The start of the 1990’s saw a rejuvenated Maccabi Tel Aviv take to the pitch. After the considerably less than spectacular decade of the 1980’s, it would take until 1991/92 when the Yellow & Blue would lift another piece of hardware when they won the league title. Two more championships would be won in back-to-back seasons, 1994/95 and 1995/96 the latter also being the year that Maccabi would take home the Double. This time we’ll focus on the 1994/95 campaign which was one of the most dramatic in club history and all of Israeli football.

It’s impossible to remember the Maccabi of those seasons without looking at their #1 rival, Maccabi Haifa. Just like the Yellow & Blue, the Greens had plenty of quality players including Eyal Berkovic and Haim Revivo – two of the greatest Israeli players ever. Maccabi had some stars as well in Avi Nimni, Itzik Zohar (who also went off to play for Antwerp in Belgium), Avi Cohen The Jerusalemite, Nir Klinger, the Brumer Brothers, Amir Shelach, Eli Driks and of course foreigners such as Shura Uvarov and Alexander Polukarov. The result was a neck and neck battle for the league championship.

Maccabi went into the 1994/95 season with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. In 1993/94 the club recorded 88 points but watched as Haifa lifted the championship trophy after 39 Matchdays without a league loss. The Yellow & Blue players also kept hearing the commentators of the day crown Haifa as the top team, however the unity, strength and quality along with character were traits that Maccabi had under Head Coach Avram Grant and would be needed to win the championship. At the end of the day every team knows that in sports when the title battle is tight it will always be decided by the small details which will write history.

One of those moments came on Matchday 26 (of 30 MD). Avram Grant’s side enjoyed a 4 point lead over Haifa on the eve of the match. The Greens played earlier and defeated Bnei Yehuda 2:0 as they now waited to see if Hapoel Beit Shean, a heavy underdog, the same club that the famous movie “Beit Shean: War Movie” would be filmed, would steal some points from Maccabi Tel Aviv. For 95 minutes Beit Shean kept the Yellow & Blue in check as the comets seemingly headed to a goalless draw. But that’s when Yuri Shukanov played hero. Deep into injury time the foreign midfielder lifted his foot for an attempt that looked like it would not go anywhere near the goal but a mistake by the second choice keeper Shlomi Maman proved that sometimes a champion needs a little bit of luck. 1:0 for Maccabi, as they kept the 4 point lead atop the table intact.

Watch: Shukanov’s Goal

The story’s over? Not quite. Ironically after the win over Beit Shean, Maccabi lost points due to a pair of draws over their next two matches as they went into the final Matchday with a slim 2 point lead over their Haifa rivals. The championship would go right down to the wire.

To add a bit more intensity, the last Matchday saw Maccabi visit Hapoel Beer Sheva in a tricky away tie as they were thought to be the third best team in the league. The phrase, “The Championship goes through Beer Sheva” was never more true. Maccabi Haifa hosted the same Beit Shean at Kiryat Eliezer who were fighting for their relegation lives as the entered the final day of the season and any result other than a win would see them drop a league.

On May 27, 1995 the opening whistle was sounded at both Wassermil and Kiryat Eliezer at the exact same time. After roughly 30 minutes, the first update came from the north as a quick brace by Ofer Shitrit had given Haifa a 2:0 lead and were now in first place putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the Maccabi Tel Aviv players.

All season long, the Yellow & Blue players had that little bit extra that a champion needed and they proved that once agin when their backs were against the wall. Just before the end of the first half, Nir Klinger sent the ball right on the money to Alon Brumer who headed it into the back of the goal from a tough angle. The championship goal and another 1:0 win which sent Grant and his players for a victory lap around the stadium in front of thousands of fans at the southern stadium.

At the break, Haifa heard that Maccabi had taken the lead and quickly lost all hope as Beit Shean made a miraculous comeback to take home a 3:2 win and ensured themselves another season in the top league.

Watch: The Championship Goal against Hapoel Beer Sheva