Yossi Abukasis

Abukasis was born in 1970 and developed in Hapoel Tel Aviv's youth system. He made 10 appearances for Israel's under-21 team before entering senior football.[1] His senior career with Hapoel began in 1987.[5]

In his first senior spell with Hapoel Tel Aviv, which began in 1987, Abukasis won a league championship in 1988.[5] He moved to Bnei Yehuda in 1993 and later played for Tzafririm Holon before joining Beitar Jerusalem in 1995, where he became a star.[6]

At Beitar, Abukasis emerged as one of the club's defining players of that era, winning two league championships.[6] The 1996–97 season was his finest in a Beitar shirt: he was voted Player of the Year and was called up to the Israeli national team.[1] A 2018 profile separately credited him with Player of the Season honors for 1997–98.[6] In the summer of 1999 he agreed terms with Maccabi Tel Aviv, but pressure from Beitar's supporters and management led him to remain at the club.[6]

Abukasis returned to Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2001, a move that coincided with one of the club's most celebrated European campaigns. In the 2001–02 UEFA Cup, Hapoel eliminated Chelsea, Parma, and Lokomotiv Moscow before losing to A.C. Milan in the quarterfinals.[1] Across the club's European and domestic campaigns that season, Abukasis scored six goals and made seven assists as Hapoel finished second in the league.[1] He played for Hapoel during the 2002–03 campaign, recording a career-high seven assists and three goals as the team finished third.[1] In total he made 262 appearances for Hapoel and scored 29 goals, and the club also won consecutive State Cups in 2006 and 2007 during his time there.[5]

For Israel's national team, Abukasis made either 33 or 35 appearances — sources differ on the precise figure — and scored three goals.[5][7] In 2006 he was described as a veteran midfielder who had postponed retirement and would continue anchoring Hapoel Tel Aviv's midfield.[8] A later Ynet retrospective records that his Hapoel playing career ended in 2008.[5]

Abukasis began his managerial career ahead of the 2011–12 season, when he was appointed head coach of Bnei Yehuda, replacing Dror Kashtan.[9] He had spent three and a half years working under Eli Gutman at Hapoel Tel Aviv before taking that first head-coach role.[9] After one year at Bnei Yehuda, he moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv as head coach but was dismissed following poor results.[10]

In September 2012, Abukasis took over at Hapoel Tel Aviv in place of Nitzan Shirazi; his first match in charge was a 1–0 league win over Bnei Sakhnin.[11] In 2012 he also agreed to serve as assistant coach to Eli Gutman for Israel's 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, saying at the time, "I'm fulfilling a dream today, to be part of the professional staff of the Israel national team."[7]

Abukasis returned to Bnei Yehuda for a second spell, during which the club was relegated in 2013, before he guided it back to the Premier League the following season.[10] He was dismissed in December 2015 following a breakdown in relations with owner Moshe Damayo and joined Bnei Sakhnin two weeks later.[10] He spent two successful years at Sakhnin, including a fifth-place finish, before returning to Bnei Yehuda for a third time.[10]

His third spell at Bnei Yehuda brought his first major trophy as a manager. He led the club to the upper playoff in 2017–18 and, the following season, to the 2019 State Cup final against Maccabi Netanya.[10] After a 1–1 draw after 120 minutes, Bnei Yehuda won 5–4 on penalties, with Yuval Ashkenazi scoring the decisive kick after Netanya's Gaby Kanichowsky missed.[2] The match was played before close to 30,000 fans. Abukasis reflected afterward that winning with young, relatively unknown players made the achievement especially meaningful.[2]

In January 2020, Abukasis joined Hapoel Be'er Sheva after his club and Bnei Yehuda agreed on compensation.[10] He guided Beersheba to the 2019–20 State Cup, a title the club had not won for 23 years, since 1997.[3] In the final against Maccabi Petah Tikva, attacking midfielder Josué assisted Ben Sahar's goal in the 50th minute and scored Beersheba's second in the 60th, with Abukasis's close working relationship with Josué highlighted as an important factor in the player's performance.[3]

Abukasis subsequently joined Beitar Jerusalem, taking over a club in a difficult period. In his first nine matches he earned 12 points, and captain Ofir Kriaf credited the turnaround to the coach's tactical work: "With him we work a lot on tactics and everyone can see the changes he made. We became a football team."[12] He led Beitar to the 2023 State Cup final, where it beat Maccabi Netanya 3–0.[4] A 64th-minute substitution brought on Fred Friday for Ion Nicolaescu, and Friday scored ten minutes later to make it 2–0.[4]

Abukasis joined Hapoel Tel Aviv in February 2024 but was dismissed at the end of the 2023–24 season, which ended in the club's relegation.[13] He then took charge of Maccabi Netanya, which was bottom of the table at the time — his sixth club as head coach.[13] At his presentation he said he had used his months out of football to learn and reflect, had turned down offers from two other clubs, and was arriving "hungry for success."[13]

After being dismissed by Netanya, Abukasis signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Bnei Sakhnin in February 2026, returning for a second spell at the club and replacing Sharon Mimer.[14] An August 2026 report said he had kept Sakhnin in the league during the preceding season and had been given responsibility for another campaign.[15]

Abukasis's record includes league championships with Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem and a prominent role in Hapoel's 2001–02 UEFA Cup quarterfinal campaign.[1][5] As a manager, he won State Cups with Bnei Yehuda and Hapoel Be'er Sheva,[2][3] then won the competition again with Beitar Jerusalem in 2023.[4]

Beitar Jerusalem's 2023 State Cup victory was overshadowed by repeated flare-throwing and a post-match pitch invasion by supporters, which disrupted the trophy presentation.[4] Abukasis condemned the conduct and said it prevented the team from celebrating as it had hoped.[4]