Ronny Levy
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| Ronny Levy רוני לוי |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 14, 1966 | |
| Place of birth |  Netanya, Israel |
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| Playing position | Defensive Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | none | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1985-1990 1990 1990-1992 1992-1997 |
Maccabi Netanya Bnei Yehuda Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Haifa |
- (-) - (-) - (-) 144 (18) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1993-1995 | Israel |
15 (0) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1998-2000 2000 2000-2003 2003-2008 |
Maccabi Haifa (Youth) Maccabi Haifa (Interim) Maccabi Haifa (Youth) Maccabi Haifa |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Ronny Levy (Hebrew: רוני לוי; born November 14, 1966) is a former Israeli international football player and is former manager of Israeli top-flight side Maccabi Haifa F.C.. Levy was one of the best defensive midfielders in Israeli football while playing, and won championships with both Bnei Yehuda and Maccabi Haifa F.C.. He has fifteen international caps with the Israeli national team.
As a manager Levy is considered very thorough and an extremely dedicated professional, dictating very high standards and uncompromising in what he demands from players.[who?] He also has an "eye" for talent, signing in his time some of the best foreign talents that ever played in Israel, such as Gustavo Boccoli and Roberto Colautti.
[edit] Playing career
Levy started his career as a striker in the youth teams of Maccabi Netanya. He was a prolific scorer and was promoted to the first team in 1985. After five seasons in the shadow of then domestic superstars Oded Machnes and David Lavi, he was loaned to Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv in the transfer window of season 1989/1990, where he won his first championship title.
After two good years back in Maccabi Netanya, Levy transferred to Maccabi Haifa F.C. in 1992 where he was positioned first as a defender. After a few games his role was changed to defensive midfielder, the position he would occupy until the end of his playing career. Levy played a major role in Maccabi Haifa's championship in the season of 1993/1994. He retired from playing in 1997 due to a serious injury to his knee.
[edit] As a manager
With retirement, Levy was given a coaching position in one of Maccabi Haifa F.C.'s youth teams. After two years in the youth department, he was made assistant manager of the first team, under the management of Eli Cohen. Cohen resigned his position in the last stages of the 1999/2000 season, and was replaced by Levy for a few games. At the end of the season, Levy returned to the youth department, this time as head coach of the first youth team for the next three years, where he was very successful, making both cup and league titles in his last year there.
As the season of 2002/2003 ended, and manager Itzhak Shum left the club to go to top Greek club Panathinaikos, Levy was given the position of first team manager. His appointment met serious doubts from both news media and fans, who suggested he was not experienced enough to fill one of the most desirable and prestigious roles in Israeli football. Levy answered the critics with three domestic championships in a row in his first 3 years of managing Maccabi Haifa F.C. (2003/2004, 2004/2005, 2005/2006), one Toto Cup (2006), and a qualification to the UEFA cup group stage in 2006/2007.
Levy is one of the first managers in Israeli football to use computer software as a tool for measuring the players' performance and a means for tactical analysis. In 2006, Levy received a "manager of the year" award from both major Israeli newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth and Maariv.
After seasons 2006/2007, 2007/2008 which were considered as failure after failing to challenge for the title, finishing 5th in both seasons, he decided to leave the club and was replaced by Elisha Levy.
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