Hapoel Rishon LeZion ( he, הפועל ראשון לציון, is a

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

team from the city of

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...

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 ...

. competes in the Ligat Winner Big. The team's colors are red and white, and it hosts its home games in Nahalat Yehuda hall. The captain of the team is Shai Natan. The team was founded in 1968 and since then has become a regular member of the first division and the most successful team in Israeli handball, having won a record 18 league titles, a record 16 Israeli cups. The team has also participated in the

EHF Champions League The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...

in 1998, 2000 and in 2001. Their biggest rival is Maccabi Rishon LeZion, another great Rishon LeZion team. The derby games between them have been very tense throughout the last two decades.

Titles

*Israel Champions (18): 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 *Israel Cup Holder (16): 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018

European competition

: * 1993/94: 1/8-finals * 1994/95: 1/16-finals * 1995-96: 1/16-finals * 1996/97: 1/16-finals * 1997/98: Group stage * 1998/99: 1/16-finals * 1999/00: 1/4-finals * 2000/01: 2nd qualifying round * 2001/02: Group stage

EHF Cup Winners' Cup The EHF Cup Winners' Cup was the official competition for men's and women's handball clubs of Europe that won their national cup, and took place every year. From the 2012–13 season, the men's competition was merged with the EHF Cup. Winners ...

: * 1993/94: 1/8-finals * 2002/03: 3rd round

EHF Cup The EHF European League is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF) since 1981. It is the second-tier competition of European club handball, ranking only below the EHF Champions League. Previ ...

: * 2000/01: Round 4 * 2008/09: Round 2 * 2010/11: Round 3

Squad

;Goalkeeper * 1 Oron Bargil * 32 Tom Shem-Tov ;Wingers * 24 Roi Livgot * 6 Itai Bublil * 30 Itai Surkis * 19 Hen Livgot * 23 Ben Gonen ;Line players * 21 Tomer Bodenheimer * 25

Antonio Pribanić Antonio Pribanić (born 13 December 1987 in Rijeka) is a Croatian handballer who plays for RK Poreč. Career He started playing handball in his hometown club RK Kvarner. After loans to RK Senj and RK Umag he moved to RK Bjelovar. In 2015 ...

* 33 Shai Natan ;Back players * 13 Lior Gurman * 7 Vasko Ševaljević * 8 Arel Zaitler * 13 Ido Palach * 90 Aleh Astrashapkin * 10 Ori Palach

Notable former players

* Milorad Krivokapić *

Draško Mrvaljević Draško Mrvaljević (born 17 November 1979) is a Montenegrin former handball player. Career Over the course of his career that spanned more than two decades, Mrvaljević played for Lovćen (1997–2000), Sintelon (2000–2002), Teucro (2003– ...

* Bojan Butulija * Bojan Ljubišić *

Tomislav Stojković Tomislav (, ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, that is widespread amongst the South Slavs. The meaning of the name ''Tomislav'' is thought to have derived from the Old Slavonic verb "'' tomiti''" or "'' tomit" meaning to "''languish ...

* Miloš Dragaš *

Renato Vugrinec Renato Vugrinec (born 9 June 1975) is a Slovenian-Macedonian retired handball player. Before switching his national team alliagance, Vugrinec was a long time member of Slovenia men's national handball team and represented the country on several i ...

* Josip Šandrk * Novak Bošković * Savo Mešter *

Duško Čelica Duško Čelica (Serbian Cyrillic: Душко Челица, born 18 August 1986) is a Bosnian handball player who plays for RK Vogošća and for the Bosnian national handball team. Career He started playing handball for local club RK Kozara in ...

* Peđa Dejanović * Avishay Smoler *

Idan Maimon Idan Maimon (born 27 November 1974) is an Israeli former handball player, and currently the head coach of Hapoel Rishon Lezion. Maimon was the captain of the Israeli national handball team, and the all-time top goalscorer of the Israeli handbal ...

* Yotam Tal *

Nemanja Pribak Nemanja Pribak (, ; born 26 March 1984) is a Serbian-born Macedonian handball player for Hapoel Rishon LeZion (handball), Hapoel Rishon LeZion. Career After playing for his hometown club RK Železničar Niš, Železničar Niš, Pribak moved abroad ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Official websiteclub page in israel handball association
Israeli handball clubs Handball clubs established in 1968 Sport in Rishon LeZion Hapoel