Championship, stars and a drop that was not there: a summary of 34 years of Maccabi Rishon Lezion in the Premier League - Walla! sport

2022-04-25T10:28:36.325Z

Playoff finals with Mickey, Banks and Spencer, failures with Maggie, Barrett, Darren Day and James Galli, economic collapse, return to greatness with Effie, becoming a top club with Goodes and a championship

Championship, stars and relegation: a 34-year summary of Maccabi Rishon Lezion in the Premier League

Maccabi Rishon Lezion may be relegated tonight, back to key points in the club's history

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25/04/2022

Monday, 25 April 2022, 12:00 Updated: 12:23

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Maccabi Rishon Lezion Championship in 2016 (Photo and editing: Yossi Tzipkis)

Hapoel Beer Sheva's victory last night (Sunday) over Nes Ziona determined that tonight Maccabi Rishon Lezion may be relegated to the second division for the first time since 1988. Only four teams in the Premier League in basketball and football have a longer streak in the first division - Maccabi Tel Aviv, football and basketball, Maccabi Haifa in football and Hapoel Jerusalem in basketball.

For years the Wine City team has been an integral part of the Premier League, reaching the Cup final and the Playoffs and the Final Four several times, and even winning a historic championship in 2016. Despite the fact that the story is not yet final, it seems inevitable: a moment before what the game sends The same for the second division, here are some of the key moments of the team in 34 years in the Premier League.

Ugly: Rishon Lezion fans broke into the floor and beat the Gilboa / Galil players

To the full article

there were days.

Dawson celebrates championship (Photo: Yossi Tzipkis)

The playoff final in '91

Roni Bosani was the one who promoted Rishon Lezion to the Premier League after a dramatic victory in Kiryat Ono in 1988, a final round.

After a season in which they had to make do with dropping points, the team of chairman Yitzhak Perry began a journey to the top with the big star Mickey Berkowitz. The biggest season in the history of the club, until the championship 25 years later, was the 1990/91 season. He built an exciting team that included Berkowitz, Haim Zlotikman, Moti Aroasti, Roni Bosani, and the impressive pair of foreigners Gino Banks and Andre Spencer, peace be upon him. Nahum.

there were days.

The late Andre Spencer (Photo: Screenshot, from Channel 2)

The big names of the 90s

Rishon Lezion really wanted to build on that achievement of 1991 to become a competition against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but already in October after the final the team received a slap with a relegation against the Dutch Dan Helder from the Champions League qualifiers.

In the same season, Rishon Lezion returned to second place, but lost to Hapoel Tel Aviv in the semifinals, and since then did not return to the semifinals until 2006. Despite this, chairman Perry did not stop trying and landed big names in Gan Nahum one after another. Kevin Holmes and Linton Towns in 1992, Kevin Maggie, Steve Barrett and Pini Gershon in 1993, Gerald Padio and James Galli in 1994, Brian Oliver in 1995, Darren Day in 1996, Dennis Hopson and Doron Jamchi in 1997. Arrived, no one was able to get the team to restore its achievement.In 1998, Pini Gershon left after a dispute with Perry, two weeks later he came to Maccabi Tel Aviv and changed the history of the Yellows.

Perry brought stars.

Maggie (Photo: Screenshot, from the Sports Channel)

The economic collapse and relegation that was not there

The same pursuit of success, together with problematic economic conduct, led Rishon Lezion to a major economic crisis and a huge debt to the income tax.

The municipality has prepared a recovery plan, some of the talented players in the youth department like Erez Markovich and Dror Hajaj have already dispersed elsewhere, chairman Perry was forced to leave, and the team entered years of recovery and low budgets. Nissim and Avi Sugar in key positions, along with Rowan Barrett, the father of RJ, the team dived into the relegation battles and also relegated after a loss in Kiryat Ata.

Build an attractive group.

Goods (Photo: Bernie Ardov)

The Final Four with Guy Goodes, in orange

The recovery program continued for more years, but the team did not find itself as part of the top of Israeli basketball until the summer of 2005. Guy Goodes, appointed coach during the previous season, built an attractive team that first played in the orange with Omar Sneed, Lee Matthews, Ryan Sydney, John Gilchrist, Moran Roth and Or Eitan.

First was all season at the top, reaching the Final Four against Jerusalem, coming back from a big lag only to lose from a free throw by Horace Jenkins.

Rises and falls, as always with Effie.

Birnbaum (Photo: Reuven Castro)

The arrival of Effie Birnbaum

The team's good news from the wine city came only in 2009. A year after moving to Beit Maccabi, which stood as a white double in the city for about a decade, Appi Birenbaum was appointed coach, and after years of wars of survival, the momentum suddenly changed.

In the second season, Rishon Lezion qualified for the Final Four after a victory over Bnei Hasharon in the playoffs.

A season later, she reached the semifinals again, after a 2-0 reversal in the quarterfinals against Ashkelon, but surprisingly lost in the semifinals to Maccabi Ashdod.

The following season, relations between Birnbaum and chairman Yitzhak Perry, who had returned to the club in the meantime, deteriorated, and during the 2012/13 season he was fired and replaced by Bruni Bosani.

An exciting time.

Hanukkah and success (Photo: Meged Guzni)

Championship season

In the summer of 2014, Sharon Drucker was appointed coach of Rishon Lezion and in the first season took the team to the playoff semifinals where they lost to Jerusalem.

The following summer he built a very strong team in the wine city based on the Americans Mark Lyons, Chris Wright and above all Daryl Monroe, and on the Israeli side star Sean Dawson and veterans Nitzan Hanochi and Avi Ben Shimol.

The team was part of the top flight throughout many stages of the season, reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup where it was stopped by the winner of the factory, Frankfurt, Germany.

In the league, the team slipped to the center of the table for the third round, and five rounds to the end of the season, Drucker was fired and replaced by Arik Shibek.

The veteran coach managed to lead the team to the greatest achievement in its history, beating Maccabi Haifa in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, and in the Final Four in Jerusalem defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv in the semifinals and Hapoel Jerusalem on the way to a historic championship.

Every end is a new beginning.

Rishon Lezion ready for farewell (Photo: Danny Maron)

Goods' return

The coaches' swing in Rishon Lezion continued even after the championship.

Shibek did not survive a season and was replaced by Shmulik Brenner, who also did not survive an entire season and was replaced by Zvika Sharaf.

In October 2018, Sharaf led Rishon Lezion to win the Winner's Cup, but the team quickly collapsed and deteriorated to the bottom.

His place was again taken by Guy Goodes, who coached the team for a little over three years and led it to two basket finals, the state cup final and a historic EuroCup appearance.

This summer Goodes built a weak team that got entangled at the bottom, and was fired at the end of an ugly saga.

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