2008–09 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) |
|
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
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.
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 | 8,000 |
| Maccabi Netanya | Sar-Tov Stadium | 7,500 |
| F.C. Ashdod | Yud-Alef Stadium | 7,420 |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva | Petah Tikva Municipal Stadium | 6,768 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | ||
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Kiryat Shmona Municipal Stadium | 5,200 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Doha Stadium | 5,000 |
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 | 571,2 | |
| 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 Amidar Ramat Gan (R) | 33 | 6 | 11 | 16 | 26 | 46 | −20 | 29 | Qualification to relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona (R) | 33 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 24 | 44 | −20 | 27 | Relegation to 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; (E) = Eliminated; (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; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament 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 Amidar 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
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 ╲ Away | BEI | BnS | BnY | FCA | HAR | 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 Amidar 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
1 ^ The 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 ╲ Away | BEI | BnS | BnY | FCA | HAR | 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 Amidar 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
1 ^ The 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.
| Hakoah Ramat Gan | 1 – 2 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth |
|---|---|---|
For  23' |
Report | Jida 46' Ayeli 76' |
Winter Stadium, Ramat Gan Referee: Eitan Tabrizi |
Season statistics
Scoring
- First goal of the season: Yossi Shivhon for Maccabi Tel Aviv against Bnei Yehuda, 5th minute (30 August 2008)[5]
- Last goal of the season: Lior Rafaelov for Maccabi Haifa against Beitar Jerusalem, 58th minute (1 June2009)[6]
- First own goal of the season: Nir Davidovich (Maccabi Haifa) for F.C. Ashdod, 57th minute (30 August 2008)[7]
- Fastest goal in a match: 39 seconds – Thembinkosi Fanteni for Maccabi Haifa against Maccabi Tel Aviv (27 October 2008)[8]
- Goal scored at the latest point in a match: 90+5 minutes – Barak Badash for Hakoah Ramat Gan against Bnei Yehuda (13 September 2008)[9]
- Widest winning margin: 4 goals:
- Hapoel Tel Aviv 4–0 Beitar Jerusalem (9 February 2009)[10]
- Beitar Jerusalem 4–0 Hakoah Ramat Gan (4 April 2009)[11]
- Most goals in a match: 6 goals:
- Hakoah Ramat Gan 2–4 Beitar Jerusalem (20 September 2008)[12]
- F.C. Ashdod 4–2 Bnei Sakhnin (8 November 2008)[13]
- F.C. Ashdod 3–3 Maccabi Netanya (20 December 2008)[14]
Discipline
- First yellow card of the season: Tamir Kahlon for Bnei Yehuda against Maccabi Tel Aviv, 6th minute (30 August 2008)[5]
- First red card of the season: Ronnie Gafney for Maccabi Haifa against F.C. Ashdod, 59th minute (30 August 2008)[7]
- Most yellow cards in a match: 12 yellow cards – Beitar Jerusalem against Maccabi Haifa (28 September 2008)[15]
- Most red cards in a match: 4 red cards – F.C. Ashdod against Ironi Kiryat Shmona (13 September 2008)[16]
- Most cards in a match: 15 cards (12 yellow and 3 red) – Beitar Jerusalem against Maccabi Haifa (28 September 2008)[15]
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 | 9 |
| Lior Rafaelov |
Maccabi Haifa | 9 | |
| 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
- ↑ June 24th IFA meeting summary (Hebrew)
- ↑ "Betar Jerusalem will not be eligible to play in European competition next season". Haaretz. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
- ↑ "Beitar punished for pitch invasion". FIFA. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
- ↑ "Beitar punished for racist abuse". FIFA. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
- 1 2 "Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv". The Israel Football Association. 30 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- ↑ "Maccabi Haifa 1-1 Beitar Jerusalem". The Israel Football Association. 1 July 2009. Archived from the original on 25 June 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
- 1 2 "Maccabi Haifa 3:1 Ashdod". Live Result. 30 August 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- ↑ "Maccabi Haifa 3:2 Maccabi Tel Aviv". Live Result. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2008.
- ↑ "Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv 2:2 Hakoach Amidar". Live Result. 13 September 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
- ↑ "Hapoel Tel Aviv 4:0 Beitar Jerusalem". Live Result. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
- ↑ "Beitar Jerusalem 4:0 Hakoah Ramat Gan". Live Result. 4 April 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
- ↑ "Hakoach Amidar 2:4 Beitar Jerusalem". Live Result. 20 September 2008. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
- ↑ "Ashdod 4:2 Bnei Sakhnin". Live Result. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
- ↑ "Ashdod 3:3 Maccabi Netanya". Live Result. 20 December 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
- 1 2 "Beitar Jerusalem 0:2 Maccabi Haifa". The Israel Football Association. 28 September 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ↑ "Ashdod 2:0 Hapoel Kiryat Shmona". The Israel Football Association. 13 September 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2008.
- ↑ "Israeli Premier League Top Scorers". The Israel Football Association. 30 August 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
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