| Full name | Maccabi Netanya Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Diamonds | ||
| Founded | 1934 | ||
| Ground | Sar-Tov Stadium, Netanya (Capacity: 7,500) |
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| Chairman | Kobi Baladev, Gil Lev | ||
| Manager | Reuven Atar | ||
| League | Premier League | ||
| 2011–12 | 6th (on-going) | ||
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Maccabi Netanya F.C. (Hebrew: מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Netanya) is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club were founding members of the Israeli League in 1949. After winning their first championship in 1970, the club's golden period lasted until the late 1980s, including four more league titles and a double in 1978. The club were relegated to the second tier twice during the 1990s and 2000s, but returned to the top flight on both occasions.
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The club was established in the year 1934 and initially played in green and white stripes. They became founder members of the Israeli League in 1949, and in 1954 reached the State Cup final for the first time, losing 4–0 to Maccabi Tel Aviv.[1] In 1961–62 the club finished bottom of Liga Leumit (then the top division) and were relegated to Liga Alef.[2] They returned to the top division in 1964.
After a third-placed finish in 1968–69, the 1970–71 season saw Netanya win their first title by a margin of eleven points, the largest in Israeli football history. They also reached the State Cup final, but lost 2–1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv.[1] In 1972–73 Neyanya finished thirteenth in Liga Leumit, avoiding relegation by only two points. However, the following season they won their second title. In 1975 they changed their kit to play in black and yellow. They won a third title in 1977–78, and completed the double by beating Bnei Yehuda 2–1 in the State Cup final. They also finished as winners of their group in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. A fourth championship was won in 1979–80 by a margin of ten points, whilst their fifth title, in 1982–83 was won by a fourteen point margin.[2] In the same season they won the League Cup, a feat repeated the following year. In 1986–87 and 1988–89 they reached the League Cup final, but lost on both occasions.
In 1994–95 Netanya finished bottom of Liga Leumit and were relegated to Liga Artzit, in the same season the youth team won the youth championship. After winning the league in 1998–99 they returned to the top division. However, they were relegated again in 2003–04 after finishing second from bottom, though they made an immediate return to the top division after finishing as Liga Leumuit runners-up in 2004–05, a season in which they also won the Toto Cup Leumit.
In 2006 the club was bought by Daniel Jammer, a Jewish German businessman. In 2006–07 the club finished as Premier League runners-up, a feat repeated the following season. In April 2008 Lothar Matthäus was appointed manager. Although the club led the league in the early part of the 2008–09 season, they eventually finished fourth and Matthäus was sacked and replaced by Nati Azaria.
There is a strong rivalry between Netanya and Beitar Nes Tubruk Netanya. Originally, there were hopes of the two clubs uniting so as not to split allegiances of kids in the city. The merger never came to fruition and since, the two clubs have been at each others throats both claiming that the other has forced a child not to switch clubs, which is illegal in Israel. Netanya has invested heavily in its youth system as of late and results have been seen on the field. When two Tubruk players came to shake hands with Netanya players after a derby match in Liga Leumit LeNoar, they were subsequently left out of the team for the club's next league match. The senior derby took place twice in the 1986-87 season, which was the only season the two teams played in the same league at the same time. The first game took place in Tubruk Stadium with 9,000 people in attendance, Yigal Menahem scored the only goal for Maccabi.
There's also a strong rivalry between Netanya and Hapoel Kfar Saba, games between the two are often called "HaSharon Derby" simply because the two clubs are known to be the major teams from the Sharon plain. The rivalry was at it's peak in the 1981-82 season which saw the two clubs going head to head for the championship with Netanya losing the title in the final game of the season.
The club plays its home matches at the 7,500-capacity Sar-Tov Stadium, which is commonly known as HaKufsa (lit. The Box). It was named after Yosef Sar-Tov, who was amongst the club's founders, and was its first chairman. A new stadium is currently under construction, and will initially hold 12,000, with plans to eventually enlarge it to 24,000.
As of August 8, 2011 Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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