Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל כפר סבא, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Kfar Saba Kfar Saba ( he, כְּפַר סָבָא), officially Kefar Sava, is a city in the Sharon region, of the Central District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 110,456, making it the 16th-largest city in Israel. The population of Kfar Saba i ...

. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadium.

History

The club was established in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

. In 1951–52 they won the South Division of Liga Bet to win promotion to Liga Alef (then the top division). Three years later they finished third from bottom and had to take part in promotion/relegation play-offs with the two top clubs from the second tier. They were unbeatnd during the play-offs and retained their place in Liga Leumit (which had replaced Liga Alef as the top division). However, in 1955–56, they finished bottom and were relegated. Hapoel made an immediate return to Liga Leumit. They finished bottom in 1957–58, but avoided the drop as no clubs were relegated. However, they finished bottom again the following season and were relegated. The club returned to Liga Leumit in 1968. In 1975, they reached the

State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in Israel, Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first he ...

final for the first time, beating Beitar Jerusalem 1-0. After several mid-table finishes, they were relegated at the end of the 1976–77 season. They made an immediate return to the top division, finishing third in Liga Artzit (the new second tier). In 1980, they reached the State Cup final again, beating Maccabi Ramat Amidar 4–1. In 1980–81 they narrowly avoided relegation, finishing two points and one place above the relegation zone. The following season the club won the title for the first (and only) time under the management of Dror Kashtan. However, they finished bottom the season after, and returned to Liga Artzit. They finished as runners-up to Hapoel Haifa in 1983–84 to make another immediate return to Liga Leumit. In 1990, the club reached the State Cup final for a third time, beating Shimshon Tel Aviv 1–0 after extra time. The following season they were relegated again after finishing bottom of the table. In 1992, under the management of Avram Marchinsky, the club signed its first American player, Michael Winograd, out of Lafayette College. The club returned to the top division the following season. In 1999–2000 they were relegated to Liga Leumit (now the second tier). They won the league in 2001–02 to return to the top division, but were relegated at the end of the following season. The club won Liga Leumit again in 2004–05, and avoided relegation on goal difference the following season. However, two seasons later they were relegated on goal difference. For the 2010–11 season, a new owner, Harel Raihman, came on after almost 15 years of Eli Tabib's era. At the end of the regular season, the club finished on top of the league, with an advantage of thirteen points over the third place. However, in the

Top playoff A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few se ...

, where all the points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up), the club failed to record a win, and finished the league in the third place, behind

Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל ניר רמת השרון) is an Israeli football club based in Ramat HaSharon. They are currently members of Liga Leumit and play their home matches at the Grundm ...

and Hapoel Rishon LeZion which were promoted. As the third placed club, Kfar Saba went to play in the

Promotion play-off Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or ...

against the 14th-placed club in the Israeli Premier League,

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

, and lost both games, 1-4 and 0-1. Thus, the club remained in Liga Leumit. In the 2012–13 season the club have entered administration, and as a result, were deducted nine points. The club finished bottom and relegated to Liga Alef, the third tier of

Israeli football Football ( he, כַּדוּרֶגֶל, ''Kaduregel'') is the most popular sport in Israel. Football as an organised sport, first developed in the United Kingdom, who controlled Mandatory Palestine during the days of the British Mandate. The ...

. With a new owner, Stav Shaham, together with former club captain, Eli Yani, and the supporters trust, "The Green Heart", the club recovered in the following season, and made an immediate return to Liga Leumit, after finishing on top of Liga Alef North division. In the following season, the club made their second successive promotion, following runners-up finish in Liga Leumit. Thus, the club returned to the Israeli Premier League after seven years. In 2015-16 season, the team finished at 10th, but one season after (2016–17), the team finished 13th and relegated to the Liga Leumit.

Players

Current squad

; As of 1 October 2022

Out on loan

Foreigners 2021–22

Only up to six non-Israeli nationals can be in an Israeli club squad (only five can play at the same time). Those with Jewish ancestry, married to an Israeli or have played in Israel for an extended period of time, can claim a passport or permanent residency which would allow them to play with Israeli status. *

Abubakar Barry Abū Bakr ( ar, أبو بكر ) is an Arabic given name meaning "Father of a Young Camel" (Abu meaning 'Father of' and Bakr meaning 'Young Camel') that is widely used by Sunni Muslims. Other transliterations include Abu Bakar, Abu Bekr, Ebubekir, ...

Artur Crăciun Artur Crăciun (born 29 June 1998) is a Moldovan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Polish Ekstraklasa club Puszcza Niepołomice and the Moldova national team. Club career Crăciun made his professional debut for Zimbru in ...

* Moussa Bagayoko

Former players

Jerzy Wijas Jerzy Ernest Wijas (born 12 February 1959) is a Polish retired international footballer.Shmuel Kozokin Shmuel Kozokin ( he, שמואל קוזוקין; born 16 November 1987) is an Israeli former Association football, footballer. Kozokin was a Defender (association football), defender. He won a gold medal with Team Israel at the 2005 Maccabi ...

(born 1987), Israeli footballer

Staff

Honours

League

Cup competitions

Managers

Haim Reich Haim Reich ( he, חיים רייך; 9 April 1911 – 23 January 1965) was a football player who played on teams and internationally in Mandatory Palestine, and manager for teams in the region before and after independence as Israel in 1948. As ...

(1951–54) *

Edmond Schmilovich Edmond Schmilovich ( ro, Eduard Smilovici; he, אדמונד שמילוביץ; 2 December 1921 – 24 May 1979) was a Romanian-Israeli footballer and manager.http://www.elel.co.il/coach.php?id=%E0%E3%EE%E5%F0%E3%20%F9%EE%E9%EC%E5%E1%E9%F5' Ref ...

(1954–55) * Emmanuel Scheffer (1955) *

Moshe Poliakov Moshe (Mosta) Poliakov ( he, משה (מוסטה) פוליאקוב) was an Israeli footballer and manager, one of the founders of Hapoel Tel Aviv and the first captain of the club, and one of the most decorated coaches in Israeli football. Biog ...

(1955–56) *

Israel Weiss Israel Weiss ( he, ישראל וייס, born 1949) was the Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces serving in the position between 2000 and 2006, with a rank of Brigadier General. His predecessor in that position was Rabbi Gad Navon. B ...

(1956–57) *

Zvi Erlich Zvi Erlich ( he, צבי ארליך; 7 November 1909 – 17 June 1983), also nicknamed Doctor ( he, דוקטור, links=no), was an Israeli football player and manager. As a player, he played as a forward for Hapoel Tel Aviv and the Mandatory Pal ...

(1957–58) *

Yair Levita Yair may refer to: *A spelling variant of the Jewish name Jair or Ya'ir *Yair (name), list of people with the name Yair *Yair, Scottish Borders Yair, also known as The Yair, is an estate in the Scottish Borders. It stands by the River Tweed in ...

(1958–59) *

Eliezer Spiegel Eliezer Spiegel ( he, אליעזר שפיגל; 20 June 1922 – 26 November 2017) was a footballer and manager, who played for Maccabi Petah Tikva, Beitar Tel Aviv and for the Israel national football team in the 1940s and 1950s. Playing car ...

(1959) *

(1959) * Emmanuel Scheffer (1959) *

(1959–60) *

Harry Gibbons Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

(1960) *

Moshe Varon Moshe Varon ( he, משה וארון; 3 January 1926 – 18 December 2007) was an Israeli football player and manager. Honours As a player-manager * Israeli Premier League: 1955 References 1926 births 2007 deaths Jewish Israeli sportsp ...

(1960–61) *

(1961–62) *

(1962) * Arie Koch (1962–63) *

Lonia Dvorin Ari "Lonia" Dvorin ( he, לוניה דבורין; ; russian: Лёня Дворин; 23 October 1917 – 17 March 2000) was an Israeli football player and coach. As a player, he played as a full-back for Beitar Tel Aviv and the Mandatory Palest ...

(1963) * Gershon Meller (1963–64) * Arie Koch (1964–65) * Arie Radler (1965–68) *

Ya'akov Grundman Ya'akov "Yankela" Grundman ( he, יעקב "יענקל'ה" גרונדמן; 20, Polish language, Polish: Jakub Grundman, alternatively Jakob Grundman or Ja’akow Grundman; July 1939, Proszowice – 24 May 2004, Tel Aviv) was a Second Polish Republ ...

(1968–70) *

Rehavia Rosenbaum ) , birth_date= , birth_place = Israel , position = Forward , youthclubs1 = Gadna Yehuda , youthclubs2 = Hapoel Tel Aviv , youthyears1 = 1947–1949 , youthyears2 = 1949–1951 , clubs1 = Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. , caps1 = ? , goals1 = 78 ...

(1970–72) * Nahum Stelmach (1972–73) *

Shlomo Scharf Shlomo Scharf ( he, שלמה שרף; born 1 January 1943) is a former Israeli football (soccer), football player and coach (sport), manager who now works as a regular commentator on Israeli Sport 5 TV channel. Scharf managed Maccabi Haifa to thre ...

(1973–76) * Arie Radler (1976) * Dror Kashtan (1976–77) *

Amnon Raz Amnon ( he, אַמְנוֹן ''’Amnōn'', "faithful") was, in the Hebrew Bible, the oldest son of David (biblical king), King David and his second wife, Ahinoam of Jezreel (city), Jezreel. He was born in Hebron during his father's reign in Kingd ...

(1977–78) *

(1978–80) * Avraham Marchinski (1980–81) * Dror Kashtan (1981–83) * Itzhak Shum (1983–85) *

Nissim Bachar Nissim or Nisim may refer to: People Given name *Nissim (rapper) (born 1986), American Jewish rapper *Nissim of Gerona (1320–1376), talmudist and authority on Jewish law *Nisim Aloni (1926–1998), Israeli playwright and translator *Nissim Beha ...

(1985–87) * Shimon Shenhar(1987–88) * Avraham Marchinski (1988–89) *

Wojciech Łazarek Wojciech Łazarek (born 4 October 1937) is a Polish footballer who played as forward in the late 1950s and early 1960s and, starting in 1964, until his retirement in 2006, embarked on a 42-year career as a renowned trainer and manager entrusted, b ...

(1989–90) *

Asher Messing Asher Messing is a former Israeli footballer and manager. References

1947 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli men's footballers Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. players Maccabi Netanya F.C. managers Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. managers M ...

(1990–91) * Avraham Marchinski (1991–93) *

Adir Shamir Adir or ADIR may refer to: * Air Data Inertial Reference Unit (ADIRU), a key component of the Air Data Inertial Reference System (ADIRS), which supplies air data and inertial reference information to aircraft systems * Adir, meaning "Strong One," ...

(1994) *

Eli Yani Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * Eli (2015 film), ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * Eli (2019 film), ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American hor ...

(1994–95) *

Avi Cohen Avraham "Avi" Cohen ( he, אבי כהן; 14 November 1956 – 29 December 2010) was an Israeli footballer who played as a defender, and a manager. He was best known for his spells playing for two British clubs: Liverpool in England and Ranger ...

(1996–98) * Shimon Shenhar (1998) * Moshe Sinai (1998–99) *

Eyal Lahman Eyal Lahman ( he, אייל לחמן, born 29 September 1965) is an Israeli football manager. Biography Born in Petah Tikva, Lahman joined the Hapoel Petah Tikva youth system, but left the club at 16 to join Petah Tikva-based Hapoel Mahane Yeh ...

(1999) *

(1999–2000) *

Elisha Levy Elisha Levy ( he, אלישע לוי; born on 18 November 1957) is a retired Israeli association footballer and currently the manager of Hapoel Haifa F.C., Hapoel Haifa. Career Player Levy was born in Jerusalem, Israel, to a Jewish family. In the ...

(2000) * Motti Ivanir (2000–01) *

Uri Elkabetz Uri may refer to: Places * Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland * Úri, a village and commune in Hungary * Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province * Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India * Uri (island), an island off Malakula Island ...

(2001) * Miro Ben Shimon (2001) * Itzhak Shum (2001–02) *

Tamir Ben Haim Tamir is a male Hebrew name תָּמִיר meaning tall. A different Hebrew spelling, טמיר, means arcane, secretive.

(2002–03) * Michael Kadosh (2003–04) *

(2004–06) * Eli Ohana (2006–08) *

Slobodan Drapić Slobodan Drapić ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Драпић, he, סלובודאן דראפיץ'; born 28 February 1965) is a Serbian-Israeli football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Bnei Sakhnin. Playing career Drapić w ...

(2008–09) *

Tomer Kashtan Tomer ( he, תֹּמֶר, , Palm Tree) is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley next to the Palestinian village of Fasayil, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Counc ...

(2009–11) * Guy Azouri (2011) *

Moshe Hershko Moses ( el, Μωϋσῆς),from Latin and Greek Moishe ( yi, משה),from Yiddish Moshe ( he, מֹשֶׁה),from Modern Hebrew or Movses ( Armenian: Մովսես) from Armenian is a male given name, after the biblical figure Moses. According to t ...

(2011–12) *

Asi Domb Assaf "Asi" Domb ( he, אסי דומב; born 27 February 1974) is a retired Israeli footballer. Currently, he is a manager. Early and personal life Assaf Domb was born in Netanya, Israel, to a Jewish family. His first wife, out of three, was Isr ...

(2012) * Alon Mizrahi (2012) *

Ran Goldig Ran, RaN and ran may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ran (film), ''Ran'' (film), a 1985 film directed by Akira Kurosawa * Ran (song), "Ran" (song), a 2013 Japanese song by Luna Sea * ''Ran Online'', a 2004 MMORPG (massively multiplayer online ...

(2013) * Idan Shum &

Tamir Ben Haim Tamir is a male Hebrew name תָּמִיר meaning tall. A different Hebrew spelling, טמיר, means arcane, secretive.

(2013) * Yehoshua Feigenbaum (2013) * Felix Naim (2013–15) *

Sharon Mimer Sharon Mimer ( he, שרון מימר; born 6 September 1973) is an Israeli former association football player. Career Playing career Mimer was brought up through the ranks of Hapoel Tel Aviv youth teams.

(2016–2017) * Eli Cohen (2017) * Felix Naim (2017) *

Messay Dego Messay Dego ( he, מסאי דגו; born February 15, 1986) is an Ethiopian-born Israeli former association footballer and a manager, who played for the Israel U21 national team. Early life Dego was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian ...

(2017-2018) *

Raimondas Žutautas Raimondas Žutautas (born 4 September 1972) is a former Lithuanian footballer and current head coach. Zutautas played as a defensive midfielder. In 1999 Zutautas signed in Israeli club Maccabi Haifa F.C. and played there in the years 1999–20 ...

(2018) *

Haim Shabo Haim Shabo is a former Israeli footballer and current manager. He is of a Tunisian-Jewish descent. Honours * Liga Artzit ** 2003–04 * Toto Cup Artzit **2003–04 References 1973 births Living people Israeli men's footballers Footb ...

(2018) *

Erez Benodis Erez ( he, אֶרֶז, ) is a kibbutz in southwestern Israel. Located just north of the Gaza Strip, it is the namesake of the nearby Erez Crossing. The kibbutz was founded in 1949 and moved to its current location in 1950, where it was buil ...

(2018-2019) *

Ofir Haim Ofir Haim ( he, אופיר חיים; born April 21, 1975) is an Israeli former footballer who manages the Israel national under-19 football team. He has been the head coach of the Israel U-19 since the beginning of the first qualifiers round, ...

(2019-2020) * Amir Turgeman (2020-)

References

External links

Official site

Hapoel Kfar Saba
The Israel Football Association {{Liga Leumit

Association football clubs established in 1928 1928 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Sport in Kfar Saba