Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) 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 the city of

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won six League Championships and one State Cups. The club holds to this day the record for most consecutive championships - five - and was ranked in the top three of the league for 14 years between 1954 to 1968. Hapoel Petah Tikva did not win the championship since 1963, and its last titles were the State Cup in 1992, and the Toto Cup in 2005.

History

Pre-independence

Hapoel Petah Tikva was founded in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

, and its football division was established in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

. The club made it to the second league in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

and its first season in the top tier was 1941/42, two years after a new stadium was built in Abarbanel street. In

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

the club first came close to winning a title after beating Maccbi Petah Tikva 7:0 in the Cup semi final, but lost 0:1 to Hapoel Tel Aviv in the final. Some of the leading players in the 1940s were

Meir Nevenhoiz Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer (name), Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer (disambiguation), Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicize ...

, Amichai Shoham,

Eliyahu Kroshar Eliahu or Eliyahu is a masculine Hebrew given name and surname of biblical origin. It means "My God is Yahweh" and derives from the prophet Elijah who, according to the Bible, lived during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BCE). People named ...

, Yaakov Visoker and

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 ...

The Golden Age - 1954-1968

Hapoel Petah Tikva won its first championship in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, becoming the first team outside Tel Aviv to do so. The team was coached by

and the top scorer was the young rising star, Nahum Stelmach, with 28 goals in 26 games. A chance to win a double was missed out after making it to the Cup final, but losing 1:3 to Maccbi Tel Aviv. Two year later, in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

, Hapoel Petah Tikva won its first state cup after beating Maccbi Yaffo 2:1 in the final. In

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, after three consecutive years in second place, the team finally won its second championship. This was the first out of five back to back championships, a record no team in Israel has achieved again. Some of the leading players during these years were Nahum Stelmach, Yaakov Visoker, Boaz Koffman, Zakharia Ratzabi,

Avshalom Ratzabi Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. 2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebel ...

Reuven Yeffet Reuben or Reuven ( he, רְאוּבֵן, Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Standard ''Rəʾūven'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Rŭʾūḇēn'') was the first of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob’s oldest son), according to the Book of Ge ...

and Jerry Haledy. The coaches were all foreign -

Jackie Gibbons Albert Henry Gibbons (10 April 1914 – 4 July 1984) was an English professional footballer and manager who played in the Football League for Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford and Bradford Park Avenue. After his retirement as a player, he managed in ...

(England),

Ignác Molnár Ignác Molnár (born 1 October 1901 – 9 March 1986), also spelled Ignáce Molnár, was a Hungarian footballer and football manager. A journeyman manager, Molnár managed teams in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Austria. Mo ...

(Hungary) and Miodrag Jovanović (Yugoslavia). The streak ended in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, but in the following years Hapoel Petah Tikva was still one of the strongest teams in Israel. The last season of this era was

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, where the team ranked second and lost in the Cup Final to Bnei Yehuda. During the 14 years period, Hapoel Petah Tikva won six championships, never dropped below the third place, and made it to five cup finals (one win and four losses).

The Descent - 1969-1987

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

Hapoel Petah Tikva found itself at the lower part of the table for the first time since making it to the first league. The leading players have retired, and during the first half of the 1970s was no longer a contender and even faced danger of relegation a couple of times. The only chance for a title during these year was in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, when the team made it to the cup final but lost to Hapoel Haifa. The semi final against Beitar Jerusalem, which took place in Petah Tikva one week earlier, was one of the most violent ones in the history of Israeli Football, with the supporters of Beitar invading the pitch and attacking Hapoel players and supporters. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Hapoel Petah Tikva dropped to the second league for the first time ever. This was an extremely unlucky relegation - the only time in the Israeli League with four teams relegating, and Hapoel was the fourth one after an extremely close race and losing in the final match of the season. The club spent three long years in the second league until finally promoting back to the first league in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. Three years later, in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, Hapoel Petah Tikva was ranked last in the league and relegated again. This time it took two year until the promotion in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. Around this time the club first showed signs of recovering, with

Giora Spiegel Giora Spiegel ( he, גיורא שפיגל), (born July 27, 1947) is an Israeli former footballer and coach. As a footballer, he holds the record for the longest Israeli international career, spanning 14 years and 357 days. Biography Born in Pet ...

and

Dror Bar Nur Dror may refer to: * Dror (name), a surname or given name * Dror-Israel, an educational movement * Dror light machine gun, an Israeli weapon * Habonim Dror, a Jewish Labour Zionist youth movement {{disambiguation ...

as managers building a firm base for the upcoming years.

Recovery - 1988-2002

Towards the end of the 80s, Hapoel Petah Tikva became once again one of the leading football clubs in Israel. Avram Grant led the team for five seasons, starting at

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. Between

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

Hapoel was on the brink of winning a seventh championship after over 25 years, but ended up in second place three times in a row. In 1991 it was an extremely close call, with one point missing to top Maccabi Haifa. In the following year the team dropped to the fourth place, but finally won a major trophy again, after beating Maccabi Tel Aviv in the state cup final, 3:1. Following that Hapoel Petah Tikva became the first Israeli team to participate in

UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

. It also became the first Israeli team to beat a major European club in any UEFA contest, with a 2:1 victory over Feyenoord (but knocked out due to a 0:1 loss in the away game). In 1996 the club was purchased by the businessman Meir Shamir. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

Hapoel Petah Tikva was ranked second in the league once again, and competed in UEFA Cup for the first time. Another good season was in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, where the team competed for the championship, but ended up ranking third. Overall the club seemed to be in a strong position in that era, being ranked at the top half of the league in 14 out of 15 seasons, with a strong players base and good youth teams. However, that did not last much longer.

Bankruptcy and Relegations - 2003-2015

Starting at

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

the team became gradually weaker. Homegrown players were being sold to other clubs, and every year a larger portion of the squad was being replaced. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Hapoel Petach Tikva was relegated to the second league after 23 consecutive years in the first league. The club managed to get promoted the following year, but was extremely poorly managed at this point. In the summer of 2011 the poor management proved to be even worse than expected, when large debts were discovered and the club filed for bankruptcy. The team started the season with a 9 points deduction, which led to another relegation. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

the team was promoted back, but faced relegation once again in the following season.

Second League and Fans Ownership - 2016-Present Day

The following years were even worse, with the team struggling in the second league. In the summer of 2018, seven years after the first time, the club declared bankruptcy once again. Therefore the team started the

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

season with a point deduction of 11 points, but still managed to avoid relegation. In March 2019 Hapoel Petah Tikva became a fans-owned team, after the supporters' trust named The Blue bought the club. This did not prevent an awful season in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

which ended with a relegation to the third league for the first time in history. However, the team ended up staying in the second league due to financial trouble in Hapoel Iksal.

Stadium

The home ground of Hapoel Petah Tikva is HaMoshava Stadium which opened at the end of 2011, and replaced Petah Tikva Municipal Stadium as the home ground of the team.

Current squad

Honours

League

Cup competitions

Managers

* David Wagner (1934–36) *

Shimon Ratner Shimon Ratner ( he, שמעון רוטנר), also known as Shimon Leumi ( he, שמעון לאומי), and by the nickname "Lumek" ( he, לומק) was a Polish-born association football, football player and coach, who coached the Mandatory Palestine ...

(1937–39) *

Morris Elazar Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manit ...

(1939–41) *

Shlomo Poliakov Shlomo Poliakov ( he, שלמה פוליאקוב) was a History of the Jews in Russia, Russian-born Jews, Jewish footballer, who played for Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C., Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C., Hapoel Petah Tikva and later as manager fo ...

(1942–46) *

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 ...

(1947–52) *

(1952–53) *

(1953) *

(1953–54) *

(1954) *

(1954–56) *

(1956–57) * Eliezer Spiegel (1957–58) *

(1958–60) *

(1960–61) * Miodrag Jovanović (1961–63) *

Slavko Milošević Slavko () is a Slavic masculine given name. Notable holders of the name include: Arts * Slavko Avsenik, Slovenian musician * Slavko Avsenik, Jr., Slovenian musician * Slavko Brankov, Croatian actor * Slavko Brill, Croatian Jewish sculptor * Slavk ...

(1963–64) * Edmond Schmilovich (1964–66) * Béla Pálfi (1966–67) * Nahum Stelmach (1967–69) * Milovan Beljin (1969–72) *

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 ...

(1972–73) *

Boaz Kofman Boaz Kofman ( he, בועז קופמן) is a former Israeli footballer and football manager who played for Hapoel Petah Tikva, where he also served as manager, and for the Israel national football team. Career Playing career Kofman joined Hapoel ...

(1973–75) *

Arie Redler Arie is a masculine given name. As a Dutch name, Arie (pronounced ) is generally a short form of Adrianus, but sometimes also of Arend or Arent, Arnout or Arnoud, or even Aaron. As a Hebrew, Jewish, or Israeli name, Arie (pronounced ) is ...

(1975–76) *

(1976–77) *

Aharon Kapitolnik Aharon אַהֲרֹן is masculine given name alternate spelling, commonly in Israel, of ''Aaron'', prominent biblical figure in the Old Testament, "Of the Mountains", or "Mountaineer". There are other variants including "Ahron" and "Aron". Aharo ...

(1977–78) * Amnon Raz (1978) *

Michael Sheinfeld Michael Sheinfeld is a former Israeli footballer and manager. Honours *Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of comp ...

(1978–79) *

Zvi Singel Zvi ( he, צְבִי and , ''Tzvi'', Ṣvi, "gazelle") is a Jewish masculine given name. Notable people with this name include: * Zvi Aharoni (1921–2012), Israeli Mossad agent * Zvi Arad (1942–2018), Israeli mathematician, acting president of ...

(1979–80) * Shimon Shenhar (1980) * Amatzia Levkovic (1980–81) * Itzhak Schneor (1981–82) *

(1982) *

(1982–83) *

(1983–86) * Avram Grant (July 1, 1986 – June 30, 1991) *

Ze'ev Seltzer Ze'ev Zeltzer ( he, זאב זלצר; born 9 February 1944) is an Israeli former footballer and current manager. As a player, he represented Maccabi Petah Tikva and the Israeli national team twice. Honours as Manager * Israeli Second Division (1 ...

(1991–92) * Ján Pivarník (1992–93) * David Schweitzer (1993) *

Moshe Meiri 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 ...

(1993–94) * Dov Remler (1994) * Guy Levy (July 1, 1994 – June 30, 1996) * Nir Levine (1996–98) *

(1998–99) * Nir Levine (1999–00) * Eli Cohen (July 1, 2000 – June 30, 2001) * Eli Guttman (2001–02) * Nir Levine (2002) *

Freddy David Freddy David ( he, פרדי דוד; born January 21, 1965) is a former football player. He previously managed Hapoel Petah Tikva, Maccabi Herzliya, Bnei Sakhnin, Maccabi Petah Tikva, and Hapoel Ramat Gan. Honours *Toto Cup ** 2007 * Toto Cup (L ...

(2003–05) * Dror Kashtan (July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005) * Rafi Cohen (2005) * Nir Levine (2005–06) *

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 ...

(2006–07) * Uri Malmilian (2007–08) *

Eli Mahpud Eli Mahpud ( he, אלי מחפוד; born 25 March 1961) is an Israeli former association football player and manager. Career Mahpud spent two spells as manager of Hapoel Petah Tikva, first leading them to promotion from the Liga Leumit in 2008 ...

(Feb 20, 2008 – April 9, 2009) * Danny Nir'on (July 1, 2009 – Nov 23, 2009) *

Shavit Elimelech Shavit Elimelech ( he, שביט אלימלך, born 7 September 1971) is a retired Israeli football goalkeeper. He started playing in the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth League. His first game took place in 1988–89 in a game between Maccabi Tel Aviv FC ...

(Nov 22, 2009 – Dec 16, 2009) *

(Dec 16, 2009 – Oct 16, 2010) * Yuval Naim (Oct 16, 2010 – April 13, 2011) * Gili Landau (Aug 17, 2011 – May 13, 2012) *

(Aug 14, 2012–13) * Alon Mizrahi (2013) * Nissan Yehezkel (2013–14) *

Idan Bar-On Idan or Edan may refers to: People Given name * Edan (musician), American alternative hip hop artist * Edan Everly, American guitarist, musician, singer songwriter * Edan Gross, American child actor * Edan Milton Hughes, American art dealer and ar ...

(2014–15) * Meni Koretski (2015–16) *

Guy Tzarfati Guy Tzarfati ( he, גיא צרפתי, born 28 April 1979) is a retired Israeli footballer who now works as a coach. Tzarfati now works as the assistant manager of Maccabi Haifa. Guy's father Sami and older brother Jackie were also professional ...

(2016) * Felix Naim (2016) * Asaf Nimni (2016) *

Yaron Hochenboim Yaron Hochenboim is a former Israeli footballer who now works as the general manager of Maccabi Bnei Reineh. Honours *Liga Artzit **''Runner-up (1):'' 2001-02 * Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'' ...

(2016–2017) * Oren Krispin (2017) *

Dani Golan Dani may refer to: People * Dani people, a people living in the central highlands of West Papua * Dani (surname), a surname * Danes (Germanic tribe), a tribe in southern Scandinavia * Dani (footballer, born 1951) (Daniel Ruiz-Bazán Justa), Span ...

(2017–2018) * Tomer Kashtan (2018) * Messay Dego (2018–2019) *

Amir Nussbaum Amir Nussbaum ( he, עמיר נוסבאום; born 9 October 1980) is a former Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label ...

(2019–2020) * Messay Dego (2020) *

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 ...

(2020–2021) *

Klemi Saban Klemi Saban, ( he, רחמים סבן; born February 17, 1980), is a retired Israeli football defender. Saban is mostly known for playing at Maccabi Netanya, there he played 6 years, captained the club and won over 200 caps in all club competi ...

(2021) *

Ofer Talsepapa Ofer (, ''lit.'' Fawn) is a moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered ...

(2021–)

References

External links

Academy WebSite

Hapoel Petach Tikva Museum
{{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1934

1934 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Sport in Petah Tikva