Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C.

Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. (Hebrew: מועדון כדורגל בני יהודה תל אביב, Moadon Kaduregel Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv), commonly referred to as Bnei Yehuda (בני יהודה), is an Israeli football club from the Hatikva Quarter of the city of Tel Aviv. The club is a member of the Liga Leumit.

Bnei Yehuda
Logo
Full nameBnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
Football Club
Nickname(s)The Neighbourhood
The Goldens
The Oranges
Founded1936 (1936)
GroundBloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel
Capacity29,400
OwnerMoshe Damaio
ChairmanKeren Sallem
ManagerOmer Peretz
LeagueLiga Leumit
2022–23Liga Leumit, 8th of 16

History

The club was formed in January 1936 by Yemenite religious Jews, With them Nathan Sulami and his friends.[1] It was named after Judah (Hebrew: יהודה, Yehuda), because the decision on its formation occurred during the week when the Torah portion of Vayigash (beginning with the words "Then Judah approached him")[2] is read in the Synagogue, and the Jews of Yemen are descendants of Judah ben Jacob.[3] Sulami and his friends were first promoted to the top division in 1959. Two seasons later they narrowly avoided relegation, finishing second from bottom. In 1965 the club reached the State Cup final for the first time, but lost 2–1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv.[4] In 1968 they reached the final again, this time beating Hapoel Petah Tikva to claim their first piece of major silverware.

After several near-misses, the club was relegated at the end of the 1971–72 season after finishing second from bottom. However, they made an immediate return as Liga Alef champions but were relegated again in 1976. In the 1977–78 season the club were promoted back to the top division as Liga Artzit champions, and also reached the State Cup final, where they lost 2–1 to Maccabi Netanya. The following season the club finished fourth in Liga Leumit.

The 1980–81 season was the club's best so far. Managed by Shlomo Sharf they finished second in the league and reached the cup final again, this time beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 4–3 after a penalty shootout. However, the success was not maintained, and they were relegated at the end of the 1983–84 season.

The club made an immediate return as Liga Artzit champions and finished second in 1986–87. The 1989–90 season saw the club win its first, and to date only, championship under the leadership of Giora Spiegel. Two seasons later they won the Toto Cup for the first time, repeating the feat in 1997.

The 2000–01 season saw Bnei Yehuda finish second from bottom of the Premier League (which had replaced Liga Leumit as the top division) and the club was relegated. However, they made an immediate return as Liga Leumit runners-up.[5] In 2005–06 they reached the cup final, losing 1–0 to Hapoel Tel Aviv, but also qualifying for Europe for the first time. In the 2006–07 UEFA Cup they lost 6–0 on aggregate to Lokomotiv Sofia and had to play their home match in Senec in Slovakia due to security concerns.[6]

At the beginning of the 2006–07 season Abu Siam made the eyebrow-raising decision to sign with one of Mac TA's crosstown rivals, Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, a club with a fanatical fanbase smaller than Maccabi's, but more violent. Which is Bnei Yehuda. Although at the beginning of the season the fans ridiculed the decision to sign the club's first Arab player, the furor soon died down, which came to a surprise following similar affairs with Beitar Jerusalem that had occurred in 2005 and 2006 in regards to efforts to sign Muslim Nigerian player Ndala Ibrahim.

In the 2009–10 season Bnei Yehuda reached the European League play-off, after starting in the first qualifying round, but lost to PSV 2–0 on aggregate. The following season they reached the second qualifying round of the Europa League, but lost to Shamrock Rovers.

From 2009–10 to the 2012–13 season, Bnei Yehuda managed to finish regularly in the top 3–4 ranks of the Israeli Premier League which won her participation in the European League qualifying. Following the success, the group became a springboard for players. Many players who were remarkable in the ranks of Bnei Yehuda have moved or were sold to bigger clubs and others were called to the national team.

In the 2013–14 season, Bnei Yehuda finished bottom and relegated to Liga Leumit. However, they made an immediate return to the Premier League as the 2014–15 Liga Leumit champions.

In the 2016–17 season, the club won the National cup, and it was their first major title in 27 years (last one was the championship in 1989-90).

In 2017, HAP Investments became the Group's main sponsor. In June 2018 a new contract was signed for the 2018/2019 season.

Fans

The Bnei Yehuda fanbase is predominantly a working class neighbourhood support from Hatikva, and has one supporter group, the ultras "Lions Army", who express far-right political views.[7] have been involved in various racist incidents,[8] such as that involving Arab player Salim Tyameh[9] and have developed a reputation for this as well as violence.[10][11] The fans heavily criticised Ismaila Soro when he decided to move to Celtic F.C.[12]

Stadium

For most of its existence, Bnei Yehuda played at the Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium in the Hatikva Quarter of Tel Aviv. However, in 2004 the team moved their home matches to the Bloomfield Stadium, though the club offices, the team's practice grounds and most activities within the club are still held in the Hatikva Neighborhood Stadium.

European record

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2006–07 UEFA Cup Q2 Bulgaria Lokomotiv Sofia 0–2 0–4 0–6
2009–10 Europa League Q1 Azerbaijan Simurq PFC 3–0 1–0 4–0
Q2 Latvia Dinaburg Daugavpils 4–0 1–0 5–0
Q3 Portugal Paços Ferreira 1–0 1–0 2–0
PO Netherlands PSV 0–1 0–1 0–2
2010–11 Europa League Q1 Armenia Ulisses 1–0 0–0 1–0
Q2 Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers 0–1 1–1 1–2
2011–12 Europa League Q2 Andorra UE Sant Julià 2–0 2–0 4–0
Q3 Sweden Helsingborgs IF 1–0 0–3 1–3
2012–13 Europa League Q2 Armenia Shirak 2–0 1–0 3–0
Q3 Greece PAOK 0–2 1–4 1–6
2017–18 Europa League Q2 Slovakia Trenčín 2–0 1–1 3–1
Q3 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 0–2 1–0 1–2
2019–20 Europa League Q3 Azerbaijan Neftçi Baku 2–1 2–2 4–3
PO Sweden Malmö 0–1 0–3 0–4
Notes
  • Q1: First qualifying round
  • Q2: Second qualifying round
  • Q3: Third qualifying round
  • PO: Play-off round

Players

Current squad

As of 19 September 2023
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Israel ISR Tamir Lalou
2 DF Israel ISR Yazan Nassar
3 DF Israel ISR Shahar Rosen
4 DF Israel ISR Jonatan Agiyapong
5 DF Israel ISR Tamir Haimovich
6 MF Israel ISR Shay Ayzen
9 FW Israel ISR Yaniv Mizrahi
10 MF The Gambia GAM Abubakar Barry
11 DF Israel ISR Nehoray Kariv
12 DF Israel ISR Stav Israeli
16 FW Israel ISR Eliran Atar (captain)
17 FW Israel ISR Shahar Hirsh
18 MF Israel ISR Maor Biton
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW Israel ISR Eyal Hen
20 DF Israel ISR Idan Ratta
23 MF Israel ISR Eden Otachi
24 MF Israel ISR Ronen Gerdashov
26 DF Israel ISR Yogev Lerman
30 MF Ivory Coast CIV Louis Claude Kouadio
42 MF Israel ISR Solomon Daniel
55 GK Israel ISR Yehonatan Shabi
70 MF Israel ISR Shalev Daniel
75 DF Ivory Coast CIV Souleymane Fofana
77 FW Israel ISR Almog Buzaglo
91 MF Israel ISR Guy Sivilia
99 FW Israel ISR Noam Gissin

Out on loan

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK Israel ISR Omer Nir'on (at Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar until 30 June 2024)
GK Israel ISR Shahar Amsalem (at Maccabi Herzliya until 30 June 2024)
DF Israel ISR Nehoray Gigi (at Shimshon Tel Aviv until 30 June 2024)
DF Israel ISR Omri Yehezkel (at Hapoel Lod until 30 June 2024)
MF Israel ISR Sahar Cohen (at Maccabi Sha'arayim until 30 June 2024)
MF Israel ISR Myit Nyrek (at Maccabi Sha'arayim until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Israel ISR Yuval Piven (at Maccabi Sha'arayim until 30 June 2024)
MF Israel ISR Amit Meir (at Maccabi Bnei Reineh until 30 June 2024)
MF Israel ISR Omer Shirazi (at Hapoel Kfar Shalem until 30 June 2024)
FW Israel ISR Roy Tzairi (at Shimshon Tel Aviv until 30 June 2024)
FW Israel ISR Mark Bura (at Shimshon Kafr Qasim until 30 June 2024)

Titles

League

Title No. Years
Israeli Championships 1 1989–90

Cup competitions

Title No. Years
State Cup 4 1967–68, 1980–81, 2016–17, 2018–19
Toto Cup 2 1991–92, 1996–97
Super cup 1 1990

Managers

References

  1. Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv Official Website. "Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv". Archived from the original on 12 August 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  2. Genesis 44:18
  3. היסטוריה [History] (in Hebrew). Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  4. Israel – List of Cup Finals Archived 28 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine RSSSF
  5. Israel Second Level 2001–02 RSSSF
  6. Slovakia to stage Israeli UEFA tie CNN, 3 August 2006
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "Racism is Not a Game". Haaretz.
  9. Zenziper, Nadav (5 December 2014). "Israeli Arab player hits back at racism in soccer". Ynetnews.
  10. "Racism in Israeli soccer". 20 January 2004.
  11. "Bnei Yehuda handed stadium ban | Inside UEFA". 24 October 2002.
  12. "Incoming Celtic midfielder Ismaila Soro hits out at Bnei Yehuda supporters". 27 January 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.