Double or nothing: The cup finals in which Maccabi Haifa missed a double

Armeli, Klinger and Russo missed penalties, Rosenthal was stopped by Mizrahi and Katan missed in 2002, 2009 and 2011.

Maccabi Haifa reached the cup final five times with a chance to win a double and lost them all.

After a season of breaking records and checkpoints, maybe tonight she will overcome the Nahas

Shlomo Weiss

24/05/2022

Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 1:00 p.m.

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Press conference ahead of the final of the State Cup between Hapoel Beer Sheva and Maccabi Haifa (Photo: Roni Knafo, video editing: Amit Simcha)

When Barak Bachar signed with Maccabi Haifa, he realized that he would have to break quite a few barriers.

After winning the championship, the coach took the opportunity this season to break almost every possible barrier: a European home stage after years of drought, a victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv after the Greens already seemed unable to do so, a second consecutive championship and quite a few individual and team records.

If there is one barrier that the club from Carmel has never broken it is to reach the cup final and leave it with a double.

The Greens have one double, but then they won the cup before the championship.

Haifa reached the cup final five times knowing that a victory would give it a double and each time it failed.

Tonight (Tuesday, 20:30) you can increase to do: not a double, but a quadruple.

"Obviously there is a great importance to the double and to the fact that many times in the past we have failed," said one of the players, "we are all ready to change that this time. There is a feeling that this season is special and another record can be broken."

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To the full article

Maccabi Haifa after missing the double in 2011 (Photo: Berni Ardov)

1985 |

Maccabi Haifa - Betar Jerusalem 1: 0

Exactly one year after they recorded their first championship in history, the Maccabi Haifa players wanted to take a step forward and record a historic double.

The first championship came after a makeover, but the second was marked by a dominant season for the Greens and it seemed impossible to stop them.

The majority of the stands were of the fans from the capital and the atmosphere at the Ramat Gan stadium was fantastic.

Shlomo Sharaf's players failed to take advantage of the opportunities in the opening, Zahi Armeli missed and in the 25th minute Yossi Mizrahi took an almost impossible ball from the head of Roni Rosenthal.

"In the first half we were excellent, Betar did not pass the half," Moshe Selector recalled, "in the end in one of its few situations, Betar took advantage of our mistake and won the game."

Indeed a few minutes before the end Eli Ohana found the net and prevented the Greens from a double ever.

"I came up with a shot," Selector adds, "as the game progressed and we were unable to win, the element of luck came in as well.

"In the first half, Betar did not pass the half." Selector (Photo: Adi Avishai, Maariv)

1989 |

Maccabi Haifa - Betar Jerusalem 4: 3 on penalties (3: 3 in 120 minutes)

Four years have passed since that loss to Betar and the Greens have once again met with the Jerusalemites for a battle for the coveted

trophy. And again - winning was a complement to Haifa's double.

And Avi Cohen (73) turned and when it seemed that Betar was facing a victory, Ofer Mizrahi set 2: 2 in extra time and sent the game to extra time.

Cohen completed a pair (92), Atar scored his second (100) and at the end of 120 minutes the scoreboard ordered 3: 3.

Betar scored all four of its penalties, Zahi Armeli and Nir Klinger missed on the other side and the trophy rose again to the capital.

"We got to this game when it meant not a trophy to us, but a double. It's different," Armley explains, "We gave a good game, but we already got very exhausted for the penalties. "We knew that when you take a double, they talk about you throughout history. It is a fact that to this day they talk about the only double. Even today, Maccabi Haifa has a high chance of doing it and for me they are better and must do it this time."

"When it means a double and not just a trophy, it's different."

Armeli (Photo: Flash 90, Moshe Shai)

2002 |

Maccabi Tel Aviv - Maccabi Haifa 4: 5 on penalties (0: 0 in 120 minutes)

Maccabi Haifa came to this game as a clear favorite.

The Greens flooded the league and had a brilliant squad that included Yossi Benyon, Yaniv Katan, Nenad Peralia and others.

The feeling in the stadium was that this time no one would take the double from the Greens and this is how it looked on most of the minutes on the grass: Maccabi Haifa initiated and controlled, but encountered on a record day Liran Strauber between the opponent's beams.

Giovanni Russo recorded a big miss and if that was not enough, in the penalty shootout he was the only one who failed to score.

A few days earlier, the Croatian had been crowned "player of the season", but unfortunately he missed his team's fifth penalty and when he was lying on the grass, he saw Avi Nemani sending a ball into the net to run to celebrate.

About half an hour after the game the green fans remained and encouraged Rousseau who after long minutes on the grass approached the crowd and thanked him.

The feeling was sour after even in peak season, the double slipped from the greens.

Giovanni Russo's Penalty Cup Final 2002 (Photo: Official Website, from YouTube)

2009 |

Maccabi Haifa - Betar Jerusalem 2: 1

After an exhausting battle in the league with Hapoel Tel Aviv, the Greens came to Money Time to complete a dream season, but did not appear for the game.

Champion was surprised when the Jerusalemites played an aggressive and less offensive game than usual, and made it very difficult for the opponent.

Yaniv Katan was injured at the beginning of the second half, the task became more difficult and after goals from Christian Albers (19) and Aviram Baruchian (38), Biram Kiel only managed to shrink (88).

"I have to say we did not feel overwhelmed because it was a double," says a small, "I can tell I was in three finals and did not win a trophy because it really is not a cliché, in a trophy anything can happen and we see it happen every year, in every world. "It is very disappointing not to win and it detracts a little at that moment from the championship because it is the last game. I very much hope and believe in Maccabi Haifa that it will do it today. Double turns a successful season into a historic season."

"It's very disappointing not to win and it detracts a bit at that moment from the championship because it's the last game."

Small (Photo: Berni Ardov)

2011 |

Maccabi Haifa - Hapoel Tel Aviv 1: 0

In the summer of 2010, after losing the offset championship, the Greens realized that if they did not recover they could crash.

Already before the season, captain Yaniv Katan demanded that everyone understand that this time no one will take the championship from them and that they will prove that what happened the season before was against all possible logic.

The Greens did shine and under the direction of Katan, Idan Vered, Lior Rapalov and Tomer Hemed won the championship.

At the end of the season, Maccabi Haifa had a chance to take revenge on Hapoel Tel Aviv and win a double, but they encountered a stubborn and belligerent opponent - exactly the kind that the fans fear will meet tonight against Hapoel Beer Sheva.

Salim Toema scored in the 3rd minute and then Hapoel Tel Aviv closed the game and came out with a title.

"Obviously tonight we want to change the statistics," says a source at Maccabi Haifa, "in the end there is a good feeling, the players are ready and we hope to make the crowd happy because they deserve it."

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