# 2013–14 Israeli Premier League

The 2013–14 Israeli Premier League was the fifteenth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 71st season of top-tier football in Israel. It began on 24 August 2013 and ended on 17 May 2014. Maccabi Tel Aviv were the defending champions, having won their second Premier League title, and 19th championship last season. They successfully defended their title this season.

## Teams

A total of fourteen teams are competing in the league, including twelve sides from the 2012–13 season and two promoted team from the 2012–13 Liga Leumit.
Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Ramat Gan were relegated to the 2013–14 Liga Leumit after finishing the 2012–13 season in the bottom two places.
Maccabi Petah Tikva and Hapoel Ra'anana were promoted after finishing the 2012–13 Liga Leumit in the top two places.
| Club | Home City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 31,733 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Sakhnin | Doha Stadium | 8,500 |
| Bnei Yehuda | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 14,413 |
| F.C. Ashdod | Ashdod | Yud-Alef Stadium | 7,800 |
| Hapoel Ironi Acre | Acre | Acre Municipal Stadium | 5,000 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Be'er Sheva | Vasermil Stadium | 13,000 |
| Hapoel Haifa | Haifa | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | 14,002 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Ra'anana | Netanya Stadium | 13,610 |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | Ramat HaSharon | Grundman Stadium | 4,300 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 14,413 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Kiryat Shmona | Ironi Stadium | 5,300 |
| Maccabi Haifa | Haifa | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | 14,002 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Petah Tikva | HaMoshava Stadium | 11,500 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 14,413 |
^ A: The club will play their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground does not meet Premier League requirements.
| Beitar Jerusalem | Bnei Yehuda Hapoel Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Hapoel Acre |
| Teddy Stadium | Bloomfield Stadium | Kiryat Shmona Stadium | Acre Stadium |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Hapoel Haifa Maccabi Haifa | Maccabi Petah Tikva | Hapoel Ramat HaSharon |
| Netanya Stadium | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | HaMoshava Stadium | Grundman Stadium |
| F.C. Ashdod | Bnei Sakhnin | Hapoel Be'er Sheva |
| Yud-Alef Stadium | Doha Stadium | Vasermil Stadium |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | President | Manager | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Eli Tabib | Ronny Levy | Ariel Harush | Diadora | Eldad Perry Group |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Mohammed Abu Yunes | Marco Balbul | Khaled Khalaila | Lotto | Toyga |
| Bnei Yehuda | Moshe Damaio | Yossi Abukasis | Kfir Edri | Macron | Super Ceramic |
| F.C. Ashdod | Jacky Ben-Zaken | Nir Klinger | Guy Tzarfati | Legea | Radio Jerusalem |
| Hapoel Ironi Acre | Yehuda Barshishat | Yuval Naim | David Goresh | Nike | Azrieli Group |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Alona Barkat | Elisha Levy | Elyaniv Barda | Kappa | Mobli |
| Hapoel Haifa | Yoav Katz | Shlomi Dora | Yossi Dora | Diadora | Hatama |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Ilan Katz | Meni Koretski | Tamir Cohen | Joma | ME Tel Aviv |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | Boaz Moldavsky | Haim Shabo | Kobi Musa | Lotto | Trade Mobile |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Haim Ramon | Ran Ben Shimon | Shay Abutbul | Kappa | Fujicom |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Izzy Sheratzky | Barak Bakhar | Shir Tzedek | Puma | Ituran |
| Maccabi Haifa | Ya'akov Shahar | Arik Benado | Yaniv Katan | Nike | Honda |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Amos Luzon | Yitav Luzon Kobi Refua | Omer Golan | Lotto | Panorama North |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Mitchell Goldhar | Paulo Sousa | Sheran Yeini | Macron | |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Final position |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Eli Cohen (b. 1951) | End of contract | 4 May 2013 | 10th (12–13) | Eli Cohen (b. 1961) | 23 June 2013 | 10th |
| Hapoel Haifa | Nir Klinger | End of contract | 4 May 2013 | 9th (12–13) | Shlomi Dora | 23 May 2013 | |
| F.C. Ashdod | Yossi Mizrahi | End of contract | 4 May 2013 | 7th (12–13) | Nir Klinger | 19 May 2013 | |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Freddy David | End of contract | 18 May 2013 | 3rd (12–13) | Ran Ben Shimon | 20 May 2013 | |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | Benny Tabak | Sacked | 21 May 2013 | 6th (12–13) | Rafi Cohen | 21 May 2013 | 14th |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Óscar García | Resigned | 22 May 2013 | 1st (12–13) | Paulo Sousa | 12 June 2013 | |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | Rafi Cohen | Sacked | 22 September 2013 | 14th | Haim Shabo (caretaker) | 22 September 2013 | |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Moshe Sinai | Resigned | 24 November 2013 | 12th | Yitav Luzon | 24 November 2013 | |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Moshe Sinai | Resigned | 24 November 2013 | 13th | Kobi Refua | 19 December 2013 | |
| Bnei Yehuda | Dror Kashtan | Resigned | 1 December 2013 | 14th | Yaakov Asayag (caretaker) | 1 December 2013 | 14th |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Eli Cohen (b. 1961) | Sacked | 3 December 2013 | 10th | David Amsalem (caretaker) | 3 December 2013 | 11th |
| Beitar Jerusalem | David Amsalem (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | 9 December 2013 | 11th | Ronny Levy | 9 December 2013 | |
| Bnei Yehuda | Yaakov Asayag (caretaker) | End of caretaker spell | 22 December 2013 | 14th | Yossi Abukasis | 22 December 2013 | |
^C Yitav Luzon was Maccabi Petah Tikva sole manager until 19 December 2013, when Kobi Refua was appointed as joint-manager alongside him.

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Non-visa Foreign | Former Players |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Pablo Brandán | Bryan | Dušan Matović | Jonathan Vila | Andrés Túñez | | Landry Mulemo Osa Guobadia Teteh Bangura |
| Bnei Sahknin | Albert Crusat | Abraham Paz | Cristian | Jorge Alonso | Marc Fernández | | Marko Markovski |
| Bnei Yehuda | Emiliano Fusco | James Keene | Liam Walker | Dele Aiyenugba | Kęstutis Ivaškevičius | | Ádám Hrepka Yoro Lamine Ly |
| F.C. Ashdod | Paty Yeye Lenkebe | Gaëtan Varenne | Juwon Oshaniwa | Yero Bello | Aleksandar Davidov | | David Solari |
| Hapoel Ironi Acre | Hamdi Salihi | Juliano Spadacio | Mirko Oremuš | Branislav Jovanović | Nenad Marinković | Steven Cohen$^2$ | Leandrão Leo Costa Srđa Knežević |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | David Hubert | William Soares | Glynor Plet | Austin Ejide | Tomislav Pajović | Nicolás Falczuk$^2$ | Bojan Marković |
| Hapoel Haifa | Darío Fernández | Tadas Kijanskas | Žarko Korać | Danilo Nikolić | | Tvrtko Kale$^2$ | Nebojša Marinković |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Liliu | Anthony Nwakaeme | Mamadou Thiam | Emmanuel Mbola | Francis Kasonde | | Eudis |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | Emir Hadžić | Aleksandar Đoković | | | | Fadi Zidan$^2$ Kenny Saief$^2$ | Jadranko Bogičević Asrat Megersa |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Lucas Sasha | Petar Orlandić | Jürgen Colin | Besart Abdurahimi | Branko Ilić | Bryan Gerzicich$^1$ | |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Kassio | David Manga | Mindaugas Panka | Rodgers Kola | | | Darko Tasevski Dušan Matović |
| Maccabi Haifa | Edin Cocalić | Tamás Priskin | Bojan Šaranov | Rubén Rayos | Andriy Pylyavskyi | Gustavo Boccoli$^1$ | Dino Ndlovu |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | Pedro Galván | Ivan Herceg | Erfan Zeneli | Zito | Luka Rotković | | Bojan Đukić Emmanuel Ogude |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Rémi Maréval | Nikola Mitrović | Carlos García | Juan Pablo | Rade Prica | Marcell Illés$^2$ | Mané |
In Italic: Players that left the club mid-season
The following do not fill a Visa position: $^1$Players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained an Israeli passport or permanent residency, allowing them to play with Israeli status; $^2$Players who were born and started their professional career abroad but are eligible for Israeli citizenship due to Jewish ancestry;

## Regular season
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 26 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 58 | 18 | +40 | 66 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 2 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 26 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 48 | 19 | +29 | 59 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 3 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 38 | 26 | +12 | 44 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 4 | Maccabi Haifa | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 39 | 30 | +9 | 44 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 5 | Bnei Sakhnin | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 40 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 6 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 39 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 7 | F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 31 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 8 | Hapoel Haifa | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 27 | 34 | −7 | 31 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 9 | Beitar Jerusalem | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 21 | 28 | −7 | 30 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 10 | Hapoel Acre | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 24 | 37 | −13 | 27 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 11 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 33 | −13 | 26 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 12 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 28 | 45 | −17 | 23 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 13 | Bnei Yehuda | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 26 | 39 | −13 | 20 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 14 | Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 52 | −31 | 20 | Qualification for the relegation round |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BEI | BnY | BnS | ASH | HAC | HBS | HHA | HRA | HRH | HTA | IKS | MHA | MPT | MTA |
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Bnei Yehuda | 0–0 | — | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 0–2 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 0–0 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 4–5 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Hapoel Acre | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 |
| Hapoel Haifa | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–3 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–3 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–3 | — | 0–2 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | — |

## Playoffs

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games):
Rounds :
| 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th |
| 1 – 6 2 – 5 3 – 4 | 1 – 2 5 – 3 6 – 4 | 2 – 6 3 – 1 4 – 5 | 1 – 4 2 – 3 6 – 5 | 3 – 6 4 – 2 5 – 1 | 6 – 1 5 – 2 4 – 3 | 2 – 1 3 – 5 4 – 6 | 6 – 2 1 – 3 5 – 4 | 3 – 2 4 – 1 5 – 6 | 6 – 3 2 – 4 1 – 5 |
| 7 – 14 8 – 13 9 – 12 10 – 11 | 7 – 8 13 – 9 12 – 10 14 – 11 | 8 – 14 9 – 7 10 – 13 11 – 12 | 8 – 9 7 – 10 13 – 11 14 – 12 | 9 – 14 10 – 8 11 – 7 12 – 13 | 9 – 10 8 – 11 7 – 12 14 – 13 | 10 – 14 11 – 9 12 – 8 13 – 7 | | | |

### Top playoff
#### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv (C) | 36 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 76 | 30 | +46 | 84 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 56 | 33 | +23 | 68 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 59 | 38 | +21 | 64 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round |
| 4 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 72 | 47 | +25 | 58 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Maccabi Haifa | 36 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 53 | |
| 6 | Bnei Sakhnin | 36 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 37 | 47 | −10 | 47 | |
* 1 2 3 Since Ironi Kiryat Shmona won the 2013–14 Israel State Cup, then the 4th-positioned team will be awarded with entry to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.

#### Results

| Home \ Away | BnS | HBS | HTA | IKS | MHA | MTA |
| Bnei Sakhnin | — | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2–0 | — | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 3–0 | 1–2 | — | 4–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 2–2 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — |

### Bottom playoff
#### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| 7 | Beitar Jerusalem | 33 | 12 | 6 | 15 | 31 | 32 | −1 | 42 | |
| 8 | F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 35 | 45 | −10 | 39 | |
| 9 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 38 | |
| 10 | Hapoel Acre | 33 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 30 | 42 | −12 | 36 | |
| 11 | Hapoel Haifa | 33 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 30 | 45 | −15 | 34 | |
| 12 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 39 | 57 | −18 | 33 | |
| 13 | Hapoel Ramat HaSharon (R) | 33 | 9 | 6 | 18 | 29 | 59 | −30 | 33 | Relegation to Liga Leumit |
| 14 | Bnei Yehuda (R) | 33 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 32 | 45 | −13 | 31 | Relegation to Liga Leumit |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | BEI | BnY | ASH | HAC | HHA | HRA | HRH | MPT |
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | — | 4–0 | 3–0 |
| Bnei Yehuda | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | — | — | 1–3 | — | — |
| F.C. Ironi Ashdod | — | — | — | 1–0 | 4–1 | — | 0–1 | 0–5 |
| Hapoel Acre | — | 1–1 | — | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Hapoel Haifa | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | — | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | — |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 0–2 | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 4–2 |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | 4–1 |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | — | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | — | — |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Eran Zahavi | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 29 |
| 2 | Omer Damari | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 26 |
| 3 | Alon Turgeman | Maccabi Haifa | 15 |
| 4 | Rade Prica | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 12 |
| 5 | David Manga | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 11 |
| 5 | Žarko Korać | Hapoel Haifa | 11 |
| 5 | Mohammed Kalibat | Bnei Sakhnin | 11 |
| 5 | Rubén Rayos | Maccabi Haifa | 11 |
| 5 | Glynor Plet | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 11 |
| 10 | Maor Buzaglo | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 10 |
| Total | Total | Total | 606 |
| Average per game | Average per game | Average per game | 2.53 |
Updated: 17 May 2014 Source: Israel Football Association

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Barak Yitzhaki for Maccabi Tel Aviv against Hapoel Ironi Acre, 1st minute (24 August 2013)
* Biggest winning margin: 5 goals –
** Hapoel Ramat HaSharon 0–5 Hapoel Tel Aviv (26 October 2013)
** Maccabi Tel Aviv 5–0 Hapoel Ironi Acre (21 December 2013)
* Most goals scored by a losing team: 4 goals – F.C. Ashdod 4–5 Hapoel Tel Aviv (8 March 2014)
* Most goals in a match by one player: 3 goals -
** Itay Shechter for Hapoel Tel Aviv against Hapoel Ramat HaSharon (26 October 2013)
** Žarko Korać for Hapoel Haifa against Hapoel Ramat HaSharon (21 December 2013)
** Dovev Gabay for Hapoel Be'er Sheva against Hapoel Tel Aviv (30 December 2013)
** Eran Zahavi for Maccabi Tel Aviv against Hapoel Tel Aviv (17 March 2014)
** Eran Zahavi for Maccabi Tel Aviv against Bnei Sakhnin (17 May 2014)

### Discipline

* First yellow card of the season: Amiya Taga for Hapoel Ironi Acre against Maccabi Tel Aviv, 7th minute (24 August 2013)
* Most yellow cards by a player: 10
** Ali Ottman (Bnei Sakhnin)
* First red card of the season: Asrat Megersa for Hapoel Ramat HaSharon against Hapoel Haifa, 41st minute (24 August 2013)
* Most red cards by a player: 2
** Ahad Azam (Hapoel Haifa)
** Yossi Dora (Hapoel Haifa)
** Ben Reichert (Hapoel Ramat HaSharon)
** Khaled Khalaila (Bnei Sakhnin)
** Zito (Maccabi Petah Tikva)

### Clean sheets

* Most clean sheets: 18
** Maccabi Tel Aviv
* Fewest clean sheets: 1
** Maccabi Petah Tikva

### Attendance

* Highest Attendance: 30,000
** Round 6 - Beitar Jerusalem vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv (22 October 2013) at Teddy Stadium. This is the highest attendance of an Israeli Premier League regular season game since 1993. This game is also the highest attendance of a regular Premier League game outside of Ramat Gan Stadium.