Barak Bakhar

Bakhar was born on 21 September 1979.[1] As a child, he practised karate before switching to football at the age of 14.[5] His playing career began at Hakoah Ramat Gan and continued at Hapoel Petah Tikva and Kiryat Shmona.[6]

He played his final match as a Kiryat Shmona right-back on 16 May 2011, aged 31.[7] Recalling his transition into coaching, Bakhar said an injury and subsequent rehabilitation led him to take a football-coaching course.[5] He remained at Kiryat Shmona after his playing career ended, moving into an assistant-coaching role.[6]

Bakhar served as an assistant to Ran Ben Shimon during Kiryat Shmona’s championship season and remained in that position when Gili Landau succeeded Ben Shimon.[7] His work at the club also included coaching its youth team.[5] After Landau departed following five league rounds, Bakhar was promoted to head coach.[7]

His first season in charge ended with an appearance in the State Cup final, where Kiryat Shmona lost to Hapoel Ramat Gan on penalties.[7] The following season, the team defeated Maccabi Netanya in the final to win the 2014 State Cup, Bakhar’s first trophy as a senior head coach.[6][7] Each of his three seasons leading Kiryat Shmona ended with the club in the top playoff group; two third-place finishes brought qualification for European competition.[7]

Bakhar moved to Hapoel Be’er Sheva before the end of the 2014–15 season, after Kiryat Shmona owner Izzy Sheratzky learned that he had been negotiating with Be’er Sheva owner Alona Barkat.[7] Be’er Sheva had finished third in the preceding season, but won the championship in his first campaign, securing the 2015–16 title on the final round.[7] It was the club’s first league championship in 40 years.[7] Two further championships followed in 2016–17 and 2017–18, completing three consecutive titles.[7]

Be’er Sheva’s 2016 European campaign included victories over Olympiacos and Celtic in Champions League qualifying, although the team did not reach the group stage.[8] It subsequently entered the Europa League group stage, where its first match brought a 2–0 victory over Inter Milan at San Siro.[3] The result was Be’er Sheva’s first European win in 19 years and came in its first European group-stage appearance.[3]

Be’er Sheva defeated Inter twice and drew both matches against Southampton during the 2016–17 group stage.[9] A 1–1 draw away at Southampton eliminated the English club and secured Be’er Sheva’s place in the round of 32.[8] By May 2023, Bakhar’s European record included two Europa League group-stage campaigns with Be’er Sheva.[2]

His tenure at Be’er Sheva ended in January 2020, when the club dismissed him with the team fourth in the league and well behind leaders Maccabi Tel Aviv.[7]

Maccabi Haifa appointed Bakhar ahead of the 2020–21 season, following a decade without a league championship.[4] He led the club to three consecutive titles, in 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23, matching the sequence he had achieved at Be’er Sheva.[4][7]

Haifa also reached the 2022–23 Champions League group stage under Bakhar and defeated Juventus in that competition.[4] In qualifying, the team eliminated Red Star Belgrade, which subsequently appointed him as its own head coach.[4] His first Haifa spell also included a Conference League group-stage campaign.[2]

By the conclusion of this period, Bakhar had won six league championships as a head coach.[2] That total equalled the Israeli record held by Dror Kashtan and David Schweitzer.[6]

Bakhar joined Red Star Belgrade in 2023 after his first spell at Maccabi Haifa.[6] Early in his tenure, the squad underwent substantial changes: 17 players departed or went out on loan, including veteran goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who joined Slovan Bratislava on loan.[6] Bakhar brought in goalkeeper Omri Glazer, whom he had previously coached at Be’er Sheva.[6]

Red Star’s preseason included a 5–0 victory over Fiorentina, and the club opened its league campaign by beating Vojvodina by the same score.[6] Its Champions League campaign, however, ended with one point and no progression from the group.[10] In December 2023, about six months after Bakhar’s arrival, Red Star dismissed him following a derby defeat to Partizan that left the team second after 19 league rounds.[10] Sporting director Zvezdan Terzić said the club had not achieved its objectives.[10]

Bakhar was in Belgrade on 7 October 2023.[5] Recounting his response in a 2024 interview, he said that he initially remained silent for about two and a half weeks before preparing an English-language speech for a Champions League press conference, despite believing that speaking could damage his professional prospects.[5] His remarks included the declaration: “No one will break us. No one will break the Israeli spirit.”[5]

Maccabi Haifa brought Bakhar back in 2024 on a two-year contract.[4] His second spell ended in May 2025 after a 5–1 derby defeat to Hapoel Haifa.[11] At the time of his dismissal, Haifa stood third, 12 points behind the joint leaders with three league matches remaining.[11] The campaign had also included an early State Cup exit, defeat in the Toto Cup final and eight league losses.[11] Haifa ultimately finished the season in third place.[4]

In October 2025, Haifa appointed Bakhar for a third tenure after dismissing Diego Flores, bringing him back five months after his own dismissal.[4] He returned with his original staff, including assistant Guy Tzarfati.[12]

In July 2026, Bakhar described Haifa’s recent seasons as difficult and discussed changes to the club’s training centre and staff.[13] He said the previous season’s team had lacked balance and had not defended in accordance with one of his central principles.[13] By October, following a poor preseason and difficult opening results, Haifa had risen to second place, one point behind Maccabi Tel Aviv.[14] Bakhar nevertheless cautioned that only six matches had been played and that it was too early to draw conclusions.[14] He stated the club’s objective plainly: “Our aim is first place. That’s our goal.”[15]

Bakhar has described building a reliable, professional and innovative staff as a priority in his management of a team.[5] In a 2024 interview, he said that he valued colleagues willing to challenge his assumptions and that he delegated some training sessions.[5] He also wanted players to analyse matches and present their own conclusions, helping them develop their thinking about the game rather than relying exclusively on instructions from the coaching staff.[5]

Defensive organisation formed another explicit part of his approach.[13] Discussing Haifa’s preparations in 2026, he said: “We weren’t a balanced team, and that was something I noticed immediately when I came in. We need to defend in a certain way, and that didn’t happen last season. That’s one of my core principles.”[13] At Be’er Sheva, he had used the phrase “championship or we die” to express the team’s title ambition.[16]

By May 2023, Bakhar’s first 11 years as a head coach had produced 12 titles: six league championships, three Aluf HaAlufim titles, two Toto Cups and one State Cup.[2] His league titles were divided equally between Be’er Sheva and Maccabi Haifa; two Aluf HaAlufim titles came with Be’er Sheva and one with Haifa, while his State Cup was won at Kiryat Shmona.[2] His participation as an assistant in Kiryat Shmona’s earlier league championship was separate from that head-coaching total.[2]

At the same May 2023 snapshot, his teams had reached five European group stages: one Europa League campaign with Kiryat Shmona, two with Be’er Sheva, and one each in the Conference League and Champions League with Haifa.[2] His European record then stood at 79 matches, comprising 27 wins, 18 draws and 34 defeats.[2]

Across 412 matches with the three Israeli clubs he had managed by that point, Bakhar recorded 243 victories, 86 draws and 83 defeats, with a reported overall success rate of 58.98%.[2] Those figures preceded his appointment at Red Star Belgrade and his subsequent returns to Haifa.[2][4]

In a 2016 interview, Bakhar said that he had been called up for military service, sought a sportsman’s service arrangement and spent 70 days in military prison before being released.[17] He described his decision at the time as a mistake of which he was not proud and said that he was exploring options for reserve service.[17] These details were his personal account of his service circumstances.[17]