History in short
Meir Melika, born on August 1, 1969 grew up through the ranks of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department and made his debut as a substitute on Matchday 1 of the 1988/89 season. He secured his spot as one of the Yellow & Blue’s most important players after scoring 3 goals in his first campaign and 10 in his second.
In the 1991/92 season, Melika won the league championship and added a State Cup in 1993/94. He also finished 1992/93 as Maccabi’s leading goal scorer with 17 league goals and 24 markers across all competitions with two coming in the 4:0 win over Hapoel Petah Tikva in the Toto Cup final.
Melika also played for Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv, but returned to Maccabi in time for the 1995/96 Double Season and scored the last goal of a 4:0 victory in the State Cup Final over Ironi Rishon Le’Zion.
One of the most memorable moments of his career came during the 1993/94 campaign during a match against Maccabi Haifa when he went into their central defender Roman Paz, leaving the latter with a serious injury. The match ended in a 1:1 draw with Melika scoring Maccabi’s goal.
Titles
Championships: 1991/92, 1995/96
State Cup: 1993/94, 1995/96
Toto Cup: 1992/93
Appearances: 253
Goals: 63
Top moment
Melika played center stage in the 1991/92 season State Cup semifinal against Maccabi Haifa. Maccabi was down 2:1 in the match that was being played at Ramat Gan Stadium, but a goal and an assist by Melika helped lead the Maccabi comeback in a 4:2 victory versus one of the Yellow & Blue’s biggest rivals. WATCH:
