# 2008–09 Liga Leumit

The 2008–09 Liga Leumit season began on 29 August 2008 and ended on 29 May 2009.
Two teams from Liga Artzit were promoted at the end of the previous season: Hapoel Jerusalem and Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata along with two teams relegated from Israeli Premier League: Maccabi Herzliya and Hapoel Kfar Saba. The two teams relegated to Liga Artzit were Hapoel Nazareth Illit and Hapoel Rishon LeZion.
Due to an expected league expansion, at the end of the season five clubs were automatically promoted to the Israeli Premier League, whilst the sixth-placed club in Liga Leumit played in a play-off match against the 11th-placed team in the Premier League. Only one team relegated automatically, and one team played in a play-off match against a team from Liga Artzit (which ceased to exist, with the regionalised Liga Alef becoming the third tier).

## Stadia

| Club | Stadium | Capacity |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 21,600 |
| Hapoel Haifa | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | 14,002 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Vasermil Stadium | 13,000 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | Herzliya Municipal Stadium | 08,100 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | HaMakhtesh Stadium | 05,500 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | Levita Stadium | 05,800 |
| Hapoel Acre | Napoleon Stadium | 005,000$^1$ |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | Ilut Stadium | 04,932 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | Karnei Oren Memorial Field | 02,500 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | Lod Municipal Stadium | 02,000 |
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | Yankela Grundman Stadium | 02,200 |
| Maccabi Kiryat Ata | Kiryat Ata Municipal Stadium | 0,0726 |
$^1$Currently undergoing construction work to convert it to a 5,000-seat stadium. In the meanwhile they play at the Nahariya Municipal Stadium.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Hapoel Haifa (C, P) | 33 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 62 | Promotion to Israeli Premier League |
| 2 | Hapoel Acre (P) | 33 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 50 | 23 | +27 | 61 | Promotion to Israeli Premier League |
| 3 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva (P) | 33 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 53 | 35 | +18 | 59 | Promotion to Israeli Premier League |
| 4 | Hapoel Ramat Gan (P) | 33 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 37 | 31 | +6 | 53 | Promotion to Israeli Premier League |
| 5 | Hapoel Ra'anana (P) | 33 | 15 | 6 | 12 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 51 | Promotion to Israeli Premier League |
| 6 | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth (O, P) | 33 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 41 | 33 | +8 | 45 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 7 | Maccabi Herzliya | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 38 | |
| 8 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | 33 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 36 | |
| 9 | Hapoel Bnei Lod | 33 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 37 | |
| 10 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 33 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 37 | |
| 11 | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon (O) | 33 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 36 | Qualification for relegation play-offs |
| 12 | Maccabi Ironi Kiryat Ata (R) | 33 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 24 | 53 | −29 | 19 | Relegation to Liga Alef |
* 1 2 Hapoel Haifa received a technical loss of 3-0 to Hapoel Bnei Lod for fielding an ineligible player.

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
| Hapoel Haifa | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Hapoel Acre | 12 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 6 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 8 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 3 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 7 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Maccabi Kiryat Ata | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |

## Results

The schedule consisted of three rounds. During first two rounds, each team played each other once home and away for a total of 22 matches. The pairings of the third round were then set according to the standings after first two rounds, giving every team a third game against each opponent for a total of 33 games per team.

### First and second round

| Home \ Away | HAC | HBS | HBL | HHA | HJE | HKS | HRA | HRG | IRH | MAN | MHE | IKA |
| Hapoel Acre | | 0–2 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | 0–0 | 0–2 | | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Hapoel Haifa | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 4–1 | 2–0 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 1–2 |
| Maccabi Kiryat Ata | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | |

### Third round

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 22 games):
Rounds :
| 23rd | 24th | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd |
| 3 – 12 4 – 2 5 – 1 6 – 11 7 – 10 8 – 9 | 12 – 9 10 – 8 11 – 7 1 – 6 2 – 5 3 – 4 | 4 – 12 5 – 3 6 – 2 7 – 1 8 – 11 9 – 10 | 12 – 10 11 – 9 1 – 8 2 – 7 3 – 6 4 – 5 | 5 – 12 6 – 4 7 – 3 8 – 2 9 – 1 10 – 11 | 12 – 11 1 – 10 2 – 9 3 – 8 4 – 7 5 – 6 | 6 – 12 7 – 5 8 – 4 9 – 3 10 – 2 11 – 1 | 1 – 12 2 – 11 3 – 10 4 – 9 5 – 8 6 – 7 | 12 – 7 8 – 6 9 – 5 10 – 4 11 – 3 1 – 2 | 2 – 12 3 – 1 4 – 11 5 – 10 6 – 9 7 – 8 | 12 – 8 9 – 7 10 – 6 11 – 5 1 – 4 2 – 3 |
| Home \ Away | HAC | HBS | HBL | HHA | HJE | HKS | HRA | HRG | IRH | MAN | MHE | IKA |
| Hapoel Acre | | | 0–0 | 7–1 | 1–1 | | | 0–0 | | 1–0 | | 5–0 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 0–2 | | | | | 2–2 | 3–1 | | 3–3 | | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Hapoel Bnei Lod | | 1–1 | | | 0–1 | | | 2–1 | | 4–2 | 0–0 | |
| Hapoel Haifa | | 2–1 | 0–3 | | 3–0 | | | 0–0 | | 3–1 | | 3–1 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem | | 1–2 | | | | | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | | 1–1 | | | | | |
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 1–3 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | | | | 1–2 | | 2–1 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | | 1–1 | | | | 3–1 | 0–2 | | 3–1 | | 0–4 | 2–1 |
| Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 3–3 | | 1–1 | 1–2 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | | | | | |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | | 0–3 | | | | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Maccabi Herzliya | 0–0 | | | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | | | |
| Maccabi Kiryat Ata | | | 2–0 | | 2–3 | 1–2 | | | 3–0 | | 3–4 | |
* ↑ Hapoel Haifa received a technical loss of 3–0 to Hapoel Bnei Lod for fielding an ineligible player.

## Promotion/relegation playoff
### Promotion playoff

Maccabi Ahi Nazareth as the 6th-placed team faced the 11th-placed Israeli Premier League team Hakoah Ramat Gan for a two-legged playoff. Maccabi Ahi Nazareth won both games and were promoted to the Israeli Premier League.

### Relegation playoff

Ironi Ramat HaSharon as the 11th-placed team faced the 8th-placed Liga Artzit team Maccabi Kafr Kanna for a two-legged playoff, Ironi Ramat HaSharon won both games and will continue playing in Liga Leumit next season.

## Season statistics
### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Eran Levy for Hapoel Haifa against Hapoel Acre, 26th minute (29 August 2008)
* Widest winning margin: 6 goals – Hapoel Acre 7–1 Hapoel Haifa (22 May 2009)
* Most goals in a match: 8 goals – Hapoel Acre 7–1 Hapoel Haifa (22 May 2009)

### Discipline

* First yellow card of the season: Muhamad Brik for Hapoel Acre against Hapoel Haifa, 3rd minute (29 August 2008)
* First red card of the season: Bryan Gerzicich for Hapoel Acre against Hapoel Haifa, 36th minute (29 August 2008)
* Most red cards in a single match: 3 – Hapoel Acre 2–1 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth - 3 for Maccabi Ahi Nazareth (Amjad Suliman, Yakir Shina & Serge Ayeli) (6 December 2008)

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ohad Kadousi | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 18 |
| 2 | Eran Levy | Hapoel Haifa | 13 |
| 2 | Achmad Saba'a | Hapoel Bnei Lod | 13 |
| 2 | Serge Ayeli | Maccabi Ahi Nazareth | 13 |
| 5 | Shay Aharon | Hapoel Jerusalem | 12 |
| 6 | Irakliy Geperidze | Hapoel Haifa | 11 |
| 7 | Dovev Gabay | Maccabi Herzliya | 10 |
| 7 | Emmanuel Banahene | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 10 |
| 9 | Ronen Shwartzman | Hapoel Acre | 08 |
| 9 | Dudu Biton | Hapoel Ra'anana | 08 |
| 9 | Mor Golan | Hapoel Ramat Gan | 08 |
| 9 | Alain Masudi | Maccabi Herzliya | 08 |
| Total | Total | Total | 457 |
| Average per game | Average per game | Average per game | 2.3 |