2008–09 Israeli Premier League

Israeli Premier League
Season 2008–09
Champions Maccabi Haifa
6th Premier League title
11th top-flight title
Relegated Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan
Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Champions League Maccabi Haifa (second qualifying round)
Europa League Hapoel Tel Aviv (third qualifying round)
Maccabi Netanya (second qualifying round)
Bnei Yehuda (first qualifying round)
Goals scored 432
Average goals/game 2.18
Top goalscorer Israel Barak Yitzhaki (14)
Israel Shimon Abuhatzira (14)
Israel Eliran Atar (14)
Biggest home win Hapoel Tel Aviv 4–0 Beitar Jerusalem (9 February 2009)
Beitar Jerusalem 4–0 Hakoah Ramat Gan (4 April 2009)
Biggest away win 8 games with a win by 3 goals[A]
Highest scoring Hakoah Ramat Gan 2–4 Beitar Jerusalem (20 September 2008)
F.C. Ashdod 4–2 Bnei Sakhnin (8 November 2008)
F.C. Ashdod 3–3 Maccabi Netanya (20 December 2008)
(6 goals)

The 2008–09 Israeli Premier League season began on 30 August 2008, and ended on 1 June 2009. Beitar Jerusalem were the defending champions, having won their 6th league title the previous year.

Two teams from Liga Leumit were promoted at the end of the previous season: Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan and Hapoel Petah Tikva. The two teams relegated were Hapoel Kfar Saba and Maccabi Herzliya.

At a 24 June 2008 IFA administration meeting[1] it was decided that the league would be expanded to 16 clubs for the following season. Due to the expansion, only one team was relegated directly to Liga Leumit, while five clubs were promoted. The eleventh-ranked team played in a play-off match against the sixth-ranked team from Liga Leumit.

Maccabi Haifa clinched their 11th title after a 0–2 win against Maccabi Netanya on 23 May 2009.

Stadia

Club Stadium Capacity
Beitar JerusalemTeddy Stadium21,600
Bnei YehudaBloomfield Stadium15,700
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi HaifaKiryat Eliezer Stadium14,002
Hakoah Ramat GanWinter Stadium8,000
Maccabi NetanyaSar-Tov Stadium7,500
F.C. AshdodYud-Alef Stadium7,420
Hapoel Petah TikvaPetah Tikva Municipal Stadium6,768
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Ironi Kiryat ShmonaKiryat Shmona Municipal Stadium5,200
Bnei SakhninDoha Stadium5,000

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona Israel Ran Ben Shimon End of contract 1 June 2008 Pre-season Israel Michele Dayan 1 June 2008
Maccabi Haifa Israel Ronny Levy Israel Elisha Levi 1 June 2008
Maccabi Netanya Israel Reuven Atar Germany Lothar Matthäus 1 June 2008
Bnei Sakhnin Israel Elisha Levy Israel Freddy David 1 June 2008
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel Nir Levin Israel Ran Ben Shimon 1 June 2008
Bnei Yehuda Israel Hezi Shirazi Israel Freddy David 12 June 2008
Maccabi Petah Tikva Israel Nitzan Shirazi Resign 21 August 2008 Israel Guy Azouri 21 August 2008
Beitar Jerusalem Israel Itzhak Shum Sacked 3 September 2008 12th Israel Reuven Atar 3 September 2008
Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel Ran Ben Shimon Sacked 2 November 2008 7th Israel Avi Nimni 2 November 2008
Bnei Sakhnin Israel Freddy David Resign 9 November 2008 12th Israel Eyal Lahman 9 November 2008
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona Israel Michele Dayan Sacked 30 November 2008 10th Israel Eli Cohen 11 December 2008
Maccabi Petah Tikva Israel Guy Azouri Resign 22 December 2008 6th Israel Ronny Levy 22 December 2008
Bnei Sakhnin Israel Eyal Lahman Sacked 8 March 2009 12th Israel Eran Kulik 8 March 2009
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona Israel Eli Cohen Sacked 11 April 2009 12th Israel Ran Ben Shimon 14 April 2009

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Maccabi Haifa (C) 33 19 10 4 49 24 +25 67 2009–10 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
2 Hapoel Tel Aviv 33 17 10 6 49 28 +21 61 2009–10 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round
3 Beitar Jerusalem[lower-alpha 1] 33 16 12 5 47 28 +19 57[lower-alpha 2]
4 Maccabi Netanya 33 14 12 7 40 32 +8 54 2009–10 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round 1
5 Bnei Yehuda 33 14 7 12 38 31 +7 49 2009–10 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round 1
6 Maccabi Tel Aviv 33 11 11 11 36 35 +1 44
7 Maccabi Petah Tikva 33 8 15 10 26 33 7 39
8 F.C. Ironi Ashdod 33 10 8 15 41 48 7 38
9 Bnei Sakhnin 33 7 12 14 26 41 15 33
10 Hapoel Petah Tikva 33 8 7 18 30 42 12 31
11 Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan (R) 33 6 11 16 26 46 20 29 Qualification for relegation play-offs
12 Ironi Kiryat Shmona (R) 33 6 9 18 24 44 20 27 Relegation to Liga Leumit
Source: Israel Football Association
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd matches won; 4th goals scored; 5th head-to-head; 6th decision match
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Beitar Jerusalem did not obtain the license for competing in next year's European competitions because they failed to meet their commitments to UEFA.[2] Since Beitar won the cup and the cup runners-up are league champions Maccabi Haifa, all Europa League spots were awarded to teams according to their league positions. Since Beitar also finished third in the league, Europa League spots were given to league runners-up Hapoel Tel Aviv, fourth-placed Maccabi Netanya and fifth-placed Bnei Yehuda.
  2. Beitar Jerusalem were deducted two points due to Beitar fans pitch invasion the previous year against Maccabi Herzliya[3] and one point due to racist calls from Beitar fans.[4]

Positions by round

Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233
Maccabi Haifa122221112111111111111111112121111
Hapoel Tel Aviv477577444533333323232222221212222
Beitar Jerusalem12126799697466644544444444333333333
Maccabi Netanya611112221222222232323333444444444
Bnei Yehuda1081111121112101112109897765565555555555555
Maccabi Tel Aviv233334576888989988789988876667666
Maccabi Petah Tikva544443333344566456656677767776787
F.C. Ironi Ashdod1158988985757755677877766688888878
Bnei Sakhnin89121211121011121011111111101111101010111110101010101010910109
Hapoel Petah Tikva710586575867547889999889999999109910
Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan369101010111210111212121212121212121212121212121111111111121211
Ironi Kiryat Shmona911106568699910101011101011111110101111111212121212111112

Results

The schedule consisted of three rounds. During first two rounds, each team played each other once home and away for a total of 22 matches. The pairings of the third round were then set according to the standings after first two rounds, giving every team a third game against each opponent for a total of 33 games per team.

First and second round

Home \ Away[1] BEI BnS BnYASHHARHPTHTAIKSMHAMNEMPTMTA
Beitar Jerusalem 00 10 32 30 22 02 22 11 21 11 00
Bnei Sakhnin 00 02 02 01 03 10 10 01 01 21 23
Bnei Yehuda 03 20 10 22 10 30 01 01 11 10 32
F.C. Ironi Ashdod 12 42 02 32 41 10 20 13 33 11 10
Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan 24 00 01 11 01 22 10 03 12 22 01
Hapoel Petah Tikva 02 11 10 21 10 02 30 14 00 01 01
Hapoel Tel Aviv 40 10 20 20 30 32 11 00 21 11 20
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 10 12 02 11 02 00 00 10 03 00 12
Maccabi Haifa 00 21 10 31 20 10 22 11 23 31 32
Maccabi Netanya 12 11 22 21 22 31 00 21 20 00 10
Maccabi Petah Tikva 01 10 00 23 10 21 11 21 20 11 00
Maccabi Tel Aviv 00 11 21 22 00 12 13 01 11 01 00

Source: Israel Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third round

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 22 games):

Rounds
23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd
3 – 12
4 – 2
5 – 1
6 – 11
7 – 10
8 – 9
12 – 9
10 – 8
11 – 7
1 – 6
2 – 5
3 – 4
4 – 12
5 – 3
6 – 2
7 – 1
8 – 11
9 – 10
12 – 10
11 – 9
1 – 8
2 – 7
3 – 6
4 – 5
5 – 12
6 – 4
7 – 3
8 – 2
9 – 1
10 – 11
12 – 11
1 – 10
2 – 9
3 – 8
4 – 7
5 – 6
6 – 12
7 – 5
8 – 4
9 – 3
10 – 2
11 – 1
1 – 12
2 – 11
3 – 10
4 – 9
5 – 8
6 – 7
12 – 7
8 – 6
9 – 5
10 – 4
11 – 3
1 – 2
2 – 12
3 – 1
4 – 11
5 – 10
6 – 9
7 – 8
12 – 8
9 – 7
10 – 6
11 – 5
1 – 4
2 – 3
Home \ Away[1] BEI BnS BnYASHHARHPTHTAIKSMHAMNEMPTMTA
Beitar Jerusalem 30 22 21 40 21 20
Bnei Sakhnin 31 32 00 00 03
Bnei Yehuda 10 21 00 01 20 11
F.C. Ironi Ashdod 03 10 20 03 00
Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan 11 00 10 10 11
Hapoel Petah Tikva 00 22 01 20 12
Hapoel Tel Aviv 11 21 10 32 12 11
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 20 02 11 13 12
Maccabi Haifa 11 20 21 10 21 00
Maccabi Netanya 10 00 10 13 02 12
Maccabi Petah Tikva 02 00 00 02 12 03
Maccabi Tel Aviv 21 10 32 11 01

Source: Israel Football Association
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation playoff

Hakoah Ramat Gan, as the 11th-placed team, faced the 6th-placed Liga Leumit team Maccabi Ahi Nazareth in a two-legged playoff. Hakoah Ramat Gan lost both games and were relegated to Liga Leumit.

Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 2 – 1 Hakoah Ramat Gan
Ayeli  41'
Silvas  48'
Report For  42'

Hakoah Ramat Gan 1 – 2 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth
For  23' Report Jida  46'
Ayeli  76'
Referee: Eitan Tabrizi

Season statistics

Scoring

Discipline

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals[17]
1 Israel Barak Yitzhaki Beitar Jerusalem 14
Israel Shimon Abuhatzira Hapoel Petah Tikva 14
Israel Eliran Atar Bnei Yehuda 14
4 Ghana Samuel Yeboah Hapoel Tel Aviv 13
5 Bulgaria Dimitar Makriev F.C. Ashdod 11
South Africa Thembinkosi Fanteni Maccabi Haifa 11
7 Israel David Revivo F.C. Ashdod 10
Argentina Pedro Galván Bnei Yehuda 10
9 Israel Maor Buzaglo Maccabi Tel Aviv 9
Israel Lior Rafaelov Maccabi Haifa 9
Total 432
Average per game 2.18

See also

Notes

A. ^ Biggest away win
Bnei Sakhnin 0–3 Hapoel Petah Tikva (1 November 2008)
Hakoah Ramat Gan 0–3 Maccabi Haifa (1 November 2008)
Bnei Yehuda 0–3 Beitar Jerusalem (8 November 2008)
Hapoel Petah Tikva 1–4 Maccabi Haifa (22 November 2008)
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 0–3 Maccabi Netanya (22 November 2008)
F.C. Ashdod 0–3 Maccabi Haifa (6 April 2009)
Bnei Sakhnin 0–3 Maccabi Tel Aviv (11 April 2009)
F.C. Ashdod 0–3 Bnei Yehuda (2 May 2009)
Maccabi Petah Tikva 0–3 Maccabi Tel Aviv (23 May 2009)

References

  1. June 24th IFA meeting summary (in Hebrew)
  2. "Betar Jerusalem will not be eligible to play in European competition next season". Haaretz. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
  3. "Beitar punished for pitch invasion". FIFA. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  4. "Beitar punished for racist abuse". FIFA. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv". The Israel Football Association. 30 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  6. "Maccabi Haifa 1-1 Beitar Jerusalem". The Israel Football Association. 1 July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Maccabi Haifa 3:1 Ashdod". Live Result. 30 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
  8. "Maccabi Haifa 3:2 Maccabi Tel Aviv". Live Result. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
  9. "Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv 2:2 Hakoach Amidar". Live Result. 13 September 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  10. "Hapoel Tel Aviv 4:0 Beitar Jerusalem". Live Result. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  11. "Beitar Jerusalem 4:0 Hakoah Ramat Gan". Live Result. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
  12. "Hakoach Amidar 2:4 Beitar Jerusalem". Live Result. 20 September 2008. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  13. "Ashdod 4:2 Bnei Sakhnin". Live Result. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
  14. "Ashdod 3:3 Maccabi Netanya". Live Result. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  15. 1 2 "Beitar Jerusalem 0:2 Maccabi Haifa". The Israel Football Association. 28 September 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  16. "Ashdod 2:0 Hapoel Kiryat Shmona". The Israel Football Association. 13 September 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
  17. "Israeli Premier League Top Scorers". The Israel Football Association. 30 August 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
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