Every year we dream and imagine about this ceremony, lifting the championship plate and flying the Yellow & Blue flag high above the nation.

This time around it didn’t happen so quickly. One year and another and yet another went by. 108 opening and final whistles by the referee each lasting 90 minutes plus injury time until we won again. Until we returned the long awaited title from Beer Sheva back to Tel Aviv.

Thanks to all, Coach Vladimir Ivic and the pool of players who started and came off of the bench and some that even went back to the bench as well. To owner Mitch Goldhar who did not despair even when the color yellow faded. To the organization and management who allowed the footballers to reach such a wonderful achievement. In IDF terms they are called combat supporters.

This season was extraordinary. We followed the Yellow & Blue bus to all parts of the country and sang “You’ll never walk alone” to the club – and it was amazing. In the second playoff match when Aron Schoenfeld scored against Maccabi Haifa we weren’t contenders for the title but we were the champions.

There is no mathematical way to deny us of the title. And so with eight matches remaining before reaching the finish line, we have already crossed it in practice, formally and computationally. The final eight matches may just be a ton of fun for the championship which is already in our pocket. Now the fun begins. 

There was nothing like it before. Many of the hawk eyes said, “It was no big deal” because the “the league is weak.” This was the same league in which we couldn’t make our way to the top and we couldn’t prevent Beer Sheva from winning the championship. Why didn’t people say, “the league was weak” when Beer Sheva won? Because when it’s not in our favor they like to snoot and when it is, they want to spoil our joy. It won’t help them.

I will add a vague memory that relates mainly to members of my generation, who are already 80 years old and beyond. Only in the 1950s did this happen: there were 12 teams in the league, we played only two rounds and each win was worth two points. It was the Maccabi of Sheya Glazer, Eli Fuchs and Yitzhak Shneor who passed away, and Noah Reznik who has been blessed with long life. Maccabi had already won 21 games, but the football court disqualified the 22nd match against Hapoel Ramat Gan and ordered it to be repeated without the players who had participated in the contest in question. And that’s how the match ended up being a draw and Maccabi lost their only point on the way to the championship. This season we can sing that history has repeated itself.

Tzahov Oleh. Every season and if possible just like this season.

The upcoming match will be the 158th against Maccabi Haifa. The record: 63 Maccabi wins, 46 draws 48 Maccabi Haifa wins. Goal differential: 225:197 in favor of Maccabi.

Maccabi has hosted Haifa 80 times in League play: The record: 39 Maccabi wins, 23 draws, 18 Haifa wins. Goal Differential: 123:75 in favor of Maccabi.

Avi Nimni has made the most appearances for Maccabi against Haifa in league action with 33. Eli Driks and Sheran Yeini are second with 31 a piece.

This is the 16th season that there are playoffs in the league while Maccabi and Maccabi Haifa have played in them 14 times, all of which in the Championship Playoffs – the most by any two teams in the league.

This season marks the second time that the two sides have ended the regular season in first and second place. The first time was in 2012/13 when Maccabi was first and Haifa was second.

The two squads have met 17 times in the Championship Playoffs: The record: 8 Maccabi wins, 5 draws, 4 losses.

The biggest win: 6:0 in the 2015/16 Playoffs. Goal scorers: Eran Zahavi (3), winger Tal Ben Chaim, Carlos Garcia and Haris Medunjanin.

The latest match winning goal scored against Maccabi Haifa: 2013/14 – Gal Alberman in the 92’ (1:0 Maccabi).

Maccabi have won 22 championships (17 after the founding of the State of Israel, 5 prior).

The most championships were secured against Hapoel Jerusalem, Hapoel Petah Tikva and Hapoel Haifa (3 championships a piece).

The Yellow & Blue have yet to secure a championship against Maccabi Haifa and at the Netanya Stadium.

This season is the 16th year that a Playoff Round will take place after the regular season. Maccabi has played 14 times in the Championship Playoffs and twice in the relegation playoff round back in 1987/88 and 1988/89.

Over the years Maccabi has played 124 Playoff matches. The Record: 62 wins, 32 draws, 30 losses.

This Playoff round will see the largest lead between first and second place – 22 points. The biggest gap at the end of a season was 16 points held by Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013/14 and Maccabi Haifa in 2005/06.

Maccabi has won 4 championships at the end of the Playoff round. In 1991/92 and the 3 titles in a row between 2012/13-2014/15.

In 2011/12 Kiryat Shemona won the earliest title in league history, both in terms of remaining Matchdays with 5 and date, April 2.

The Playoff match with the highest attendance in league history took place at Ramat Gan Stadium when Maccabi won the 2012/13 championship in front of 33,000 fans (Title match).

The biggest Playoff win: 7:0 over Beitar Jerusalem in 2000/01. Goal Scorers: Rodrigo Goldberg (2), Avi Nimni (2), Dedi Ben Dayan, Guy Tzarfati, Baruch Dego.

Maccabi’s record when playing the first Playoff match at home – 12 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss (last season against Hapoel Haifa).

The Playoff goal scoring leader is Eran Zahavi with 31 goals.

The Current Playoff Format: 2012/13-2017/18
The current playoff format began in 2012/13. Maccabi is the only club to compete in the Championship Playoffs all 6 seasons. Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Beer Sheva took part in 5 and the 6 championships to date have been split between Maccabi and Beer Sheva with 3 each.

Maccabi’s most successful Playoff Season: 2012/13 – 21 points (6 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss).

The Yellow & Blue went undefeated in the 2015/16 Playoff round – 20 points (5 wins, 5 draws).

To date there have been 131 league matches between the two sides: 62 Maccabi wins, 31 draws, 38 Bnei Yehuda wins. Goal differential: 194-137 in favor of Maccabi.

Home match record against Bnei Yehuda in 65 contests: 36 Maccabi wins, 14 draws, 15 losses. Goal Differential: 101:56 in favor of Maccabi.

The first match between the two occurred in the State Cup, a 6:0 win by Maccabi in the Round of 16 in 1954/55.

The last five home matches against Bnei Yehuda all ended in Maccabi clean-sheet victories. The goal differential was 11:0 and the only club that the Yellow & Blue has a longer streak against is Hapoel Haifa between 1950-1958 which was 7 wins without giving up a goal.

Last week Maccabi set a club unbeaten record of 31 straight matches without a defeat. The steak began against Bnei Yehuda in their last home match on Matchday 31 of last season.

The current league setup began in 2012/13 with 14 clubs, 2 regular season rounds and two playoff stages, championship and relegation. In all of the seasons since, Maccabi has won on Matchday 26, the last Matchday of the regular season.

The biggest win against Bnei Yehuda was 6:0 in 1998/99: Goal Scorers: Moshe Glam x2, Kfir Edri, Alexi Kosulapov, Andrzej Kubica and Avi Nimni.

The all time Maccabi goal scoring leader against Bnei Yehuda is Avi Nimni with 17 goals. Itzik Zohar is 2nd with 9 and Giora Speigel with 8 is 3rd.

Two players have scored a hat trick against Bnei Yehuda, Avi Nimni in 2002/03 (5:0) and Rafi Levi in 1959/60 (4:1) – In addition, 19 players have scored a braces – including Yonatan Cohen who had a pair of goals the last time the two squads met at the Moshava Stadium.

Maccabi has scored 14 league goals against Bnei Yehuda after the 90’, more than against any other team (Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Petah Tikva are tied for second with 7 goals each).

Yossi Abuksis has an interesting coaching record against Maccabi Tel Aviv and in his first five matches against the Yellow & Blue he has 3 wins and 2 draws. In his last 14 matches his record is 2 draws and 12 losses.

In the next four weeks, Maccabi will face Bnei Yehuda twice (MD26 and State Cup Semifinal) and this will be the 10th time that the two clubs will play each other twice within 30 days across all competitions.

Long before Yossi Benayoun and Ronny Rosenthal graced the Anfield pitch wearing the iconic Liverpool kit there was someone who paved the way for them and the rest of the Israeli footballers along the way. One of the reasons why Avi Cohen entered the pantheon of Israeli football was due to his accomplishments outside the country’s borders. In a day that was a lot less global than the world that we currently live in and before the “Bosman rule” where foreign players would enter the arena of European football, Avi Cohen was the first Israeli to play in the English League, the highest level of world both now and then.

It’s not as if Cohen went to play for some of the more modest teams such as Coventry or Norwich. He made history with the Liverpool of legendary Bob Paisley, one of club’s considered to be the greatest in the world. A club that won 11 league championships in 15 years along with 4 European Cups between 1977-1984. Millions of fans followed Liverpool with many from Israel. Perhaps the excitement surrounding the club can be compared to that around Pep Guardiola and Leo Messi’s Barcelona from the past decade. This was a team that either you loved or simply you just couldn’t stand them due to their unprecedented success. Avi Cohen moving from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Liverpool would be similar if Eran Zahavi had played for Barcelona under Guardiola and shared the pitch with Messi.

Cohen arrived at Anfield in 1979. Avi was a dominant player with Maccabi especially in his position of central defender despite the lack of technique to help build the attack. In 1976/77 the Yellow & Blue won the Double and added a championship in 1978/79 just before heading to Britain.

During that season, Cohen took a break from the stadiums in the Holy Land for the audition of his life. The short trial at Liverpool was to see him up close before paying 200,000 British Pounds for his transfer. Of course the romance with the Mighty Reds was followed closely in Israel and the short video below shows just what type of talent that Cohen really was back in those days.

A few months later, once the local league’s season came to an end, Cohen’s transfer to England approached. The star was hosted on the “Zehu Zeh” television program hosted by Yoram Shimron, Avi spoke about his feelings with Liverpool in sight (1:28 mark):

In the summer of 1979, Avi officially became a Liverpool player. He started the season and was sent right into the deep waters of the English League in what was almost a surprise. On September 15, 1970 when one of the greats Ray Kennedy couldn’t appear, Cohen was called upon in his place. The Israeli played as a left midfielder and faced Leeds United in a match that ended 1:1 as he made his debut for the club.

As the season continued, the Liverpool stars returned to the squad to pick up another championship but near the end of the campaign the new recruit from the Holy Land perhaps had his most memorable performance. Anfield Stadium hosted the Reds and Aston Villa in what was to be the coronation match and Cohen was named to the starting lineup as a left defender. However, the contest didn’t begin as the Israeli would have wanted. With the score 1:0 for the host’s, Cohen scored an own goal to help Aston Villa draw even.

But Cohen was mentally tough and didn’t the bad luck get to him and his confidence allowed him to make amends in the second half. Kenny Dalglish began the play with a cross to the left side of the box, Kennedy left the ball for Cohen who sent it into the far corner with his left foot. The Reds were the lead and finished off a 4:1 win that gave Bob Paisley’s squad the championship. You couldn’t find a better opportunity to score your only goal with Liverpool.

The following season, 1980/81 Avi was a mainstay in coach Paisley’s rotation and appeared in 14 league matches in his last campaign before returning to Maccabi. The Reds lost the championship to Aston Villa but they did capture the European Cup, the 3rd of five the club has won to date.

During the European campaign, the Israeli had the privilege to wear the Liverpool kit three more times but didn’t take part in the 1:0 final victory against Real Madrid. However, he’s the only Israeli to have ever been able to lift the distinguished trophy in triumph.

Alon Natan who played with Avi Cohen for 6 seasons saw the winner within. He was never an underdog and treated everyone equally. What else did Natan have to say?

“The Avi Cohen I knew didn’t have any boundaries; he had no fear. Everywhere he played he didn’t just come to win he was convinced that he was going to win. In every situation he was in he never came as an underdog. It didn’t matter who who he was playing, on the football pitch or against the greatest players. It didn’t matter who he worked with, he always treated everyone equally. People like that are born with those characteristics and you can learn some of those attributes. But he was a natural.”