Guy Levy

Levy was born on September 8, 1966, and began his professional playing career at age 16½, turning out as a left back for Hapoel Petah Tikva in the 1982/83 season, when the club competed in Liga Artzit, Israel's second division.[1] The club won promotion to the first division the following season.[1]

Injuries limited his availability throughout his time at the club, and he retired at the end of the 1992/93 season, aged 27, having made 154 league appearances and scored three goals—all for the same club.[1] His father, Gavri Levy, served as Hapoel Petah Tikva's chairman and later became chairman of the Israel Football Association.[1][3]

Levy moved into management immediately after retiring as a player, becoming Hapoel Petah Tikva's professional manager at the start of the 1993/94 season.[1] His tenure there was marked by conflicts with coaches and growing mistrust among supporters; he left at the end of 1995/96, when his father also departed the club.[1]

He subsequently coached Tzafririm Holon from 1997 to 1999, during which the club was relegated and then earned promotion back to the top flight.[1] He was appointed Hapoel Haifa manager in 2000 and led the team to third place in his first season there.[1][4] Spells at Hapoel Kfar Saba and Bnei Yehuda followed, with both ending early amid disputes with club ownership.[1]

After qualifying Israel's under-21 side for the European Championship, Levy signed for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in May 2008.[1] In the 2008/09 season he led the club to promotion to the Premier League from third place and won the Toto Cup for the National League—the club's first title in twelve years, according to the contemporary report.[5] Despite calls from supporters for his resignation throughout that campaign, his team secured both promotion and the cup.[5]

Levy returned to Hapoel Be'er Sheva for a second spell in October 2011, taking charge after Nir Klinger resigned with the team bottom of the table on three points after seven rounds.[1] He kept the side in the Premier League and credited young players—including Ofir Davidadze, Siraj Nassar, Dia Saba, Itzik Vaknin, and Lotem Zino—with helping the team survive.[6] His tenure ended when Elisha Levy was appointed to replace him.[6]

Before that second Be'er Sheva stint, Levy accepted the Ironi Ramat HaSharon job ahead of the 2010/11 season but resigned after two league rounds following a serious dispute with the club's management. He explained: "I am not someone who likes to work in a violent environment."[1] After leaving Ramat HaSharon and before returning to Be'er Sheva, he worked primarily as a football commentator.[1]

In June 2014, Levy signed with Bnei Sakhnin for one season as Marco Balbul's replacement. The report described his qualification with Israel's under-21 team as his leading coaching achievement.[7] In February 2015, he took over Beitar Jerusalem, replacing Menahem Koretzky, and led the club to European qualification. He left following disagreements with owner Eli Tabib.[4]

In November 2015, Hapoel Tel Aviv appointed Levy as head coach, the thirteenth different team he had managed, according to The Jerusalem Post.[8] The newspaper reported that some supporters objected to the appointment because of remarks he had made the previous season, when he said it would be wrong for Beitar Jerusalem to sign an Arab player, citing the risk of "unnecessary tension" and potential harm.[8] Levy later departed Hapoel Tel Aviv amid disagreements over Eli Gutman's role at the club.[4]

His full list of coaching destinations also included Hapoel Beit She'an, Apollon Limassol, Hapoel Ramat Gan, and Hapoel Ra'anana, with a 2018 report identifying Ra'anana as his most recent senior appointment.[9] By 2020, Levy said he had not coached a senior team in three years and was managing Maccabi Sha'arayim's youth department, though senior coaching still appealed to him.[10] In a 2021 interview, he said he had stepped away from coaching during a personal crisis because the work was causing him to collapse, and he criticized an emphasis on winning at the expense of process.[11]

Levy's appointment as coach of Israel's under-21 national team in 2004 became the defining chapter of his coaching career.[1] He guided the squad through a qualifying campaign that culminated in a two-leg playoff against France in October 2006.[12]

The first leg, played in Caen, placed Israel under immediate pressure: Naor Passer was sent off in the 36th minute, leaving Levy's side with ten men for most of the match.[13] Seventeen-year-old Ben Sahar gave Israel the lead in the 50th minute before France equalized in the 73rd, leaving the tie level at 1–1.[13] Levy called the result "half the job" and praised his players' character.[12]

In the return leg in Herzliya, a goal by Amia Taga secured a 1–0 win, sending Israel through on aggregate and to the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Netherlands—the first time the team had qualified for the tournament.[14][2] Israel finished last in its group without earning a point.[2] ONE characterized the finals performance as a major disappointment, reported disputes between Levy and senior national team coach Dror Kashtan, and said Levy intended to leave when his contract expired in June 2008.[15]

Levy's most enduring achievement remains Israel's first qualification for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, secured through the 2006 playoff victory over France.[1][2] His later work continued to emphasize player development: at Hapoel Be'er Sheva he credited several young players with helping the club avoid relegation, and by 2020 he was managing Maccabi Sha'arayim's youth department.[6][10]

In interviews, Levy argued that confidence, creativity, and long-term development were being undervalued in a football culture focused too heavily on immediate results.[10][11] He presented that conflict between process and results as a central reason for his eventual withdrawal from senior coaching.[11]

The Jerusalem Post reported that Levy's 2014 remarks—that Beitar Jerusalem should not sign an Arab player because of the risk of "unnecessary tension" and greater harm—angered some Hapoel Tel Aviv supporters when the club appointed him the following year.[8]

Several reports also document early departures following disputes with ownership or management, including at Hapoel Kfar Saba, Bnei Yehuda, Ironi Ramat HaSharon, Beitar Jerusalem, and Hapoel Tel Aviv.[1][4]