only friendly matches.

After a period of inactivity, the club was re-organized in February 1923. The club playing a handful of matches during the season, including taking part in a cup competition which was called "The Hebrew Cup". Due to its distance, the club was given a bye to the final, which it lost to Maccabi Nes Tziona 0–2.

The club was overshadowed by its city rival Hapoel Haifa, but from its early years adopted an attacking style of play based on short passing.

In 1942, the club reached the Israel State Cup final, but was defeated 12–1 by Beitar Tel Aviv in the final.

Maccabi Haifa remained a small, struggling club that spent most of its time shifting between Liga Leumit and the lower leagues.

In 1962, the team defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 5–2 in the State Cup final, and won the first title of the club. In 1963 it reached the final again, but lost to Hapoel Haifa 1–0 in the first Haifa derby in State Cup final.

The 1980s

In the 1980s Maccabi Haifa finally entered the 'Israeli' champions' club, clinching the title thrice (in 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1988–89 seasons).

In the 1983–84 season Maccabi Haifa won its first ever championship, under coach Shlomo Sharf and general manager Yochanan Vollach, overcoming Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv. The Yerukim (Greens) were known for their "all-around-offense" and flashy technique football style, often resulting in bad defensive formation and resultant losses.

Sharf's team played with 4 strikers, including: Moshe Selecter, Zahi Armeli and Ronny Rosenthal who were positioned at point and midfield and managed to build their defense around the legendary goalkeeper Avi Ran.

A year later, Maccabi Haifa won a second championship in a decisive performance. In 1986 Maccabi Haifa lost the championship in a controversial final match against runners-up Hapoel Tel Aviv. The single goal scored in that match by Gili Landau was said to be scored from a passive offside position, which by the rules of the time should have resulted in a disqualification of the goal and a scoreless draw, guaranteeing Maccabi Haifa the title. Due to poor TV coverage, the issue has never been resolved.

In 1988, Maccabi Haifa decimated Maccabi Tel Aviv 10–0 to earn its biggest win ever. That game, one of the more famous in Israeli's football lore, wasn't even televised. Furthermore, it probably was the beginning of the intense rivalry between the two clubs. In 1989, under the capable hands of Amazzia Levkovic, the club won another championship.

The 1990s

In the 1990s Maccabi Haifa established itself as a dominant club in Israel. It began by winning the Double – League championship and the national cup in the 1990–1 season and continued with the introduction of three talented young players: Eyal Berkovic, Reuven Atar and Tal Banin.

In 1992, Maccabi Haifa was purchased by Ya'akov Shahar, who became the owner and president of the club. Under Shahar's management, Maccabi Haifa enjoyed financial stability and professional working regulations on a par with European football clubs' standards. Maccabi Haifa's highlight season was 1993–94. After winning the 1993 cup, Maccabi Haifa gave a stunning performance in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (CWC), beating Torpedo Moscow 3–1 and Parma 1–0 in the last 16, only to lose on penalties. During the season in the domestic league (then called Liga Leumit), the team became the first and only in Israeli football history to go unbeaten for the entire season, with an overall unbeaten streak of 48 games, thus winning a spectacular championship, and breaking many Israeli records. The Maccabi Haifa 1993–94 squad including Eyal Berkovic, Reuven Atar, Alon Mizrahi and Serhiy Kandaurov, and is considered one of, if not the best squads in Israeli football history.

In 1995, Maccabi Haifa begun a period of seven years without winning the league championship, and most of its popular soccer superstar were sold to Europe. In 1996, Eyal Berkovic and Haim Revivo, the latter had joined the team the previous season, both left Haifa for European clubs. While the two gained great personal success there, Maccabi Haifa went into a slump. The team's standards of maintaining the services of the manager for multiple seasons was thrown as the team went through several managers during 4 years. As result, the team failed to win the national championship title, despite securing the National cup in 1998.

In 1999, under the guidance of the Czech manager Dušan Uhrin, Maccabi Haifa beat French giants Paris Saint-Germain and Austrian club SV Ried to reach the quarter-final of the Cup Winners' Cup. In the middle of the season, Haifa's excellent striker Alon Mizrahi left for French club Nice resulting in a defeat in the CWC quarter-final and a slump in the club's league performance. The club's winning record continued to falter until the arrival of Avram Grant.

2000 and beyond

Former Maccabi Tel Aviv Manager Avram Grant was appointed in 2000 as manager of Maccabi Haifa. Under Grant's guidance, the team regained its dominating offensive style. Grant, along with a much improved squad, led the club with an almost unstoppable team, winning the championship. At the center of attention were a series of virtuoso performances by Yossi Benayoun, including what some consider to be several of the finest goals in Israeli league history. A spontaneous burst of celebrating fans onto the pitch caused a tragic disaster. A young fan, Amir Rand, was crushed against the guarding rails and left comatose.

A year later, Grant won a second championship, relying on a veteran Israeli defense: Alon Harazi, Arik Benado and Adoram Keise, and on a trio of foreign footballers: Giovanni Rosso (Croatia), Raimondas Žutautas (Lithuania) and the young Nigerian striker Yakubu. Following the 2nd championship, Avraham Grant left Haifa for the Israeli national team and was replaced by then Israel U-21 manager Itzhak Shum.

In 2002, Haifa made Israeli club history by becoming the first Israeli team to qualify for the group phase of the UEFA Champions League. In the group phase, the team defeated Olympiacos and Manchester United. Haifa managed 7 points overall scoring 12 goals, and finished in 3rd place, securing a place in the UEFA Cup.

In the 2003–04 season Maccabi Haifa, led by ex-Maccabi Haifa footballer Ronny Levy, won the championship mainly due to the poor showing of the other league teams. Maccabi Haifa youth club (ages 16–18) won the domestic championship, and an Israel national kids team of Maccabi Haifa players won Fox Kids World Cup for 12-year-olds.

History was made during the 2005–06 season. After months of indecision regarding the contract of Ronny Levy, it was renewed and Levy guided the club to 11 straight victories in the first 11 games of the Israeli Premier League season. This was also the key to Maccabi Haifa taking the league title after building a strong lead. While the club enjoyed great domestic success, it was not as fortunate in European play. Though Haifa was a seeded team for the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round, it drew the strong Swedish club, Malmö FF. Haifa lost 3–2 in Sweden, and drew 2–2 at home.

In the 2006–07 season, the club played against Liverpool.

Sponsorships, fan base and rivalries

The club is sponsored by Ya'akov Shahar, chairman of Mayer's Cars and Trucks Ltd., the official importer to Israel of Volvo and Honda. The fan base is mainly in Haifa and northern Israel, although the club is one of the most popular in Israel. Average attendance in the home matches since the move to Sammy Ofer Stadium in 2015 is approximately 24,000 fans, the most in Israel.

According to a survey which had been conducted in 2010, Maccabi Haifa has the biggest number of fans of all the teams in Israel, approximately 25.8% of Israeli football fans. 2

On 30 June 2011, a Haaretz poll identified Maccabi Haifa as the most popular football team among Arab citizens of Israel.

Another survey had been conducted in March 2012 by Yedioth confirmed that Maccabi Haifa is the most popular team among Israeli football fans (28%), female football fans (33%) and Arab citizens of Israel. Same survey revealed that 75% of Haifa residents support the team.

Historically, the most loyal fans at home games in Kiryat Eliezer Stadium were concentrated at stands 11–12, called also Yetzia Gimel (יציע ג') – C Block – a term which has become synonymous with the most hardcore and dedicated fans.

In 1994, Uzi Hitman composed and wrote the team's championship song titled "Green in the eyes" (ירוק בעיניים) and gave it to Haim Moshe, the song was a major hit amongst the club's fanbase and was later covered by Eden Ben Zaken in 2021 once again as a championship song. In 2004, following Hitman's death, a minute of silence was given to Hitman during a match against Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, which was followed by supporters singing the chorus of the famous championship song.

In 2002, The fans established an organization named Green Apes, which supports both soccer and basketball. Members usually sit in the bleachers section 11.

In addition, Maccabi Haifa has an official fan club which was founded in the first decade of the 21st century, and has about 20,000 members. The club is also supported overseas and is able to keep in touch with supporters overseas via the club website and online store.

City rivalry with Hapoel Haifa

For more information see: Haifa derby

The rivalry with Maccabi Tel Aviv

The strong rivalry between the two Israeli football clubs (sometimes called “the Israeli Classico” and “the derby of Israel”) is about the dominance among the various Maccabi football clubs, as well as in Israeli football in general, and the title of the best football club in Israel.

Maccabi Haifa aspires to oust Maccabi Tel Aviv from this position, which is the club with the largest number of titles in Israel, and to become the leading club in Israel by winning many titles and qualifying for the European Cup stages (Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup). Haifa and Tel Aviv have competed against each other for the championship title, and Haifa beat Maccabi Tel Aviv in a number of games, including a 10–0 win in 1988 - a game seen as a "revenge" for the loss of 2–10 in 1949 (another large defeat, at 0–7, took place in 1952). Haifa beat Tel Aviv 5–0 in the 1993–94 season (in which Haifa won the championship without a single defeat, but was eliminated from the State Cup competition three days later following Maccabi Tel Aviv's 1–1 draw at Kiryat Eliezer). Maccabi Haifa became dominant in the Israeli Premier League in the first decade of the 21st century, as Maccabi Tel Aviv's positions weakened (except for the 2002–03 season). The rivalry between them somewhat cooled down at the end of that decade due to the renewed rise of Hapoel Tel Aviv, which competed at the top of the table during this period and won several championship titles. The rivalry focus thus briefly shifted to Hapoel Tel Aviv.

In the 2019–20 season, the rivalry between the two heated up once again, as after almost a decade of Macabbi Tel Aviv's dominance exacerbated by Maccabi Haifa's series of failures, the teams competed head-to-head for the championship. It ended with Maccabi Tel Aviv winning that year's campaign. In the following 2020–21 season, the two teams battled out for the league title once again, this time ending with Maccabi Haifa winning the championship. During the past few years, the two have produced some unforgettable matches, including a dramatic 4–3 win for Maccabi Tel Aviv and an incredible 3–2 win for Maccabi Haifa after a big comeback.

Club crest

The origin of the club crest is the World Zionist sports organization "Maccabi". The basis of the crest is the stylized Hebrew word מכבי ("Maccabi") in the shape of the Star of David, symbolizing Judaism. This is in common with most other Maccabi teams in Israel and worldwide, which all use this symbol in one way or another. In most years only this stylized "Maccabi" star with the word חיפה ("Haifa") beneath it was the emblem of the club. Depending on the kit, it was green on white or white on green. With the success of the club at the end of the 1980s, an image of a lion was added next to the symbol, but this figure was removed later. At the beginning of the 1990s, after the club began competing in the European arena, the crest assumed its modern form - the image of a football inside a circular green band with the words מכבי חיפה מכ ("Maccabi Haifa FC") in Hebrew and English on it, with the original Maccabi symbol at the top right corner. At the end of 2005/2006 season, when the team won its 10th championship, a gold star was added above the symbol. At the end of the 2009 season winning its 11th championship, the team played its inaugural game with the traditional symbol of the club as it was in the early '80s. At the end of the 2013 season (on the 100th anniversary of the club's foundation), laurel leaves were temporarily added around the emblem, symbolizing victory and glory. In addition, a golden plaque was added indicating the year of the establishment of the club and the current year (100th club).

After the 2019/20 season, the Israel Football Association administration decided that each championship star on the member clubs' crests should represent 5 championship titles. Since Maccabi has won 12 championships in total until then, the crest was updated with another championship star. After winning its 15th championship title at the end of the 2022-23 Israeli Premier League season, the club added a third star to its crest.

Grounds

Kiryat Eliezer Stadium

Maccabi Haifa originally played in Kiryat Haim, which is the main training grounds of Hapoel Haifa. In 1955, a gift from the Italian Labour Union was a football pitch in the heart of the city of Haifa, which would become the new home of Maccabi Haifa. The opening match was a Haifa derby, won by Maccabi Haifa 4–1 over Hapoel Haifa.

Kiryat Eliezer missed out on staging a historic event when Maccabi Haifa reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. It was the first time an Israeli club had made it that far in the competition, though the lucrative gate receipts expected to have been made by hosting matches in Israel were lost when UEFA forced Maccabi Haifa to look for an alternative in Europe but outside of Israel because of security concerns. The choice was to host the matches at Neo GSP Stadium in Nicosia, Cyprus.

After Israel had increased the security and proved stability, Maccabi Haifa was allowed to play their European matches in the State of Israel. Because Kiryat Eliezer was not up to par with UEFA's demands, the team played their European home matches in Tel Aviv District at Bloomfield Stadium, as well as Ramat Gan Stadium due to the high demand of Maccabi Haifa fans wanting to attend the matches. Finally, Maccabi Haifa was allowed to host European matches at Kiryat Eliezer Stadium. In 2013, Maccabi Haifa played in the Europa League against PAOK (Greece), AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands), and Shakhter Karagandy (Kazakhstan).

On 14 May 2014, the last match was played in the stadium, in which Maccabi Haifa hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League.

Sammy Ofer Stadium

Due to the recent success of the club in European competitions, the municipality of Haifa offered the club land by the beach for a brand new stadium at the southern entrance to the city. In the fall of 2008, the final plans were approved. Sammy Ofer Stadium was completed in November 2013. Constructions costs are estimated $135,000,000.00 with a seating capacity of 30,950.

The stadium is named after naval-mogul Sammy Ofer, who donated $20,000,000 to build the stadium and the rights to name it after himself. The Sammy Ofer Stadium is developed and built by the Haifa Economic Corporation and managed by Adv. Gal Peleg. It is the home ground of Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Haifa. It also hosts the international matches of the Israel national football team along with Teddy Stadium.

Kfar Galim Training Facility

Kfar Galim training facility is a training ground for Maccabi Haifa. It is located in Kfar Galim village.

Honours

Domestic competitions

Israeli Championships

Winners (15): 1983–84, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23

Runners-up (10): 1985–86, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2002–03, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2023–24

Second Division

Winners (4): 1944–45, 1946–47, 1965–66, 1974–75

State Cup

Winners (6): 1961–62, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1997–98, 2015–16

Runners-up (11): 1942, 1962–63, 1970–71, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1988–89, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2021–22

Toto Cup

Winners (5): 1994, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2021–22

Israeli Supercup

Winners (5): 1962, 1985, 1989, 2021, 2023

European competitions

UEFA Champions League

Group stage (3): 2002–03, 2009–10, 2022–23

UEFA Europa League

Round of 16 (1): 2006–07

Third round (1): 2002–03

Group stage (3): 2011–12, 2013–14, 2023–24

UEFA Europa Conference League

Round of 16 (1): 2023–24

Group stage (1): 2021–22

UEFA Cup Winners Cup

Quarter-finals (1): 1998–99

Second round (1): 1993–94

UEFA Youth League

Play-offs: 2016–17

Group stage: 2022–23

Sukkot Cup

Winners (1): 1958

Lilian Cup

Winners (1): 1984

Milk Cup

Winners (1): 2004

Insel Cup

Winners (1): 2016

Records and statistics

Record home win: 10–0 v Maccabi Tel Aviv (1988)

Record league defeat: 0–9 v Hapoel Petah Tikva (1953)

Record cup defeat: 1–12 v Beitar Tel Aviv, Israel State Cup, Final (1942)

Record home attendance: 39,120 v Juventus (2009)

Most league appearances: 419 Alon Harazi

Most appearances in one season: 66 Adoram Keise

Most league goals: 90 Zahi Armeli

Most league goals in a Season: 28 Alon Mizrahi (Liga Leumit, 1993–94) and Shlomi Arbeitman (2009–10)

Most goals scored in a Match: 6 Aharon Gershgoren v Ironi Kiryat Shmona (1965)

Most league goals in a Season: 97 (1993–94)

Most points in a season: 95 – 39 games (1993–94)

Most league assists in a season: 16 Eyal Berkovic (1993–94) and Yossi Benayoun (1999–00)

Most Games without a loss: 46 (throughout 3 seasons) (1993, 1993–94, 1994)

Most games in a row scoring at least one goal: 39 (1993–94)

Most away games without losing: 30 (1993–94)

Least conceded goals per game: 16 goals in 35 games (average: 0.46), Ligat Ha'Al (2009–10)

Players

Current squad

As of 8 September 2026

Players Under Contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Retired numbers

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Personnel

Youth department

2026–27 squad

* - first team player

Notable players and managers in club history

Former players

For details on former players, see List of Maccabi Haifa F.C. players and Category:Maccabi Haifa F.C. players.

Managerial history

See also: List of Maccabi Haifa F.C. managers