In the 1985–86 Liga Leumit season Hapoel Tel Aviv won the title.

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups (1 ...

Hapoel Jerusalem Hapoel Jerusalem is a sport organization in Jerusalem as a local branch of the Hapoel movement. The branch was established in the 1920s and represents the city in more sports than any other sport organization in Jerusalem. Today, the club's leadi ...

and Maccabi Sha'arayim were all relegated to

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit ( he, ליגה ארצית, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest division Premier League and the second division Liga Leumit. Before being cancelled in 2009, it was run b ...

Uri Malmilian Uri Malmilian ( he, אורי מלמיליאן; born April 24, 1957) is an Israeli former football player and current manager. Early life and playing career Born in the neighbourhood of Mamilla in West Jerusalem, Malmilian had a memorable playi ...

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jerus ...

and Doron Rabinzon of

Maccabi Petah Tikva Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...

were the league's joint top scorers with 14 goals. The league championship was decided on the final day, with a match between the two title chasers,

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

and Hapoel Tel Aviv. Hapoel Tel Aviv, who needed a win to secure the championship, scored a controversial goal in the 86th minute to win 1–0 and the title.

Final table

Results

Final match

On 24 May 1986, Hapoel Tel Aviv came face-to-face with

in a

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

fixture at Bloomfield Stadium, during the final rounds of the 1985–86 season. That match was the season's deciding match. Maccabi Haifa led by one point prior to the match. Hapoel Tel Aviv won with one goal scored at the 86th minute by striker,

Gili Landau Gili Landau ( he, גילי לנדאו; born 7 May 1958) is an Israeli former footballer and currently a manager, coaching the Israel women's national football team. Early life Landau was born in Bat Yam, Israel. He played soccer as a str ...

, winning the match and the championship.

Background

At the beginning of the 1985–86 season, 16 football (soccer) clubs competed in the

, which was the top division at that time in Israel. Maccabi Haifa, which won the two previous league championships took early charge of the league, leading by five points at the 9th round. However, a rather poor string of results saw Hapoel Tel Aviv overtake Maccabi Haifa, taking a five-point lead at the top at the 19th round. At the 24th round, Maccabi Haifa was back on top, with 46 points and a two-point lead over Hapoel Tel Aviv, with Maccabi Tel Aviv also in the running, just points away. After the 29th round, with one match left to play, Maccabi Haifa led the table with 57 points. Hapoel Tel Aviv was second with 56 points. The two teams were to meet in the last round for a match that would decide the championship.

Pre-match

As Maccabi Haifa was leading by a point, a draw would be enough towards claiming their third straight championship, while Hapoel Tel Aviv needed to win their tenth championship. Due to the importance of the match, the IBA decided to broadcast the match live, the first ever live broadcast of a league match in Israel.

Match

With 20,000 fans in the stands, Maccabi Haifa sought to stall the match to force a 0-0 draw, which would allow them to win the championship. The first shot on goal was made by

Zahi Armeli Zahi Armali ( ar, زاهي أرملي, he, זאהי ארמלי, born 25 October 1957) is a former Arab-Israeli footballer. He started his career at Maccabi Shefa-'Amr, and a holder of many records at Maccabi Haifa. Early life and career Armali ...

of Maccabi Haifa at the 24th minute, while Moris Zano of Hapoel registered their first shot at the 32nd minute. Early in the second half, Hapoel manager

David Schweitzer David Schweitzer (18 July 1925 – 17 August 1997) was an Israeli football player and manager who was active at both professional and international levels. Career Playing career Schweitzer started his athletic career as a basketball player wi ...

substituted midfielders Jacob Cohen and Elior Baranes with strikers

and Eli Yani, and Hapoel increased their attacks. At the 86th minute,

Eli Cohen Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen ( he, אֱלִיָּהוּ בֵּן שָׁאוּל כֹּהֵן‎, ar, إيلياهو بن شاؤول كوهين‎; 6 December 1924 – 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Egyptian-born Israel ...

passed the ball to

Moshe Sinai Moshe Sinai ( he, משה סיני; born 22 February 1961) is a former professional footballer who works as the director of football for Hapoel Tel Aviv. Honours Hapoel Tel Aviv *Liga Leumit: 1980–81, 1985–86, 1987–88 *Israel State Cup: ...

in midfield. Sinai lobbed the ball over the Maccabi Haifa defense towards the rushing Landau, while at the far left side of the defense, Eli Yani was running back from an offside position. Referee Zvi Sharir allowed the play to continue and Landau struck the ball over the Maccabi Haifa goalkeeper

Avi Ran Avi Ran (August 25, 1963 – July 11, 1987) was a goalkeeper at the Israeli football club Maccabi Haifa. Widely considered one of the greatest football players in Israel, he had a promising future which was cut short by a fatal accident. Foot ...

to break the deadlock. Eli Cohen was sent off for a tackle made on

Rafi Osmo Rafi Osmo (born 25 March 1963) is a former Israeli footballer. Between 2016 and 2020 he was the chairman of Maccabi Haifa, where he played most of his career.Scharf: We'll Haunt Sharir Everywhere; Yelled at His Players: "You Made a Laughing Stock of Yourselves, You Played Like Suckers
Yehonatan Haleli, 25 May 1985, Ma'ariv, Historical Jewish Press Referee Zvi Sharir defended his decision, stating that Eli Yani was in a "passive offside".

References

External links

RSSSF
The Leumit Table
Maariv, 25.5.86, Historical Jewish Press {{DEFAULTSORT:1985-86 Liga Leumit Hapoel 1986 Maccabi Haifa F.C. matches Liga Leumit matches Liga Leumit seasons 1985–86 in Israeli football

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...