Over the years, Hapoel Raanana has become a mainstay in the Israel Premier League and have performed admirably as they open up their 7th season in the first division.
Last campaign, the Sharon based club battled in the lower half of the table. However, under Head Coach Menachem Koretzky who came on board in October 2017 they were able to not only stay up in the top league but finish with 40 points, 19 away from the relegation zone and in 3rd place in their half of the table.
One of the biggest changes for the club is that they will be playing their home matches at Ramat Gan Stadium instead of the Netanya Stadium where they had played over the past number of seasons.
What have they done to date?
Raanana enters the contest against Maccabi with 4 points. Matchday One ended in a 0:0 draw away at Bnei Sakhnin while the following week Koretzky’s squad defeated Kiryat Shemona 2:1 at Ramat Gan Stadium. Prior to the start of the Israel Premier League, Raanana played 4 Toto Cup matches and picked up 4 points which was not enough to advance out of the group stage.
The Squad:
Just like most clubs across the league, Raanana made a number of changes heading into the current campaign. Some of the players who left the team included Mohamed Ali Camara who signed with Young Boys in Switzerland, Shimon Abuheitzera, Roie Zikri and keeper Guillermo Viscarra.
Joining the squad were Tal Ayela, Mirko Oremus who played with Hapoel Ashkelon last season, Or Dasa who also played with Raanana last year and is on loan from Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dean Maimoni (from Netanya) and Kayes Ganem who arrived from Ramat HaSharon and scored the 90’ winner last match against Kiryat Shemona.
