Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
| Hapoel Tel-Aviv F.C logo | ||||
| Full name | Hapoel Tel Aviv Football Club מועדון כדורגל הפועל תל אביב | |||
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| Nickname(s) | The Red Demons, The Workers | |||
| Founded | 31 May 1927 | |||
| Ground | Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv | |||
| Capacity | 17,500 | |||
| Owner | Eli Tabib, Moni Harel | |||
| Chairman | Nir Inbar | |||
| Manager | Dror Kashtan | |||
| League | Israeli Premier League | |||
| 2010–11 | 2nd | |||
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Hapoel Tel Aviv Football Club (Template:Lang-he, Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Tel Aviv) is an Israeli football club based in Tel Aviv. The club currently competes in the Israeli Premier League and plays its home matches at the Bloomfield Stadium. To date, the club has won thirteen championships and thirteen State Cups, making them the country's second most successful club after city rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 1967 they became the first club to win the Asian Club Championships.
History
Pre-independence
Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. was originally established in 1923, but was disbanded soon after. The club was re-formed in 1925, and then for a third time in May 1926.[1] In 1927 the club merged with Allenby F.C., giving the club its modern form. It is part of the Hapoel sports association which was affiliated with the Histadrut trade union, and supporters of the club were often referred to as communists.[2]
In 1928 the club reached the Palestine Cup final (the first one to be recognised by the Israel Football Association). Although they beat Maccabi Hasmonean Jerusalem 2-0, Hapoel fielded an ineligible player, resulting in the cup being shared.[3]
The 1933-34 season saw the club win the double,[4] finishing as champions of the Palestine league (winning every match, the only Israeli club to have achieved such a feat)[1] and winners of the cup, beating local rivals Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-2 in the final. The following season Hapoel led the league table, but the championship was abandoned and the Palestine FA did not declare them champions.[4] The 1937-38 season ended the same way, with Hapoel top of the league, but the season abandoned. In the meantime, the club won the cup again in 1937, 1938 and 1939, and remain the only club to have won the trophy in three successive seasons (although the Royal Air Force won it four years in a row between 1924 and 1927, pre-1928 wins are not recognised by the IFA).
In 1939-40 they won their second championship. The following season no national championships were held, but the club won the tournament for Hapoel-affiliated clubs. They won a third championship in the 1943-44 season, and in the following year won the northern region league,[4] as well as what became known as the "War Cup", which was boycotted by Beitar-affiliated clubs. In the cup final Hapoel were leading Hapoel Petah Tikva 1-0, but the match was abandoned on 89 minutes when a Petah Tikva player refused to leave the pitch after being sent off for insulting the referee.[3]
Post-independence
Following Israeli independence, Hapoel joined the new Israeli League. They won the title in 1956-57 and the State Cup in 1960, beating Hapoel Petah Tikva 2-1.
In the 1965-66 season Hapoel won the title, and qualified for the first Asian Club Championships. In the tournament Hapoel were given byes all the way to the final, where they beat Selangor 2-1 to become Asia's first club champions. The club also reached the State Cup final that year, but lost 2-1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Hapoel won the title again in 1968-69, and again qualified for the Asian Club championships. Although they reached the final, they lost 2-1 to Iranian side Taj Club (in an era when Iran and Israel had diplomatic relations). They won the State Cup again in 1972, beating Hapoel Jerusalem 1-0 in the final, but did not win the title again until 1980-81, when they missed out on the double after losing the cup final 4-3 on penalties (after a 2-2 draw) to Bnei Yehuda. The following season they reached the cup final again, but lost 1-0 to Hapoel Yehud. A hat-trick of cup final defeats was avoided when they beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-2 in the 1982 final.
Another title was won in 1985-86, and another in 1987-88. However, the following season Hapoel finished bottom of the league (with a four point deduction for breaking budget rules) and were relegated to the second tier for the first time in their history.
The club made an immediate return to the top division as Liga Artzit runners-up, though they only beat Maccabi Yavne to the second promotion slot on goal difference.[5] In 1997-98 Hapoel finished second, and qualified for Europe for the second time. In the 1998-99 UEFA Cup Hapoel knocked out FinnPa, before losing on penalties to Strømsgodset. In the same season they won the State Cup, beating Beitar Jerusalem 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
The 1999-2000 season saw Hapoel win the double, claiming their first title in over a decade and winning the State Cup (beating Beitar Jerusalem on penalties again). However, they failed to reach the group stages of the Champions League after being beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Sturm Graz. They finshed second in the league in 2000-01 and 2001-02 and third in 2002-03, qualifying for the UEFA Cup on each occasion. In the 2001-02 UEFA Cup Hapoel reached the quarter-finals after knocking out Chelsea, Lokomotiv Moscow and Parma. Although they beat A.C. Milan 1-0 in the home leg (a match which had to be played in the GSP Stadium in Cyprus after Milan refused to play in Israel), Hapoel lost the away leg 2-0.
In 2002 the club won its first Toto Cup. They won the State Cup in 2006, beating Bnei Yehuda 1-0 in the final, and also won it the following season, when they defeated second division Hapoel Ashkelon on penalties. They reached the final again in 2007-08, but lost 5-4 on penalties to Beitar Jerusalem after a 0-0 draw.
In 2009-10, the club won the double, claiming the State Cup after a 3-1 victory over Bnei Yehuda. The title was won after a dramatic game against Beitar Jerusalem on the final day of the season, with Eran Zahavi scoring the title winning goal two minutes into injury time. The club also had a successful season in the Europa League, winning their group, before losing to Rubin Kazan in the second round. The following season they reached the group stages of the Champions League for the first time.
Stadium
After playing at three different stadiums, the club moved to Bloomfield Stadium in 1962. The stadium, located in Jaffa, is an upgraded version of the older stadium called "Basa". The first match at the new Bloomfield was played on 12 December 1962 against FC Twente, the game ending in a 1-1 draw. The stadium is currently shared with city rivals Maccabi (who moved to the ground in 2000) and Bnei Yehuda (since 2004).
Supporters and politics
The team is the standard-bearer of the Israeli left. It was the last club to cut formal links with politics, in this case the trade union movement and Labour party. At home matches, fans unroll banners emblazoned with the face of Che Guevara,[6] and banners with the The political slogan "Workers of the world, unite!".
According to a survey conducted in 2010, Hapoel Tel Aviv is the most hated club in Israel, with approximately about 22.3% of Israeli football fans chose Hapoel to be their most hated football club.[7]
Current squad
As of 4 January 2011.[8][9] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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.
Honours
Domestic
- Israeli Championships[10]
- State Cup
- Israeli Supercup
- Winners : 1981
- Toto Cup
- Winners : 2002
International
- Asian Club Championship
- Winners 1967
See also
References
- ^ a b History Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
- ^ Hapoel Tel-Aviv Football Club (Israel) Flags of the World
- ^ a b Israel - List of Cup Finals RSSSF
- ^ a b c Israel - List of Champions RSSSF
- ^ Israel 1989/90 RSSSF
- ^ The not-so-beautiful Game of Football in Israel Financial Times, 2 January 2010
- ^ Most popular: Maccabi Haifa, Hated: Hapoel Tel Aviv Sport 5, 1 September 2010 Template:He icon
- ^ Roster Hapoel Tel Aviv
- ^ Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel Football ASsociation
- ^ Trophies list - Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel Football Association