Beitar Jerusalem F.C.

Beitar Jerusalem FC

Full name	Beitar Jerusalem Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Menorah The Flag of the State Lions from the Capital
Founded	1936
Ground	Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem (Capacity: 21,600)
Owner	Arcadi Gaydamak
Manager	Yuval Naim
League	Israeli Premier League
2010–11	11th
Home colours Away colours

Beitar Jerusalem Football club (Hebrew: מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים‎, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim) is an Israeli football club from Jerusalem. The club is based at the Teddy Stadium in the Malha neighborhood, and plays in black and yellow. The club has been associated with right-wing Israeli politics for over 70 years.

History

The club was founded in 1936 by David Horn, the head of the local Betar movement. Most of the clubs players in the early years were from the Betar organisation, and the club was forced to stop playing in 1938 following arrests of Betar members by the British authorities, before resuming activity in 1943 under Horn and Shmuel Kirschstein. More players were arrested in the 1940s, and exiled to Eritrea and Kenya, resulting in the formation of a Beitar Eritrea team. During the internment era, Horn refused to suspend operations again, and renamed it Nordia Jerusalem so as to deny links to the Irgun. Most of the Nordia players nevertheless came from Betar's ranks, including Simon Alfasi.

After independence in 1948, Beitar were played in Liga Bet, then the second tier. In 1953–54 the club won the southern division of Liga Bet, and were promoted to the top division, which had just been renamed Liga Leumit. In their first season in the top flight they finished 11th out of 14, and were forced to participate in promotion/relegation play-offs. Although they were the highest-placed club to take part in the play-offs, they finished bottom of the group, Beitar were relegated back to the second division, now renamed Liga Alef.

In 1957–58 they won Liga Alef, but were not promoted, as there was no promotion or relegation that year. They won Liga Alef again in 1966–68 (a two-year season) and were promoted back to Liga Leumit. After finishing thirteenth in 1968–69, Beitar finished fifth in 1969–70, their best performance to date. Two seasons later they finished as runners-up to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In 1974, during a match against Hapoel Petah Tikva, Beitar fans invaded the pitch and attacked Petah Tikva players and fans. This caused the first of several "radius" penalties, in which the club was forced to play matches in other cities behind closed doors. Beitar were also due to be relegated, but were saved by the intervention of Knesset members Ehud Olmert and Yossi Sarid, who forced the suspension of the relegation threat and called for an investigation of Israel Football Association corruption. In 1974–75 the club reached the State Cup final for the first time, but lost 3–1 to Hapoel Kfar Saba. In the same season they finished second bottom of the league, and were due to be relegated to Liga Artzit (the new second division). However, an IFA decision to expand the league from 16 to 18 clubs saw them reprieved. The next season they finished runners-up in the league to Hapoel Be'er Sheva and reached the State Cup final again, this time beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–1 to claim their first piece of major silverware.

The club finished as runners-up in both 1977–78 and 1978–79, also reaching the cup final in the latter season, winning 2–1 against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Despite the run of success towards the end of the 1970s, Beitar finished bottom of the division in 1979–80, and were relegated to Liga Artzit. However, they made an immediate return to the top division after finishing as runners-up to Beitar Tel Aviv in their first season back in the second tier.

In 1983–84 Beitar went into the last game of the season needing a win or draw to secure the title. However, they lost 1–0 to Hapoel Tel Aviv, allowing Maccabi Haifa to win the league. In 1985 Dror Kashtan took over as manager and Beitar again finished as runners-up to Maccabi Haifa, but prevented Haifa from completing the double by beating them 1–0 in the cup final. They retained the cup in 1985-86, beating Shimshon Tel Aviv 2–1.

Despite having to play all home matches at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, in 1986–87 Beitar claimed their first title, winning the league by a 15-point margin. Kashtan left the club to manage Maccabi Haifa, but returned in 1988. In 1988–89 they won the State Cup again, beating Maccabi Haifa 4–3 on penalties after a 3–3 draw. Kashtan left the club again during 1989.

In 1990–91 they finished second bottom of Liga Leumit, and were relegated to Liga Artzit. Under Lufa Kadosh the club made an immediate return to the top division. Kashtan returned to the club, winning the title in their first season back in Liga Leumit. Kashtan departed for a fourth time, resulting in the appointment of Eli Cohen. The club won the title again in 1996–97 and in 1997–98, by which time Kashtan had returned to the club again.

In 1998–99 Beitar reached the cup final, but lost 3–1 on penalties to Hapoel Tel Aviv after a 1–1 draw. Kashtan was replaced by former player Eli Ohana, under whom the club reached the cup final again the following season, where they lost on penalties to Hapoel Tel Aviv again. At the end of the 1999–2000 season, Ohana was fired and replaced by Eli Guttman. Despite success on the pitch, at the end of the 1990s the club was in severe financial difficulties; chairman Moshe Dadash had sold the club's training grounds and pocketed the money.

After several mid-table finishes, in 2005 the club was bought by Russian-born billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak. He angered some Beitar fans when he donated $400,000 to Bnei Sakhnin in a diplomatic gesture. However, under Gaydamak, the club soon established itself as having the largest budget in Israeli football. Several new players were signed such as Jérôme Leroy, Fabrice Fernandes, David Aganzo and the club eventually signed manager Luis Fernández. Beitar finished third in the league and qualified for the UEFA Cup in 2005–06. Ossie Ardiles was appointed manager at the start of the 2006–07 season, but was sacked after disappointing results in the UEFA Cup. His replacement, Yossi Mizrahi, led the club to the title. In 2007–08 the club won its first double, winning the title by nine points and beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 5–4 on penalties in the cup final after a 0–0 draw. The following season Beitar won the State Cup again, beating Maccabi Haifa 2–1 in the final. In July 2009 Guma Aguiar invested over US$4 million and it was widely expected that he would take over ownership of the club, and indeed claimed to be so in December 2009. This was denied by the Israel Football Association, stating that Gaydamak remains the owner due to his ongoing legal issues complicating the sale of the club.

In recent years, actions by some of the club's fans have earned it notoriety and league penalties. Fan offenses have included heckling during a moment of silence for slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and chanting slogans derogatory to Muslims and Arabs. The league has levied fines, suspended and docked points, and imposed closed door matches to penalize the team. However, due to efforts the club was making "to combat its own fans' racist behavior", which include donning uniforms that read "Stop Racism", a football association court reinstated one league point to the club in April 2011.

In July 2011, Beitar Jerusalem announced theat a deal was made between club owner Arcadi Gaydamak and American businessmen Dan Adler and Adam Levin who were to take over the club. The deal fell through.

Crest

Since the foundation of The Beitar Movement, the Menorah has become a theme that has run throughout the years. The new Beitar Jerusalem crest has kept the Menorah:

• 

  Late-1980s Crest

• 

  Mid-1990s Crest

• 

  Current Crest

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
1999–2000	Diadora	Cellcom (Israel)
2000–2001		Subaru
2001–2002	Lotto	Eldan
2002–2003		Fresh&Go
2003–2004	Diadora	Hot (Israel)
2004–2005	Kappa
2005–2006		014
2006–2007	Adidas
2007–2008		B.Yair
2008–2011		Eldan
2011–	Diadora

Stadium

Teddy Stadium, Beitar's home ground.

As of July, 2010

Main article: Teddy Stadium

The club was initially based at the "Banana Field" close to Beitar youth group's "nest", but by the 1950s they had moved to the YMCA Stadium, which was later shared with Hapoel Jerusalem. The YMCA was nicknamed "the sandbox" due to the poor condition of the pitch.

In 1991 both clubs moved to the Teddy Stadium, named after longtime Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek. Initially the stadium was two-sided and held 12,000 spectators. This was increased to 21,600 when a third side was completed in 1997. The fourth side of the stadium remains undeveloped. The ground has been dubbed Gehinom (lit. Hell) by club supporters, for the hostile atmosphere it presents to visiting teams and their fans.

Players

First team

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Ariel Harush 2 DF Eli Dasa 3 DF Netanel Ben Simon 5 DF Matan Barashi 6 DF Tomer Ben Yosef 7 FW Amit Ben Shushan (Captain) 9 MF Dan Einbinder 10 FW Liron Diamant 11 FW Leonardo Passos 12 DF Shmuel Kozokin 13 MF Shai Mutay 14 FW Tal Mishali 15 MF Shai Haddad 16 MF Evyatar Baruchyan 17 MF Zahi Elihen 18 DF Avi Reikan 19 MF Shai Nissim

No. Position Player 20 MF Ofir Amram 21 MF Kobi Moyal 22 GK Ohad Saidof 23 MF Dario Fernandez 24 MF Ofir Kriaf 26 MF Steven Cohen 27 FW Eden Nachmani 28 MF Barak Moshe 29 DF Haim Magralashvili (on loan from Maccabi Haifa FC) 31 FW Meir Elkabets 32 DF Adir Menashe 34 DF Tal Kahila 39 DF Andriy Pylyavskyi (on loan from Maccabi Haifa FC) 40 GK Aviram Ziat 70 MF Harmony Ikande 99 FW Eran Levy

Foreigners 2011–12

Only up to five non-Israeli nationals can be in an Israeli club squad. Those with Jewish ancestry, married to an Israeli,
or have played in Israel for an extended period of time can claim a passport or permanent residency which would allow them to play with Israeli status.

• Andriy Pylyavskyi
• Dario Fernandez
• Leonardo Passos
• Harmony Ikande

Youth team

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Kevin Kahkedjian 2 DF Eli Dasa 3 DF Shalom Dahan 4 DF Michael Bonfito 5 DF Tom Luria 6 DF Tal Kachila 7 MF Ofir Kriaf 8 MF Aviv tzafi Cohen (captain) 9 FW Eden Malka 10 MF Nadir Perach 11 FW Glen Haouzner 12 FW Amir Shwiki 13 MF Oz Ariel 14 MF Shai Mazor 15 DF Netanel Ben-Simon 16 MF Naor Sabag

No. Position Player 17 MF Zhahi Elihen 18 MF Daniel Deri 19 FW Harel Polak 20 MF Sahar Shabtai 21 DF Tomer Yerucham 23 MF Sahar Ben-Hamu 24 MF Aviran Ben-David 25 FW Omer Nachmani 26 DF Shaked Goldstein 27 MF Yarden Swisa 28 MF Yonatan Nitchko 29 MF Eden Spoikoini 30 GK Sagi Ben-Yitshak 31 MF Dor Peretz 32 MF Yinon Eliyahu

Former players

See also: :Category:Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Period	Games	Goals
1	Uri Malmilian	1973 – 89	423	140
2	Hanan Azulay	1974 – 89	369	041
3	Itzhak Jano	1968 – 83	375	009
4	Yossi Mizrahi	1972 – 88	371	000
5	Itzik Kornfein	1995 – 07	366	000
6	Eli Ohana	1980 – 87 1991 – 99	345	142
	Yossi Hakham	1965 – 80	345	001
8	Shaul Mizrahi	1953 – 70	304	040
9	Eitan Mizrahi	1989 – 03	299	012
10	Sami Malka	1980 – 92	288	047
11	Udi Rubowitch	1963 – 74	281	081
12	Meir Kadosh	1984 – 95	279	000
	Ya'akov Schwartz	1983 – 94	279	035
14	Danny Noyman	1971 – 80 1982 – 84	264	034
15	Shlomi Avrahami	1960 – 73	260	020
16	David Amsalem	1995 – 98 2000 – 09	252	011
17	Serhiy Tritjak	1992 – 00	239	003
18	Aviram Baruchyan	2002-12	237	036
19	Itzhak Monsa	1958 – 68	235	051
20	Hai Mizrahi	1954 – 65	229	001
	Yossi Avrahami	1974 – 84	229	018

Player of the year

Year Winner 2004–05 Avi Nimni 2005–06 Yoav Ziv 2006–07 Michael Zandberg 2007–08 Gal Alberman 2008–09 Barak Yitzhaki 2009–10 Ariel Harush 2010–11 Kobi Moyal

Honours

• Israeli championships
  • Winners: 1986–87, 1992–93, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2006–07, 2007–08
• Second Division
  • Champions: 1953–54, 1957–58, 1966–68
• State Cup
  • Winners: 1976, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1989, 2008, 2009
• Toto Cup
  • Winners: 1997–98 , 2009–10
• Shalom Cup (Roma)
  • Winners: 2000
• Israeli Supercup
  • Winners: 1976, 1986
• Lilian Cup
  • Winners: 1985
• Mini Football Championship
  • Winners: 1988

External links

• Official website
• Beitar.net fansite