The day after the bomb: this is how Maccabi Haifa got up from painful defeats

Yaakov Shahar was remembered after Hapoel Jerusalem in the humiliating quartet against Kiryat Gat 20 years ago, and it seems rightly so because it was also before a season game.

Shlomo Weiss recalled the falls of the Greens, the shock that changed everything, Rousseau's declaration and Grant's promise.

Will history repeat itself against Maccabi Tel Aviv?

Shlomo Weiss

30/09/2022

Friday, September 30, 2022, 3:00 p.m

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Summary of Hapoel Jerusalem's victory 0:3 over Maccabi Haifa (Sport1)

Last week, in preparation for Rosh Hashanah, Maccabi Haifa held a toast.

The event took place in a hotel in the city and was attended by most of the players, members of the professional staff and club employees - from the senior to the junior.

During the ceremony, the owner Yaakov Shahar spoke and was asked to refer to the defeat the team suffered two days earlier, 3:0 to Hapoel Jerusalem: "One loss will not take away from us everything we have been through," said the club's president, "It reminded me of that loss, 4:0 to Kiryat Gat. We took the championship after that."

Dawn was not wrong.

He is not the only one who remembers that 4:0 to Kiryat Gat and similar defeats in the club's peak years that left the country shocked.

Just like in that game against Kiryat Gat, this time too the Greens will line up for the round after a painful defeat for the season game against the main rival for the championship title - against Maccabi Tel Aviv (Saturday, 20:30).

So how did Maccabi Haifa deal with the five most painful defeats it suffered in its successful seasons?

The panicked signing, Grant's conversation with Shahar, Bacher's difficult speech in the dressing room and the team meeting that was held - it's time to remember the champion's difficult past games and how she recovered from them.

And yes, forgive us MS.

Ashdod beat Roni Levy's Maccabi Haifa 0:4 and remained off the list.

At Teddy they were defeated.

How will it look against Maccabi Tel Aviv? (Photo: Barney Ardov)

1990/91: Maccabi Netanya - Maccabi Haifa 0:5

At the end of the 90/91 season, Maccabi Haifa made history that has not been restored to this day when Shlomo Sharaf's students won the double, but those who sat in the stands that season will have a hard time forgetting November 30th.

The Greens strangely arrived at the box stadium for the game on Friday, and from the first minutes it was clear that the locals were going to make history.

In the seventh minute, the young midfielder Eyal Berkovic was on the substitutes' bench, who quickly came in and not because of an injury to one or another player - but to replace Yossi Sarfati when the scoreboard showed 2:0 to the locals.

If Sharaf thought that the magician would save him, then the sequel showed that no matter what happens, the game in the box will be remembered forever for the greens.

"Everything we did was contagious," admitted Shimon Menachem at the end, "it's impossible to explain what happened here."

The shocked Greens gathered for an emergency meeting already at the end of the game and then it was decided that in order not to lose the season, a shock was necessary.

In Haifa they realized that it was impossible to fire Sharaf and decided to shake up the central position, the goalkeeper position.

Two days after that loss, Viktor Chanov landed in Israel, who immediately became one of the best goalkeepers to ever play in Israel.

The greens managed to stop the disaster with a draw against Hapoel Kfar Saba and from there they started a dream season that ended as mentioned with a championship and a cup.

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He came to shock and became one of the greatest in the history of the league.

Chanov (photo: official website, the official website of Dynamo Kyiv)

2001/2: Maccabi Haifa - Maccabi Kiryat Gat 4:0

For the brass and the neutral fans, that game in March 2002 is remembered mainly because of the decision of the 'Talad' broadcasting franchise to split the broadcast on television - on one side of the screen the game between the Greens and the small team from the south and on the other half of the screen a report on a horrific attack in Jerusalem.

Maccabi Haifa fans remember this evening completely differently.

The Greens, who ran head to head against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the battle for the championship, saw the Reds star in an exciting European tour and prepared for this season's game when on the way was the meeting against Kiryat Gat, which was supposed to end in an easy victory for Abram Grant's team.

In practice, the greens presented one of their weakest games in history when Miki Atia and his friends Makrit Gat defeat the claimant to the crown with a four to zero, just one round before a head-to-head match against Hapoel Tel Aviv.

At the end of that game, Grant approached the owner Yaakov Shahar and surprised him: "It's true that we lost like that today, but I promise you that today we will take the championship of the season."

As Grant promised, seven days later the big battle was held against Hapoel Tel Aviv and the Greens celebrated on the grass with an unforgettable 0:3, at the end of which Giovanni Russo announced to a committee: "Perhaps Hapoel Tel Aviv is the best in Europe, but in our small country Maccabi Haifa She is number one."

Grant promised and kept it, Rousseau came out with an unequivocal statement (Photo: Yotam Ronen)

2002/3: Beitar Jerusalem - Maccabi Haifa 0:4

Just like this season, also 20 years ago the Greens starred in the group stage of the Champions League.

A few days before the match against Beitar Jerusalem, Yitzhak Shum's trainees stunned Europe with a 0:3 victory over Manchester United under the leadership of Yaniv Ketan, Igbini Yaakubo, Raymonds Jotautas and others when everyone had a feeling that the victory over the Jerusalemites would come easily. Exactly Like the game two weeks ago against Hapoel Jerusalem, in this case too the greens did not appear in the game and were fairly punished. Shum's trainees, who until then managed to combine Europe and the league perfectly and had a perfect balance (again, familiar to someone), failed in every action on the grass and at the end of the scoreboard showed a painful defeat. At the end of that game, the players gathered in their own meeting and the message there was clear: "With all due respect to Europe, it is impossible to cancel the league."

The leaders in the dressing room made it clear that there was a game in three days and we should not be dragged into a snowball.

Although the Greens did not look good against Hapoel Rishon Lezion 72 hours later, the spirit, fighting and desire of the players not to get into an embarrassing situation, covered up a difficult defensive ability and the lack of the injured Xotautas.

In the end, the Greens won 3:4 and continued to an excellent season, in which they finished in third place in the group stage of the Champions League and fought until the last second in the championship fight against Maccabi Tel Aviv, when only the difference in goals prevented the team from adding another plate to the trophy cabinet.

They recovered well, but the championship returned to Tel Aviv on goal difference (photo: Maccabi Haifa)

2010/11: Hapoel Tel Aviv - Maccabi Haifa 1:4

In the first practice of the 2010/11 season, after the offsetting season, Yaniv Ketan stood in front of his friends and made it clear to them that no matter what happens, this season they will take the championship.

The trauma of the infamous offset season in Carmel accompanied Katan and his friends throughout the season.

Also in the 24th round, when Haifa came to Bloomfield to host their rival on the championship plate, Hapoel Tel Aviv.

The Greens wanted to avenge the loss of the championship, which was unfair according to their method, but on the grass Hapoel Tel Aviv came out quite smiling.

In contrast to the games mentioned above in this article, Maccabi Haifa was actually not bad, but a game that was balanced for 75 minutes was turned around by Eran Zahavi, Salim Toema, Gili Vermot and the rest of the team in red that took full advantage of the green disintegration and humiliated Maccabi Haifa 1:4.

A few days later, Maccabi Haifa played against Hapoel Jerusalem in the State Cup and narrowly won 1:2, but as far as they were concerned, they achieved a victory, even if it was one that was achieved by the teeth, and it had a significant contribution because it started a green gallop all the way to a particularly sweet championship.

A defeat that turned into a gallop to the championship.

Hamed versus Badir that evening in Bloomfield (Photo: Kobi Eliyahu)

2021/2: Maccabi Netanya - Maccabi Haifa 0:3

The last defeat of the Greens in the league happened only about five months ago.

The Greens arrived in Netanya after a dream week for them, with a huge gap at the top of the table and qualifying for the final of the State Cup thanks to a victory in the derby.

Maccabi Haifa wanted to continue the momentum and quickly ensure its retention of the championship title, but Bnei Lam's team dominated the field without question, the greens looked helpless and Barak Becher went down with a painful and humiliating defeat inflicted by Patrick Twamsi and his friends.

Bacher didn't give up on the players, held a tough meeting later this week and slammed them: "You can lose, but you can't be so soft. It was a shameful display, whoever thinks that the championship fight is over - is wrong."

Becher's trainees understood the message well and in the game after that against Hapoel Tel Aviv, Omar Atzili and Dolev Haziza gave a victory that made the defeat disappear and as you know, it was a season that ended with a championship plate.

Also this week, just like then in the game against Maccabi Netanya, Bacher held a difficult meeting and showed video clips while telling the players: "Look at the body language, each of you tried to go alone and this must not happen again."

Tomorrow (Saturday, 20:30) Bacher will know if the assembly helped him again, and if the Greens, like in their greatest seasons, manage to recover from a painful defeat and use it to change momentum with an unforgettable victory.

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