Shlomo Scharf

Shlomo Scharf was born on January 1, 1943, in Siberia, in the former Soviet Union, to a family of Holocaust survivors.[1] He immigrated to Israel at the age of six and played football for Hapoel Kfar Saba as a teenager.[1]

Even during his years as an active player, Scharf demonstrated an early inclination toward coaching, taking charge of Hapoel Kfar Saba's children's team while still competing as a player.[2] He became coach of the club's senior side at the age of 30, launching a managerial career that would span more than two decades.[2]

Scharf began his senior coaching career at Hapoel Kfar Saba in 1974.[3] He guided the club to State Cup victories in 1975 and 1980, establishing himself as one of the more promising coaches in Israeli football.[2] Between stints at Kfar Saba, he also managed Hapoel Yehud for two seasons before returning to the club.[3]

In 1980 he moved to Bnei Yehuda, where he remained until 1983 and won an additional State Cup in 1981.[2][3] Those cup successes preceded his appointment as Maccabi Haifa's coach in 1983.[3]

Scharf was appointed coach of Maccabi Haifa in 1983, and the impact was immediate.[3] The club won its first-ever league championship in the 1983/84 season and followed it with a second consecutive title the following year.[3] After leaving in 1987, he returned in 1990 and completed a league-and-cup double with a team that featured Reuven Atar, Eyal Berkovic and Tal Banin.[3] In total, he coached Maccabi Haifa to three championships and a cup.[2][3]

Scharf's Haifa sides were built substantially around homegrown talent, including Roni Rosenthal, Avi Ran, Nir Klinger, Ofer Mizrahi, Reuven Atar, Eyal Berkovic and Marco Balbul.[4] He also brought Alon Harazi from Hakoah Ramat Gan and was credited with discovering Ronen Harazi and other players from lower leagues who became significant figures in the top division.[4] At a ceremony before Maccabi Haifa's final match at Kiryat Eliezer Stadium in May 2014, Scharf and the players who had led the club to its first league title some thirty years earlier were honored with standing ovations.[5]

A notable episode from this period involved goalkeeper Viktor Chanov. Club president Ya'akov Shahar recalled Scharf's promise: "If you bring me Chanov, I'll bring you a double" — a pledge that the coach ultimately fulfilled.[6]

Scharf was known as an emotionally intense coach whose relationships with players rested on personal trust.[2] His training methods reflected high standards and an exacting attention to detail. He sometimes kept sessions running until Roni Rosenthal had scored a volley from the air, with some sessions stretching to two and a half hours.[7]

Former player Rafi Cohen recalled that on match days Scharf would greet only those players selected to start, a habit that underlined his single-minded focus on the task at hand.[7] Scharf's best-known expression was "the tip of the shoe" (in Hebrew: השפיץ של הנעל) — his way of saying that if everything is done correctly, luck will follow.[2] The phrase became widely associated with him in Israeli football.

Following his success at Maccabi Haifa, Scharf was appointed head coach of the Israeli national football team in October 1992.[3][7] His tenure lasted until November 1999 and encompassed 82 international matches.[7] During those seven years, his assistant was Itzhak Shum, a close friend who later continued as an assistant under Richard Møller Nielsen.[8]

Israel's standing in European football improved across Scharf's four qualifying campaigns, with the national side finishing sixth, fifth, third and then second in successive groups.[9] The team also rose three European seeding levels and reached 26th in the world rankings.[2] Memorable results included a 3–2 victory over France at the Parc des Princes in October 1993 and a 5–0 win over Austria in Ramat Gan in 1999.[3]

The high point of his tenure was the Euro 2000 qualifying campaign, when Israel reached the playoffs.[2] Denmark eliminated Israel with a 5–0 victory in Ramat Gan and a 3–0 victory in the return match, an 8–0 aggregate defeat after which Scharf's tenure ended.[3][7] His overall record was 31 wins from 82 matches, with 131 goals scored and 118 conceded.[9]

After leaving the national team, Scharf took charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2000.[2] The club assembled a high-profile squad that included Avi Nimni, Tal Banin and former Barcelona striker Meho Kodro.[2] His tenure ended after two matches amid a conflict with Nimni, after which Scharf also briefly coached Hapoel Beersheba before resigning following one match.[3]

Scharf's impact on Israeli club football is anchored by his work at Maccabi Haifa, where he is credited with helping make the club one of Israel's leading football teams.[2] His development of homegrown players and recruitment of talent from lower divisions left a lasting mark on Israeli football.[4]

Assessments of his national-team record are mixed. Former players and an association chairman praised the team's progress, public profile and coaching environment.[7] His tenure produced improvements in Israel's European standing and landmark victories against France and Austria.[2][3] Israel did not qualify for a major tournament during his time in charge, and the Euro 2000 playoff defeat to Denmark brought the chapter to a difficult close.[3][7]

Scharf's blunt manner of speaking repeatedly led to clashes with players, club officials and media commentators.[2] One widely criticized episode came after a 2–1 loss to Spain, when he dismissed national-team goalkeeper Rafi Cohen live on air five minutes after the final whistle.[2]

His short tenure at Maccabi Tel Aviv also ended amid a dispute with leading player Avi Nimni following a match against Hapoel Haifa. Club owner Loni Herzikovich said professional differences had led the parties to conclude that separation was preferable.[10]