Stadium: Moshava (11,500)
Coach: Guy Luzon
Amir Kabiri’s newest recruit will make his return to the Hapoel bench as Eli Gutman moves back to his manager role similar to that of a Sports Director as Luzon returns to the Ligat Ha’Al after spells with Belgium outfit Standard Liege and Championship side Charlton.
Luzon coached the Reds back in 2007/08 after a number of successful years with Maccabi Petach Tikva. At Hapoel, Luzon was able to take the club to their second campaign in the group stages of the UEFA Cup, however, even though he did well in Europe, league play was a different story as he only picked up one win in 10 Matchdays – which happened to be in his first ever Tel Aviv Derby.
Comings & Goings:
Hapoel Tel Aviv’s roster had plenty of changes this past summer as 11 players left the club while eight players came in including Hen Ezra, Marko Simic, Orel Dgani and Weam Amasha along with striker Dolly Manga who signed just as the September transfer window was about to close.
Preseason:
The first Derby of the year occurred in the Toto Cup competition as the Yellow & Blue recorded a 2:0 victory. Altogether in the tournament, Hapoel won one match, drew two and lost one, finishing in fourth place. If anyone thought that once the league started the Reds would perform better, they were mistaken.
Hapoel began the season with an away tilt at Sammy Ofer Stadium and fell to Maccabi Haifa 1:0. On Matchday Two they faced the defending Champions and were able to earn a point in a goalless draw. Gutman’s charges were still looking for their first victory on Matchday Three but lost to Maccabi Petach Tikva 2:0 while last week they were leading 3:1 against Kiryat Shemona but ended up splitting the points with the Northern side in a 3:3 draw.
Under the magnifying glass: Aaron Schoenfeld
The Jewish-American striker scored in his first ever Derby for the Reds in a 1:1 draw during the second round of matches last season. Schoenfeld features a quality game with both his head and feet while his physical presence makes him a true threat in the Israeli league. However, the striker’s huge potential still hasn’t been able to make a consistent mark from match to match and Maccabi’s defense was able to contain him during this past Summer’s Toto Cup contest.
