2012–13 Israeli Premier League
# 2012–13 Israeli Premier League

The 2012–13 Israeli Premier League was the fourteenth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 71st season of top-tier football in Israel. It began on 25 August 2012 and ended on 20 May 2013. Ironi Kiryat Shmona were the defending champions, having won their first Premier League title last season.

Maccabi Tel Aviv secured the title with a 2–0 win against Ironi Ramat HaSharon on 22 April 2012. This was their 19th Israeli league title, this win gave Maccabi Tel Aviv a 13-point advantage over the second-place team Maccabi Haifa with four more rounds to go.

## Structural changes

There were three structural changes:

* Only fourteen teams competed in this season, reducing from sixteen teams.
* The top playoff were contested by six teams which were played against each other twice, and the bottom playoff was contested by eight teams which were played against each other once.
* There were two relegated teams, and two promoted team from Liga Leumit.

## Teams

A total of fourteen teams competed in the league, including thirteen sides from the 2011–12 season and one promoted team from the 2011–12 Liga Leumit.

Hapoel Petah Tikva, Hapoel Rishon LeZion, and Maccabi Petah Tikva were relegated to the 2012–13 Liga Leumit after finishing the 2011–12 season in the bottom three places. Maccabi Petah Tikva were relegated after 21 straight seasons, Hapoel Petah Tikva after four years consecutively and Hapoel Rishon LeZion after just one year on the top division.

Hapoel Ramat Gan were promoted to the 2012–13 Israeli Premier League after beating Hapoel Bnei Lod in the 2011–12 Liga Leumit promotion playoff. They last played in the top division in the 2010–11 Season.

### Stadia and locations

| Club | Home City | Stadium | Capacity |
| - | - | - | - |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Jerusalem | Teddy Stadium | 21,600 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Sakhnin | Doha Stadium | 8,500 |
| Bnei Yehuda | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 14,413 |
| F.C. Ashdod | Ashdod | Yud-Alef Stadium | 7,800 |
| Hapoel Acre | Acre | Acre Municipal Stadium | 5,000 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Be'er Sheva | Vasermil Stadium | 13,000 |
| Hapoel Haifa | Haifa | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | 14,002 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | Ramat Gan | Ramat Gan Stadium | 41,583 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 14,413 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Kiryat Shmona | Kiryat Shmona Stadium | 5,300 |
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | Ramat HaSharon | Grundman Stadium | 4,300 |
| Maccabi Haifa | Haifa | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | 14,002 |
| Maccabi Netanya | Netanya | Netanya Stadium | 13,610 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv | Bloomfield Stadium | 14,413 |

^ A: The club plays its home games at a neutral venue because their own ground does not meet Premier League requirements. ^ B: While Netanya Stadium was under construction. Maccabi Netanya hosted their home games in Ramat Gan Stadium until 6 October 2012.

| Beitar Jerusalem | Bnei Yehuda Hapoel Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Hapoel Acre |
| - | - | - | - |
| Teddy Stadium | Bloomfield Stadium | Kiryat Shmona Stadium | Acre Stadium |
| Maccabi Netanya | Hapoel Haifa Maccabi Haifa | Hapoel Petah Tikva Maccabi Petah Tikva | Hapoel Ramat HaSharon |
| Netanya Stadium | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | HaMoshava Stadium | Grundman Stadium |
| F.C. Ashdod | Bnei Sakhnin | Hapoel Be'er Sheva |
| Yud-Alef Stadium | Doha Stadium | Vasermil Stadium |

### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | President | Manager | Captain | Kitmaker | Shirt sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Beitar Jerusalem | Arcadi Gaydamak | Eli Cohen (b. 1951) | Amit Ben Shushan | Diadora | Eldan |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Shaher Khalaila | Marco Balbul | Khaled Khalaila | Lotto | Bank Leumi |
| Bnei Yehuda | Moshe Damaio | Dror Kashtan | Kfir Edri | Puma | Strauss |
| F.C. Ashdod | Jacky Ben-Zaken | Yossi Mizrahi | David Revivo | Nike | Sektor Town |
| Hapoel Acre | Tzion Weitzman | Yuval Naim | David Goresh | Nike | Shahaf Security |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Alona Barkat | Elisha Levy | Aviatar Iluz | Kappa | Mobli, Dell |
| Hapoel Haifa | Yoav Katz | Nir Klinger | Eyal Tartazky | Diadora | Hatama Security |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | Nir Arkin | Eli Cohen (b. 1961) | Tamir Ben Ami | Puma | Avi Sofer |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Haim Ramon | Freddy David | Walid Badir | Kappa | Bonnie Hatichon, Shlomo Sixt |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Izzy Sheratzky | Barak Bakhar | Adrian Rochet | Lotto | Ituran |
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | Boaz Moldavsky | Benny Tabak | Gal Nir | Lotto | — |
| Maccabi Haifa | Ya'akov Shahar | Arik Benado | Yaniv Katan | Nike | Honda, Herbalife |
| Maccabi Netanya | Kobi Baladev | Reuven Atar | Achmad Saba'a | Diadora | Burgus Burger Bar |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Mitchell Goldhar | Óscar García | Sheran Yeini | Under Armour | Nivea |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment | Final position |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Hapoel Acre | Eli Cohen (b. 1961) | End of contract | 13 May 2012 | 10th (11–12) | Shimon Edri | 28 May 2012 | 14th |
| Hapoel Haifa | Tal Banin | End of contract | 13 May 2012 | 12th (11–12) | Nir Klinger | 23 May 2012 | 9th |
| Maccabi Netanya | Reuven Atar | End of contract | 13 May 2012 | 4th (11–12) | Tal Banin | 13 May 2012 | 12th |
| Bnei Yehuda | Yossi Abukasis | End of contract | 13 May 2012 | 3rd (11–12) | Dror Kashtan | 13 May 2012 | 5th |
| Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Ran Ben Shimon | End of contract | 13 May 2012 | 1st (11–12) | Gili Landau | 13 May 2012 | 7th |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | Nir Levine | End of contract | 13 May 2012 | 6th (11–12) | Óscar García | 22 May 2012 | 1st |
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | Yehoshua Feigenbaum | End of contract | 13 May 2012 | 11th (11–12) | Nissan Yehezkel | 14 May 2012 | 6th |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | Guy Levy | End of contract | 13 May 2012 | 13th (11–12) | Elisha Levy | 16 May 2012 | 10th |
| Maccabi Haifa | Elisha Levy | End of contract | 16 May 2012 | 5th (11–12) | Reuven Atar | 16 May 2012 | 13th |
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | Nissan Yehezkel | Sacked | 2 September 2012 | 6th | Beni Tabak (joint manager) Meni Koretski (joint manager) | 4 September 2012 | 5th |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Nitzan Shirazi | Stepped down for health reasons | 27 September 2012 | 3rd | Yossi Abukasis | 27 September 2012 | 3rd |
| Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Gili Landau | Sacked | 3 October 2012 | 7th | Barak Bakhar (caretaker) | 3 October 2012 | 4th |
| Maccabi Haifa | Reuven Atar | Sacked | 13 November 2012 | 13th | Arik Benado | 17 November 2012 | 2nd |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | Freddy David | Sacked | 28 November 2012 | 13th | Eli Cohen (b. 1961) | 28 November 2012 | 12th |
| Ironi Ramat HaSharon | Meni Koretski (joint manager) | Resigned | 12 January 2013 | 5th | Benny Tabak (sole manager) | 12 January 2013 | 6th |
| Hapoel Acre | Shimon Edri | Sacked | 31 January 2013 | 14th | Yuval Naim | 31 January 2013 | 11th |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | Yossi Abukasis | Sacked | 16 February 2013 | 3rd | Freddy David | 18 February 2013 | 3rd |
| Bnei Sakhnin | Shlomi Dora | Sacked | 10 March 2013 | 12th | Marco Balbul | 11 March 2013 | 13th |
| Maccabi Netanya | Tal Banin | Sacked | 18 March 2013 | 12th | Reuven Atar | 19 March 2013 | 14th |

^C Arik Benado was acted as caretaker manager for eight days until his appointment as manager on 25 November 2012.

## Regular season

### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 26 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 61 | 20 | +41 | 59 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 2 | Maccabi Haifa | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 41 | 20 | +21 | 49 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 3 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 43 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 4 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 33 | 29 | +4 | 42 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 5 | Bnei Yehuda | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 38 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 6 | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 28 | 30 | −2 | 37 | Qualification for the championship round |
| 7 | F.C. Ashdod | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 35 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 8 | Beitar Jerusalem | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 33 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 9 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 30 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 10 | Hapoel Haifa | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 28 | 40 | −12 | 28 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 11 | Maccabi Netanya | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 27 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 12 | Bnei Sakhnin | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 25 | 45 | −20 | 26 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 13 | Hapoel Ramat Gan | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 25 | Qualification for the relegation round |
| 14 | Hapoel Acre | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 29 | 42 | −13 | 24 | Qualification for the relegation round |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BEI | BnY | BnS | ASH | HAC | HBS | HHA | HRG | HTA | IKS | IRH | MHA | MNE | MTA |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Bnei Yehuda | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–3 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Hapoel Acre | 2–3 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 4–4 | 0–2 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| Hapoel Haifa | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–4 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Maccabi Netanya | 2–3 | 3–5 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–1 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 5–0 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — |

## Playoffs

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 26 games):

Rounds :

| 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | 36th |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1–6 2–5 3–4 | 1–2 5–3 6–4 | 2–6 3–1 4–5 | 1–4 2–3 6–5 | 3–6 4–2 5–1 | 6–1 5–2 4–3 | 2–1 3–5 4–6 | 6–2 1–3 5–4 | 3–2 4–1 5–6 | 6–3 2–4 1–5 |
| 7–14 8–13 9–12 10–11 | 7–8 13–9 12–10 14–11 | 8–14 9–7 10–13 11–12 | 8–9 7–10 13–11 14–12 | 9–14 10–8 11–7 12–13 | 9–10 8–11 7–12 14–13 | 10–14 11–9 12–8 13–7 | | | |

### Top Playoff

**Table**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Maccabi Tel Aviv (C) | 36 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 78 | 30 | +48 | 80 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Maccabi Haifa | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 33 | +29 | 67 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 58 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Bnei Yehuda | 36 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 55 | |
| 5 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 36 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 53 | |
| 6 | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 36 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 40 | |

**Results**

| Home \ Away | BnY | HTA | IKS | IRH | MHA | MTA |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Bnei Yehuda | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 2–1 | — | 1–4 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Maccabi Haifa | 1–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 6–0 | — | 2–2 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — |

### Bottom Playoff

**Table**

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | F.C. Ashdod | 33 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 38 | 40 | −2 | 43 | |
| 8 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 33 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 41 | |
| 9 | Hapoel Haifa | 33 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 36 | 45 | −9 | 39 | |
| 10 | Beitar Jerusalem | 33 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 39 | |
| 11 | Hapoel Acre | 33 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 37 | |
| 12 | Bnei Sakhnin | 33 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 31 | 49 | −18 | 37 | |
| 13 | Maccabi Netanya (R) | 33 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 38 | 50 | −12 | 35 | Relegation to Liga Leumit |
| 14 | Hapoel Ramat Gan (R) | 33 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 30 | Europa League qualifying and relegation to Liga Leumit |

* ↑ Hapoel Ramat Gan qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League after winning the 2012–13 Israel State Cup.

**Results**

| Home \ Away | BEI | BnS | ASH | HAC | HBS | HHA | HRG | MNE |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Beitar Jerusalem | — | — | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| Bnei Sakhnin | 0–0 | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | — |
| F.C. Ironi Ashdod | 2–2 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | — | — |
| Hapoel Acre | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | — | — |
| Hapoel Haifa | 3–1 | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan | — | — | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | — | — | 0–0 |
| Maccabi Netanya | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–3 | — | — | — |

## Season statistics

### Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Eliran Atar | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 22 |
| 2 | Shimon Abuhatzira | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 15 |
| 3 | Ohad Kadousi | Hapoel Acre | 14 |
| 4 | Omer Damari | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 13 |
| 5 | Weaam Amasha | Maccabi Haifa | 11 |
| 5 | Avi Reikan | Beitar Jerusalem | 11 |
| 5 | Pedro Galván | Bnei Yehuda | 11 |
| 8 | David Manga | Hapoel Ramat Gan | 10 |
| 8 | Toto Tamuz | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 10 |
| 8 | Dovev Gabay | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 10 |
| 8 | Mu'nas Dabbur | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 10 |
| 8 | Achmad Saba'a | Maccabi Netanya | 10 |
| Total | Total | Total | 680 |
| Average per game | Average per game | Average per game | 2.53 |

Source: Israel Football Association

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Eliran Atar | Maccabi Tel Aviv | Hapoel Haifa | 3–1 | 15 September 2012 |
| Ohad Kadousi | Hapoel Acre | Bnei Sakhnin | 5–1 | 15 September 2012 |
| Toto Tamuz | Hapoel Tel Aviv | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 4–1 | 26 November 2012 |
| David Manga | Hapoel Ramat Gan | Hapoel Acre | 3–0 | 1 December 2012 |
| Pedro Galván | Bnei Yehuda | Maccabi Netanya | 5–3 | 9 February 2013 |
| Dino $Ndlovu^4$ | Maccabi Haifa | Ironi Ramat HaSharon | 6–0 | 2 April 2013 |
| Shimon $Abuhatzira^4$ | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 4–1 | 20 April 2013 |

* $^4$ Player scored 4 goals

### Scoring

* First goal of the season: Murad Abu Anza for F.C. Ashdod against Ironi Ramat HaSharon, 8th minute (25 August 2012)
* Widest winning margin: 6 goals – Maccabi Haifa 6–0 Ironi Ramat HaSharon (2 April 2013)
* Most goals scored by a losing team: 3 goals
   * Ironi Ramat HaSharon 3–4 Maccabi Tel Aviv (24 November 2012)
   * Maccabi Netanya 3–4 Ironi Kiryat Shmona (29 December 2012)
   * Maccabi Netanya 3–5 Bnei Yehuda (9 February 2013)
* Most goals in a match by one player: 4 goals
   * Dino Ndlovu for Maccabi Haifa against Ironi Ramat HaSharon (2 April 2013)
   * Shimon Abuhatzira for Ironi Kiryat Shmona against Hapoel Tel Aviv (20 April 2013)

### Discipline

* First yellow card of the season: Bojan Marković for Hapoel Be'er Sheva against Bnei Sakhnin, 9th minute (25 August 2012)
* Most yellow cards by a player: 13 – Kobi Moyal (Beitar Jerusalem)
* First red card of the season: Dia Saba for Hapoel Be'er Sheva against Bnei Sakhnin, 89th minute (25 August 2012)
* Most red cards by a player: 2 –
   * Mohammed Zbidat (Bnei Sakhnin)
   * Elad Gabai (Ironi Kiryat Shmona)

### Clean sheets

* Most clean sheets: 17
   * Maccabi Tel Aviv
* Fewest clean sheets: 4
   * Hapoel Ramat Gan
