Head Coach: Nir Klinger
Just like Hapoel Haifa, their Head Coach is having a terrific season to date. The man who was on the Maccabi sidelines in 2004/05 and took them to the Champions League Group Stages has seen many ups and downs over his career. Under Klinger, the Haifa Reds have opened their campaign in fine fashion and sit in first place after many seasons languishing at the bottom of the table.
Arrivals:
Part of Hapoel Haifa’s success is due to players that arrived over the summer. One of them is Romanian central defender Gabiel Tamas who has played for his country’s national team and has many years of experience in some of the best leagues in the world. Midfielder Rasmus Sjostedt from Sweden and Radu Ginsari from Romania have also helped upgrade the squad. Add into the mix Lithuanian keeper Ernestas Setkus who has been phenomenal but won’t play against Maccabi, Roslan Barski and Alon Turgeman and one can see how the Reds have become an Israel footballing force to be reckoned with.
What have they done up to now?
It’s no secret that Haifa is at the top of the table and Nir Klinger’s side have captured 23 points thanks to 7 wins and 2 draws with only one loss. Their first defeat came last Matchday away at Maccabi Netanya and it will be interesting to see how the Carmel Reds react coming into their clash with Maccabi after falling earlier this month.
Under the magnifying glass:
There are plenty of players that have done a marvelous job at Hapoel Haifa so far this season and two of them are Alon Turgeman and Eden Ben Basat who have scored 6 goals a piece. Ben Basat will miss the date against his former club, which means the hosts will rely a bit more on Turgeman and Hanan Maman. The latter is thought to be one of the best midfielders in the league and has already scored 3 goals while assisting on five others, good for second in the league. Gabriel Tamas has become one of the club’s leaders and will most certainly be an influential figure on the pitch against the Yellow & Blue.
