Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C.

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Bnei Yehuda

Full name

Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
Football Club

Nickname(s)

HaShkhuna (The Neighbourhood),
HaZehuvim (The Goldens)

Founded

1936

Ground

Bloomfield Stadium,
Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel
(Capacity 20,000)

Chairman

Hezi Magen

Manager

Eli Cohen

League

Ligat ha'Al

2007-08

9th place





Home colours





Away colours

Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. (Hebrew: מועדון כדורגל בני יהודה תל אביב‎, Moadon Kaduregel Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv), commonly known as just Bnei Yehuda, is an Israeli football club from the Hatikva Quarter of Tel Aviv. The club was formed in January 1936 by Nathan Sulami and his friends. ^[1] Its name means Sons of Yehuda.

1 History
2 Fans and stadium
3 Trophies
4 Current squad
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Since reaching Liga Leumit (then Israel's top division) in 1959, Bnei Yehuda has spent most of its history in the top flight. However, it has been overshadowed by the two giants of Israeli football in Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv, and usually been considered a bottomfeeding club.

In 1968 the club won the State Cup, its first major honour in its history. In 1981 they won the State Cup for the second time under the guidance of the legendary Shlomo Sharf, who would go on to revolutionise Maccabi Haifa, creating the juggernaut that rules football in Israel today. Their greatest achievement came in 1990, when Bnei Yehuda shocked the Israeli football establishment by winning the National League Championship, under the guidance of Giora Shpigel and Rami Levi, and led by Israeli legend Moshe Sinai.

During the first years of the 1990s, the club maintained its role as a major competitor in the heights of Israel's top league, though was not able to retain its title as champion. Led by legends such as the "Aeroplane" Alon Mizrahi, Haim Revivo and Ukrainian Nikolai Kodritzki, the team was considered one of Israel's best offensive teams. On March 16, 1994, Kodritzki was killed in a car accident, while returning from viewing a friendly match between the Israeli and Ukrainian national football teams. After his death, the team faced a grave crisis, from which it recovered only years later.

During the end of the 1990s, the club fought for its position in the top league. In the last three seasons of the decade, the team was on the verge of being relegated, only to save itself from that fate in the last circle, three years in a row.

When the new decade came, Bnei Yehuda continued its decline. This time, it was unable to save itself, and in 2001 the club was relegated to the second tier. Due to management changes, the team managed to bounce back the following season. Since then, Bnei Yehuda has experienced a revival in its fortunes and popularity under the ownership of Hezi Magen, the Strauss Ice Cream Company sponsors, and managed by the young Nitzan Shirazi.

[edit] Fans and stadium

The club is mostly known for its fanatical fan base, which often makes more noise than the larger crowds that back Maccabi Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem, and other clubs with a national fanbase.^{[citation needed]} The sure stronghold of HaTikva assures them an audience when other clubs have watched theirs evaporate.^{[citation needed]}

For most of its existence, the team has played at the Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium in the Hatikva Quarter of Tel Aviv. In 2004 the team moved their home matches to the Bloomfield Stadium in Jaffa, though the club offices, the team's practice grounds and most activities within the club are still held in the HaTikva stadium.

Aside from crosstown nemeses Maccabi and Hapoel (the latter is considered more bitter), Bnei Yehuda also have a deep enmity with Beitar Jerusalem, which has risen in the last years. However, veteran fans^[who?] of Bnei Yehuda and Beitar consider this as a false statement, claiming that the opposite is true, and that a closeness between both fan bases is more evident through the history. In the broader picture, though, there is no one club that pairs with them in their rivalry, and most enthusiasts of Israeli football view them as mavericks due to the fans' hostile attitude, no matter which opponent is on the grass with them.^{[citation needed]} The fact that Bnei Yehuda lags behind Hapoel and Maccabi in respect to facilities, budget, and fanbase has translated into a smaller youth program than the other two.

[edit] Trophies

Championship: 1 (1989-90)
National Cup: 2 (1968, 1981)
Toto Cup: 2 (1992, 1997)

[edit] Current squad

As of February, 2008

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Dele Aiyenugba
2	DF	Itzik Azouz
3	DF	Salem Abu Siam
4	DF	Ze'ev Haimovich
6	DF	Dean Mori
7	MF	Hrvoje Kovačević
8	MF	Assi Baldout
9	FW	Cédric Bardon
10	DF	Eli Abarbanel
11	FW	Eliran Atar
12	MF	Tal Meir
13	DF	Nitzan Aharonovich
14	FW	Moshe Biton

No.	Position	Player
15	DF	Yair Azoulai
16	MF	Yoni Revivo
18	MF	Idan Malichi
19	MF	Eliran Asao
20	DF	Milan Martinović
21	MF	Imoro Lukman
22	GK	Moti Abergil
24	MF	Eli Biton
25	MF	Dor Halevi
27	MF	Oz Rali
28	MF	Tamir Kahlon (on loan from Maccabi Tel Aviv)
30	MF	Liroi Zeiri
33	GK	Nil Abarbanel (on loan from Hapoel Tel Aviv)