2008–09 Israeli Premier League

Israeli Premier League
Season 2008–09
Champions Maccabi Haifa
6th Premier League title
11th top-flight title
Relegated Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan
Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Champions League Maccabi Haifa (second qualifying round)
Europa League Hapoel Tel Aviv (third qualifying round)
Maccabi Netanya (second qualifying round)
Bnei Yehuda (first qualifying round)
Goals scored 432
Average goals/game 2.18
Top goalscorer Barak Yitzhaki (14)
Shimon Abuhatzira (14)
Eliran Atar (14)
Biggest home win Hapoel Tel Aviv 4–0 Beitar Jerusalem (9 February 2009)
Beitar Jerusalem 4–0 Hakoah Ramat Gan (4 April 2009)
Biggest away win 8 games with a win by 3 goals[A]
Highest scoring Hakoah Ramat Gan 2–4 Beitar Jerusalem (20 September 2008)
F.C. Ashdod 4–2 Bnei Sakhnin (8 November 2008)
F.C. Ashdod 3–3 Maccabi Netanya (20 December 2008)
(6 goals)

The 2008–09 Israeli Premier League season began on 30 August 2008, and ended on 1 June 2009. Beitar Jerusalem were the defending champions, having won their 6th league title the previous year.

Two teams from Liga Leumit were promoted at the end of the previous season: Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan and Hapoel Petah Tikva. The two teams relegated were Hapoel Kfar Saba and Maccabi Herzliya.

At a 24 June 2008 IFA administration meeting[1] it was decided that the league would be expanded to 16 clubs for the following season. Due to the expansion, only one team was relegated directly to Liga Leumit, while five clubs were promoted. The eleventh-ranked team played in a play-off match against the sixth-ranked team from Liga Leumit.

Maccabi Haifa clinched their 11th title after a 0–2 win against Maccabi Netanya on 23 May 2009.

Contents

Stadia

Club Stadium Capacity
Beitar Jerusalem Teddy Stadium 21,600
Bnei Yehuda Bloomfield Stadium 15,700
Hapoel Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Haifa Kiryat Eliezer Stadium 14,002
Hakoah Ramat Gan Winter Stadium 08,000
Maccabi Netanya Sar-Tov Stadium 07,500
F.C. Ashdod Yud-Alef Stadium 07,420
Hapoel Petah Tikva Petah Tikva Municipal Stadium 06,768
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Ironi Kiryat Shmona Kiryat Shmona Municipal Stadium 05,200
Bnei Sakhnin Doha Stadium 05,000

League table

Pos
Team
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Maccabi Haifa (C) 33 19 10 4 49 24 +25 67 2009–10 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round
2 Hapoel Tel Aviv 33 17 10 6 49 28 +21 61 2009–10 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round
3 Beitar Jerusalem 33 16 12 5 47 28 +19 0571,2
4 Maccabi Netanya 33 14 12 7 40 32 +8 54 2009–10 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round 1
5 Bnei Yehuda 33 14 7 12 38 31 +7 49 2009–10 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round 1
6 Maccabi Tel Aviv 33 11 11 11 36 35 +1 44
7 Maccabi Petah Tikva 33 8 15 10 26 33 −7 39
8 F.C. Ashdod 33 10 8 15 41 48 −7 38
9 Bnei Sakhnin 33 7 12 14 26 41 −15 33
10 Hapoel Petah Tikva 33 8 7 18 30 42 −12 31
11 Hakoah Ramat Gan (R) 33 6 11 16 26 46 −20 29 Qualification to the relegation play-offs
12 Ironi Kiryat Shmona (R) 33 6 9 18 24 44 −20 27 Relegation to the Liga Leumit

Source: Israel Football Association
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd matches won; 4th goals scored; 5th head-to-head; 6th decision match.
1Beitar Jerusalem did not obtain the license for competing in next year's European competitions because they failed to meet their commitments to UEFA.[2] Since Beitar won the cup and the cup runners-up are league champions Maccabi Haifa, all Europa League spots were awarded to teams according to their league positions. Since Beitar also finished third in the league, Europa League spots were given to league runners-up Hapoel Tel Aviv, fourth-placed Maccabi Netanya and fifth-placed Bnei Yehuda.
2Beitar Jerusalem were deducted two points due to Beitar fans pitch invasion the previous year against Maccabi Herzliya[3] and one point due to racist calls from Beitar fans.[4]
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Positions by round

Team \ Round

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
Maccabi Haifa 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1
Hapoel Tel Aviv 4 7 7 5 7 7 4 4 4 5 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 2
Beitar Jerusalem 12 12 6 7 9 9 6 9 7 4 6 6 6 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Maccabi Netanya 6 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Bnei Yehuda 10 8 11 11 12 11 12 10 11 12 10 9 8 9 7 7 6 5 5 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2 3 3 3 3 4 5 7 6 8 8 8 9 8 9 9 8 8 7 8 9 9 8 8 8 7 6 6 6 7 6 6 6
Maccabi Petah Tikva 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 4 5 6 6 5 6 6 7 7 7 6 7 7 7 6 7 8 7
F.C. Ashdod 11 5 8 9 8 8 9 8 5 7 5 7 7 5 5 6 7 7 8 7 7 7 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 8
Bnei Sakhnin 8 9 12 12 11 12 10 11 12 10 11 11 11 11 10 11 11 10 10 10 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 9 10 10 9
Hapoel Petah Tikva 7 10 5 8 6 5 7 5 8 6 7 5 4 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 10 9 9 10
Hakoah Ramat Gan 3 6 9 10 10 10 11 12 10 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 11
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 9 11 10 6 5 6 8 6 9 9 9 10 10 10 11 10 10 11 11 11 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 12

Source: Israel Football Association

Results

Location of teams in the Israeli Premier League 2008–09

The schedule consisted of three rounds. During first two rounds, each team played each other once home and away for a total of 22 matches. The pairings of the third round were then set according to the standings after first two rounds, giving every team a third game against each opponent for a total of 33 games per team.

First and second round

Home \ Away1 BEI BnS BnY FCA HRG HPT HTA IKS MHA MNE MPT MTA
Beitar Jerusalem 0–0 1–0 3–2 3–0 2–2 0–2 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–0
Bnei Sakhnin 0–0 0–2 0–2 0–1 0–3 1–0 1–0 0–1 0–1 2–1 2–3
Bnei Yehuda 0–3 2–0 1–0 2–2 1–0 3–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 3–2
F.C. Ashdod 1–2 4–2 0–2 3–2 4–1 1–0 2–0 1–3 3–3 1–1 1–0
Hakoah Ramat Gan 2–4 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–0 0–3 1–2 2–2 0–1
Hapoel Petah Tikva 0–2 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–2 3–0 1–4 0–0 0–1 0–1
Hapoel Tel Aviv 4–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 3–0 3–2 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–0
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 1–0 1–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–3 0–0 1–2
Maccabi Haifa 0–0 2–1 1–0 3–1 2–0 1–0 2–2 1–1 2–3 3–1 3–2
Maccabi Netanya 1–2 1–1 2–2 2–1 2–2 3–1 0–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 1–0
Maccabi Petah Tikva 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–3 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–1 0–0
Maccabi Tel Aviv 0–0 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–2 1–3 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–0

Source: Israel Football Association
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third round

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 22 games):

Rounds
23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd
3 – 12
4 – 2
5 – 1
6 – 11
7 – 10
8 – 9
12 – 9
10 – 8
11 – 7
1 – 6
2 – 5
3 – 4
4 – 12
5 – 3
6 – 2
7 – 1
8 – 11
9 – 10
12 – 10
11 – 9
1 – 8
2 – 7
3 – 6
4 – 5
5 – 12
6 – 4
7 – 3
8 – 2
9 – 1
10 – 11
12 – 11
1 – 10
2 – 9
3 – 8
4 – 7
5 – 6
6 – 12
7 – 5
8 – 4
9 – 3
10 – 2
11 – 1
1 – 12
2 – 11
3 – 10
4 – 9
5 – 8
6 – 7
12 – 7
8 – 6
9 – 5
10 – 4
11 – 3
1 – 2
2 – 12
3 – 1
4 – 11
5 – 10
6 – 9
7 – 8
12 – 8
9 – 7
10 – 6
11 – 5
1 – 4
2 – 3
Home \ Away1 BEI BnS BnY FCA HRG HPT HTA IKS MHA MNE MPT MTA
Beitar Jerusalem 3–0 2–2 2–1 4–0 2–1 2–0
Bnei Sakhnin 3–1 3–2 0–0 0–0 0–3
Bnei Yehuda 1–0 2–1 0–0 0–1 2–0 1–1
F.C. Ashdod 0–3 1–0 2–0 0–3 0–0
Hakoah Ramat Gan 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–1
Hapoel Petah Tikva 0–0 2–2 0–1 2–0 1–2
Hapoel Tel Aviv 1–1 2–1 1–0 3–2 1–2 1–1
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 2–0 0–2 1–1 1–3 1–2
Maccabi Haifa 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 0–0
Maccabi Netanya 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–3 0–2 1–2
Maccabi Petah Tikva 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–2 0–3
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–1 1–0 3–2 1–1 0–1

Source: Israel Football Association
1The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation playoff

Hakoah Ramat Gan, as the 11th-placed team, faced the 6th-placed Liga Leumit team Maccabi Ahi Nazareth in a two-legged playoff. Hakoah Ramat Gan lost both games and were relegated to Liga Leumit.

2 June 2009
20:30 UTC+2
Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 2 – 1 Hakoah Ramat Gan Ilut Stadium, Ilut
Referee: Alon Yefet
Ayeli  41'
Silvas  48'
Report For  42'

6 June 2009
19:00 UTC+2
Hakoah Ramat Gan 1 – 2 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth Winter Stadium, Ramat Gan
Referee: Eitan Tabrizi
For  23' Report Jida  46'
Ayeli  76'

Season statistics

Scoring

Discipline

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals[17]
1 Barak Yitzhaki Beitar Jerusalem 14
Shimon Abuhatzira Hapoel Petah Tikva 14
Eliran Atar Bnei Yehuda 14
4 Samuel Yeboah Hapoel Tel Aviv 13
5 Dimitar Makriev F.C. Ashdod 11
Thembinkosi Fanteni Maccabi Haifa 11
7 David Revivo F.C. Ashdod 10
Pedro Galván Bnei Yehuda 10
9 Maor Buzaglo Maccabi Tel Aviv 09
Lior Rafaelov Maccabi Haifa 09
Total 432
Average per game 2.18

Notes

A. ^ Biggest away win
Bnei Sakhnin 0–3 Hapoel Petah Tikva (1 November 2008)
Hakoah Ramat Gan 0–3 Maccabi Haifa (1 November 2008)
Bnei Yehuda 0–3 Beitar Jerusalem (8 November 2008)
Hapoel Petah Tikva 1–4 Maccabi Haifa (22 November 2008)
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 0–3 Maccabi Netanya (22 November 2008)
F.C. Ashdod 0–3 Maccabi Haifa (6 April 2009)
Bnei Sakhnin 0–3 Maccabi Tel Aviv (11 April 2009)
F.C. Ashdod 0–3 Bnei Yehuda (2 May 2009)
Maccabi Petah Tikva 0–3 Maccabi Tel Aviv (23 May 2009)

See also

References

  1. ^ June 24th IFA meeting summary (Hebrew)
  2. ^ "Betar Jerusalem will not be eligible to play in European competition next season". Haaretz. 7 May 2009. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1083363.html. Retrieved 7 May 2009. 
  3. ^ "Beitar punished for pitch invasion". FIFA. 18 April 2008. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=745340.html. Retrieved 18 April 2008. 
  4. ^ "Beitar punished for racist abuse". FIFA. 1 May 2009. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=1053674.html. Retrieved 1 May 2009. 
  5. ^ a b "Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv". The Israel Football Association. 30 August 2008. http://eng.football.org.il/Leagues/Pages/LeagueGameDetails.aspx?GAME_ID=168871#GameEvents. Retrieved 30 August 2008. 
  6. ^ "Maccabi Haifa 1-1 Beitar Jerusalem". The Israel Football Association. 1 July 2009. http://eng.football.org.il/Leagues/Pages/LeagueGameDetails.aspx?GAME_ID=169023#GameEvents. Retrieved 1 July 2009. 
  7. ^ a b "Maccabi Haifa 3:1 Ashdod". Live Result. 30 August 2008. http://www.liveresult.ru/en/football/matches/match36757_Maccabi_Haifa-Ashdod_live/?tab=showmatch. Retrieved 30 August 2008. 
  8. ^ "Maccabi Haifa 3:2 Maccabi Tel Aviv". Live Result. 27 October 2008. http://www.liveresult.ru/en/football/matches/match48564_Maccabi_Haifa-Maccabi_Tel_Aviv_live/?do=showmatch. Retrieved 27 October 2008. 
  9. ^ "Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv 2:2 Hakoach Amidar". Live Result. 13 September 2008. http://www.liveresult.ru/en/football/matches/match39036_Bnei_Yehuda_Tel_Aviv-Hakoach_Amidar_live/?do=showmatch. Retrieved 13 September 2008. 
  10. ^ "Hapoel Tel Aviv 4:0 Beitar Jerusalem". Live Result. 9 February 2009. http://www.liveresult.ru/en/football/matches/match63086_Hapoel_Tel_Aviv-Beitar_Jerusalem_live/?do=showmatch. Retrieved 9 February 2009. 
  11. ^ "Beitar Jerusalem 4:0 Hakoah Ramat Gan". Live Result. 4 April 2009. http://www.liveresult.ru/en/football/matches/match80043_Beitar_Jerusalem-Hakoach_Amidar_live/?do=showmatch. Retrieved 4 April 2009. 
  12. ^ "Hakoach Amidar 2:4 Beitar Jerusalem". Live Result. 20 September 2008. http://www.liveresult.ru/en/football/matches/match40620_Hakoach_Amidar-Beitar_Jerusalem_live/?do=showmatch. Retrieved 20 September 2008. 
  13. ^ "Ashdod 4:2 Bnei Sakhnin". Live Result. 8 November 2008. http://www.liveresult.ru/en/football/matches/match50916_Ashdod-Bnei_Sakhnin_live/?do=showmatch. Retrieved 8 November 2008. 
  14. ^ "Ashdod 3:3 Maccabi Netanya". Live Result. 20 December 2008. http://www.liveresult.ru/en/football/matches/match57549_Ashdod-Maccabi_Netanya_live/?do=showmatch. Retrieved 20 December 2008. 
  15. ^ a b "Beitar Jerusalem 0:2 Maccabi Haifa". The Israel Football Association. 28 September 2008. http://eng.football.org.il/Leagues/Pages/LeagueGameDetails.aspx?GAME_ID=168890#GameEvents. Retrieved 28 September 2008. 
  16. ^ "Ashdod 2:0 Hapoel Kiryat Shmona". The Israel Football Association. 13 September 2008. http://eng.football.org.il/Leagues/Pages/LeagueGameDetails.aspx?GAME_ID=168876#GameEvents. Retrieved 13 September 2008. 
  17. ^ "Israeli Premier League Top Scorers". The Israel Football Association. 30 August 2008. http://eng.football.org.il/Leagues/Pages/PlayerTopGoals.aspx?LEAGUE_ID=10040. Retrieved 30 August 2008.