Hapoel Ra'anana, and their star Nigerian forward Tony Nwakaeme, are hoping to repeat their impressive start to the 2013/14 season
Last Season
Despite the fact that most pundits marked them as the team most likely to be relegated, then Premier League newcomers Hapoel Ra'anana finished the 2013/14 season in a very respectable 9th position. They only lost one of their first ten league matches and it wasn't until matchweek 11 that they suffered their second loss, to Maccabi Tel Aviv. This success in the first round of thirteen Premier League ties left them in 7th place, a position that provided them with some breathing space for a second half of the season that saw them finish a full five points above the relegation zone. And all of this was achieved while featuring a number of home-grown players, like striker Raz Cohen, midfielders Sa'ar Benbenisti and Eli Babayev and team captain Shnir Shuker, all of whom form the base of the squad for the current 2014/15 season.
Status quo
At the end of matchweek 1, Hapoel Ra'anana finished top of the table after an impressive 4-0 home win against Premier League new boys Hapoel Petach Tikva. Shnir Shuker took advantage of his team's first-half dominance to put his side ahead before the interval. After the restart the visitors began to get back into the match, but a trio of goals by Zambian fullback Emmanuel Mbola, Eli Babayev and Senegalese forward Mamadou Touré Thiam in the last seven minutes of the match sealed an emphatic start to Ra'anana's season.
Head coach: Haim Silvas
Now that last year's head coach Meni Koretski has moved on to Beitar Jerusalem, club owner Asher Alon and chairman Damian Roitman have given the nod to the assistant senior and head youth team coach of the past two seasons, Haim Silvas. They' ve placed their confidence in Silvas to at least repeat the relative success of last season and maintain the club's position in mid-table. For Silvas this is only his second season in sole charge of a domestic team, having served a year as head coach of third division side Hapoel Afula.
Players out
After the relative success of last season, Hapoel Ra'anana were keen to hold on to as much of their squad as possible. Two foreign players, the Brazilian Lilio and Zambian defender Francis Kasonde, both left after failing to impress and Gal Nir moved on after losing his place to current first-choice goalkeeper Arik Yanko. Tamir Cohen, who was last season's headline signing, made a rather demonstrative departure, midfielder Assi Baldout returned to captain relegated side Bnei Yehuda and midfielder Reef Mesika crossed the M4 to join neighbours and second division ("Leumit") side Hapoel Kfar Saba.
Players in
The club's first summer signing was Brazilian midfielder Pedro Petrazzi, who last season played for Greek side Levadiakos. Rounding off the team's foreign player quota is 20 year-old Zambian striker Evans Kangwa, on loan from Zambian side Nkana, who has already scored for his national side and is widely seen as having great potential. As for domestic acquisitions, Ra'anana added three players who spent last season at second division sides – striker Gil Blumstein from Hapoel Bnei Lod, midfielder Eran Rozenbaum on loan from Maccabi Haifa at Hapoel Nazareth Elit and defender Yakir Shina from Beitar Tel Aviv Ramle – and one from division three, Wassam Rabah. Goalkeeper Daniel Lifshitz, who signed from second division side Maccabi Herzliya, has already played in matchweek 1 and will provide competition for Arik Yanko. The final summer signing was midfielder Dela Yampolsky, after spending a goalless season at Hapoel Haifa.
Player to look out for: Anthony Nwakaeme
After all of Anthony Nwakaeme 's accomplishments last season, it's a bit of an understatement to draw special attention to him here. But clearly the best summer business Hapoel Ra'anana have done was to keep the Nigerian forward, who last year brought more points to the club than any other player, on the team for the 2014/15 season. Aside from his six league goals and one more in the State Cup, Nwakaeme was involved in almost every one of his side's successful attacks. And with no irresistible offers coming in from any other club, and despite his outstanding performances, Hapoel Ra'anana emerged the big winners.
