Haifa Derby

Hapoel Haifa was founded during Passover at a meeting led by Yehoshua Sherpstein and Yair Aharony in a house in Haifa's Hadar neighborhood, creating an organization with branches related to sports and worker movements.[3] The wider Hapoel workers' sports movement had its beginnings in a Haifa soccer team in 1924, while its countrywide association was organized in 1926.[4]

Maccabi Haifa later enjoyed an era of "unrivaled success," including UEFA Champions League quarterfinal appearances reported for 2003 and 2010.[5]

A November 30, 1956, newspaper headline announced that football leagues would begin the following day with derby matches in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem. The accessible archive metadata groups the three cities but does not identify the clubs involved in the Haifa match.[6]

The first derby took place in the 1947/48 season, with Hapoel winning 5–1. Maccabi lost the first five meetings before winning the next six, establishing an early pattern of shifting momentum.[1]

Hapoel were by far the more dominant team through the 1950s. Their record derby victory came on February 2, 1952, when they beat Maccabi 7–1 at Hapoel's ground in Haifa.[1][7] Maccabi later established sustained superiority and came to rule the city. In 1993/94, Maccabi recorded their largest derby margin, a 6–1 win at Bloomfield Stadium while serving a ground-ban penalty; they had also won 5–0 in 1955/56, when Shlomo Levi scored a hat-trick.[1][7]

A 2013 statistical retrospective, citing Maccabi historian Yitzhak Haberman, reported 89 top-division league meetings since the establishment of the state, with Maccabi leading by 40 wins to 24.[7] Of 67 league derbies played at Kiryat Eliezer Stadium before that match, Maccabi won 33, Hapoel 14, and 20 ended in draws, with a 110–63 goal difference in Maccabi's favor. Twenty-seven players had been sent off in league derbies, twenty of them Hapoel players, while Maccabi goalkeeper Avi Ran kept clean sheets across all 360 of his derby minutes. Shlomo Levi was the leading scorer in the account, with nine goals—six for Hapoel and three for Maccabi.[7]

A Jerusalem Post report published on January 6, 2026, listed 82 Maccabi wins, 45 Hapoel wins, and 43 draws across competitions, with Maccabi scoring 264 goals and Hapoel 192. For league competition alone, it gave a tally of 56 Maccabi wins, 34 Hapoel wins, and 33 draws.[2]

A 2013 retrospective identified the 1961 3–3 draw as the derby's most dramatic league match: Maccabi had led 3–0 at halftime before Hapoel recovered to draw.[7] The first State Cup meeting took place on May 29, 1954, when Hapoel won a quarterfinal in which Tibi Neuman and Fried scored for Hapoel and Ben-Zvi for Maccabi.[8]

The 1961/62 State Cup final at Kiryat Eliezer was another defining occasion. Hapoel beat Maccabi 1–0 to claim their first State Cup title and prevent Maccabi from winning the trophy in successive seasons.[8] Maccabi responded in the 1994/95 final at Ramat Gan, winning 2–0 through goals by Ofer Shitrit and Moshe Glam after a 17-year gap between the clubs' cup encounters.[8]

The 2004/05 cup tie ended 3–3 after 120 minutes before Hapoel advanced in a penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Shagi Strauss, who had developed in Maccabi's system, saved attempts by Dirsau, Ravid Gozlan, and Idan Tal. It was the first time Hapoel had eliminated Maccabi from the cup since 1965.[8]

In the 2017/18 two-leg cup tie, the first match ended 2–2 after Maccabi had led 2–0, with Gabriel Tamas equalizing through a 30-metre free kick. The return at Sammy Ofer ended 1–1, allowing Hapoel to advance on away goals.[8]

January 2023 brought Maccabi's largest cup victory over their rivals, a 5–1 State Cup win.[1]

From 2016/17 through 2018/19, Hapoel won four consecutive league derbies by scores of 3–0, 1–0, 3–0, and 3–1—the first time they had won four straight derbies since 1952.[9] In the first 3–0 victory, Hapoel held only 21% possession. Around 9,000 Hapoel supporters attended the following season's 1–0 win, the highest Hapoel attendance in the 12-season period reviewed by the source.[9]

In November 2020, Hapoel won 2–1 after a goalless first half. Nes Zamir opened the scoring in the 69th minute, Nikita Rukavytsya equalized from the penalty spot in the 84th for Maccabi, and Zamir then set up Liran Sardel's winning goal in the 91st minute.[10]

In March 2018, Hapoel won a league derby 3–0 for the second time that season. Ernest Mabouka's own goal gave Hapoel the lead in the 44th minute, Gabriel Tamas added a long-range free kick in the 56th, and Alon Turgeman scored against his former club in the 64th.[11][9] The clubs had met in the cup the previous week, drawing 1–1 as Hapoel advanced on aggregate.[8]

A November 2024 league derby was relocated to Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem because of the security situation and regulations, despite Hapoel being the nominal home side. Maccabi won 4–1: Dia Saba scored twice, Lior Refaelov and Xander Severina also scored, and Guy Melamed replied for Hapoel.[12]

On May 3, 2025, Hapoel beat Maccabi 5–1 at Sammy Ofer Stadium, their biggest win over their city rivals since the 7–1 victory of 1952 and Maccabi's heaviest home defeat since April 1992.[13][14] Javon East scored a hat-trick in the 12th, 29th, and 52nd minutes, while Thiemoko Diarra scored in the 41st and 50th; Guy Melamed scored Maccabi's consolation in the 79th.[15][13] East's hat-trick left him one goal short of the four-goal single-match derby record, and it was the first time Barak Bachar had conceded five league goals as Maccabi Haifa manager.[14]

Maccabi responded in January 2026 at Sammy Ofer, winning 2–0. Eitan Azoulay scored from 20 metres in the 35th minute and Guy Melamed added a second before halftime; Hapoel had been reduced to ten players after Sana was sent off in the 30th minute. The previous meeting, in September 2025, had ended 1–1.[2]

In July 2026, Hapoel won a Toto Cup group-stage derby 3–2. Goals from Yaad Gonen, a Noam Steifman own goal, and Alon Turgeman gave Hapoel a 3–0 lead before Eyad Khalaili and Eitan Azulay scored late for Maccabi.[16]

Several derbies produced consequences beyond the immediate result. Hapoel's 3–0 victory in 2016/17 helped bring René Meulensteen's tenure as Maccabi coach to an end.[9] After eliminating Maccabi from the 2017/18 State Cup on away goals, Hapoel went on to win the competition under Nir Klinger, securing their first cup triumph in 44 years.[8] The May 2025 defeat was followed by Maccabi's dismissal of both coach Barak Bachar and sports director Gal Alberman.[15]

Published derby totals vary because reports cover different dates and competition scopes. A 2013 account called that year's fixture the 89th top-division league meeting since the establishment of the state, while a December 2018 preview described its upcoming match as the 100th league derby over the same period.[7][17]

A January 2023 report counted 113 meetings across the clubs' history, whereas the January 2026 Jerusalem Post report listed 170 across league, cup, and other competitions.[1][2] These figures are best read as dated snapshots using the scope stated by each source rather than as a single directly comparable statistical series.

Sammy Ofer Stadium is the fixture's main modern stage. The derby has been described as one of the major dates on the Israeli football calendar, particularly when Maccabi hosts before a packed crowd, and as a contest for the right to be "the king of the city."[2] The November 2024 edition was an exception, moving to Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem because of the security situation and regulations.[12]