Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C.

Early years

Hapoel Be'er Sheva were formed in 1949 by Zalman Casspi. Casspi's ambition was to build a successful team full of talented young players.

The club's first game was against a team from Mefalsim, a kibbutz in Southern Israel. The Mefalsim team was mostly made up of immigrants from South America. The game was played in a stadium in Be'er Sheva's "Old City" and ended in a 5–4 victory for Hapoel.

At this time Hapoel played in a league with only four other clubs. Hapoel drew their games against Hapoel Rishon LeZion, Hapoel Kfar Saba and Hakoah Ramat Gan. In their other game against Hapoel Ramat Gan Be'er Sheva lost 4–3.

In 1952, the club disbanded, but were re-established 3 years later and were granted entry into the Liga Gimel.

In the 1956/57 season, the team finished at the top of the league under new manager Yosef Azran. In their final game of the season, they played against Jaffa, winning 5–0, a win which gained them promotion to Liga Bet.

Following the club's promotion to Liga Bet, they appointed Lonia Dvorin as their new manager. In the first season, they finished a respectable second place, however, a 5–0 defeat against Hapoel Afula in the opening game of their second season in Liga Bet, signalled the end of Dvorin's reign as manager. He was replaced by Jack Gibbons, who had previously managed Hapoel Petah Tikva to five national titles as well as being the head coach of the Israel National team.

In the first game under Gibbons, they played against ZVI Single. However, Hapoel felt that ZVI had played illegally and reported them to the league, which resulted in Hapoel winning the points. In the second game against Maccabi Sha'arayim Hapoel won 2–0. The final game against Hapoel Natanya, a 2–1 win for Be'er Sheva, granted them promotion to Liga Alef.

In 1958/59 Jack Gibbons left the club and was replaced by Yehiel Moore, who brought in some experienced players such as Shmuel Admon, Eliyahu Offer and Moris Hanegbi. In 1959/60 the team moved to a new stadium and invited Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta to officially open the stadium; the Cypriot side won the game 2–1.

1960s

At the beginning of the 1960s the team did not try to promote to a higher league and finished in 9th place in 1960–61. But in 1961–62 the club decided to bring in a foreign coach, Rober Eryol.

Eryol was the only Jewish player who played at the same time in the Turkey national team. They began very badly after five games. The management decided to fire Eryol and to bring back Yehiel Moore.

The results got better and Be'er Sheva reached the State Cup semifinals after an unbelievable victory against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the quarter-final, but lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the semi-finals.

In 1963–64 Be'er Sheva battled against Beitar Tel Aviv and tried to be promoted to the first league. Before the end of the season Hapoel Ramla played against Be'er Sheva in their new stadium. Ramla got a 1–0 lead, but a few minutes later Be'er Sheva equalized and before the end of the game the referee gave a penalty to Be'er Sheva. As a result, the players of Ramla began to beat team members of Hapoel Be'er Sheva because they remembered a miserable defeat that took place only a year before. Be'er Sheva won 9–0. The Israeli Football Association decided to punish Ramla and gave Be'er Sheva a technical victory. Because of the decision Ramla deliberately gave a critical game to Beitar Tel Aviv, the main rival of Be'er Sheva, and therefore Beitar was promoted to the Israeli Premier League.

In 1964–65 the Yugoslavian coach Slavko Milošević came to Be'er Sheva. On the first day of the league, Be'er Sheva played an away game against Ramla and beat them 6–0. As the league continued Be'er Sheva battled with Beitar Jerusalem and Beitar Ramla. One game before the end of the season, Be'er Sheva made history and promoted to the first league after an away victory against Hapoel Ashkelon.

The success gave the Yugoslavian coach Slavko Milošević one more year. So that year 1965–66 the games were played in a home-away system. The first game was against Hapoel Petah Tikva who won. In the second game Be'er Sheva won. In that year Be'er Sheva avoided a relegation after a home game against Maccabi Netanya. Be'er Sheva won 4–0.

In the beginning of 1966 the Israeli Football Association decided to extend 1966 to two years, 1966–1968. In the first round Be'er Sheva defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 2–0 with two goals from their young player Meir Barad with more than 8000 fans in their stadium. In the second year Be'er Sheva and Maccabi Tel Aviv met again; it was Rafi Eliyahu's first appearance on the first team. During the game he scored and Be'er Sheva won 3–0. Be'er Sheva finished in 9th place.

In 1968–69 Be'er Sheva avoided relegation because Hapoel Tel Aviv beat Maccabi Sha'arayim.

In 1969–70 Be'er Sheva was relegated to a lower league, despite signing Abraham Menchel, one of the premier coaches and a former Maccabi Haifa player, came.

1970s

In 1970–71 Be'er Sheva returned to the first league after only one year of absence. Be'er Sheva took first place and Meir Barad became the top scorer of the Second League. By the end of the year Be'er Sheva, the best team of the south second division, played against Maccabi Jaffa of the north second division. The game went to overtime and Be'er Sheva won with a penalty shootout.

In 1972–73 and 1973–74 Be'er Sheva played offensive football, but because of a weak defense the team finished 5th and 7th.

First championship

In 1974–75, 37-year-old Amatsya Levkovich became Be'er Sheva's coach. He was one of the youngest coaches in the country and was the first who brought attacking defenders to the pitch. He took it from German football. Before the beginning of the season, Amatsya replaced his defense with two young players, 18-year-old Uri Benjamin as a right defender and Jacob Cohen as a left defender. Be'er Sheva started with three victories against Beitar Tel Aviv, Maccabi Petah Tikva and Maccabi Netanya.

The championship was decided on day 29. Be'er Sheva played against Maccabi Jaffa and won 1–0. Meanwhile, Maccabi Netanya lost to Hapoel Haifa and Be'er Sheva won the national championship for the first time. The main players were: the goalkeeper Ronnie Moscovic; defenders like Uri Benjamin, Jacob Cohen and Alon Ben Dor; midfielders like Meir Barad and Eliyahu Offer; and the striker Abraham Noma. The main thing was that all the squad came from the youth department of Be'er Sheva except the goalkeeper Ronnie Moscovic.

Before 1975–76 Be'er Sheva played against cup winners Hapoel Kfar Saba for the Super Cup. Be'er Sheva won 2–1.

Second championship

In 1975–76 Shalom Avitan returned to Hapoel Be'er Sheva after two years. In the beginning Be'er Sheva dropped points against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem.

In that year Be'er Sheva fought Beitar Jerusalem to win the championship. In the final day of the season Be'er Sheva had a crucial game against Maccabi Jaffa who had to win to avoid relegation. Be'er Sheva needed a draw to win the championship; in the other game Beitar Jerusalem played against Maccabi Tel Aviv to try to avoid relegation. Be'er Sheva hosted Maccabi Jaffa. Maccabi Jaffa got a penalty and led 1–0; Be'er Sheva missed a penalty. The game ended in unbelievable victory for Maccabi Jaffa. All Hapoel Be'er Sheva fans waited for the result from the match between Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv won 3–2 therefore Be'er Sheva won the championship. Before 1976–77 Be'er Sheva participated in the Super Cup against Beitar Jerusalem that won after overtime 3–2.

Before 1976–77 Be'er Sheva and Beitar Jerusalem were the first teams that played in a Europe competition, the UEFA Intertoto Cup. Be'er Sheva played against HB Køge from Denmark, Hertha Berlin from Germany and Standard Liège from Belgium. In order to make the squad stronger, Be'er Sheva borrowed players like: Shraga Topolansky from Maccabi Netanya, Arie Bejerano from Hapoel Tel Aviv, Yochanan Vollach from Hapoel Haifa and Israel Fogel from Hapoel Kfar Saba. Be'er Sheva had six matches that ended with 1 victory, 3 draws and 2 defeats. In that year Be'er Sheva almost became the first reigning champions to be relegated. The coach Eli Fuchs started the year, but the management decided to fire him because of poor results. Haim Sneh replaced him for only two matches, and Eliyahu Offer and Daniel Danieli came and rescued the team after a crucial 1–0 victory against Maccabi Haifa that were relegated to the second division.

Late 1970s

After the two championship titles, Be'er Sheva did not repeat those achievements. In 1977–78 Be'er Sheva got to 5th and even lower in 1978–79.

1980s and early 1990s

In the 1981–82 season, Be'er Sheva finished 4th and played in the Lilian Cup, a tournament that took place in the 1980s before the regular season. In 1982–83 the team reached the final but lost to Maccabi Netanya 1–3. In 1982–83 Be'er Sheva finished in 3rd place and played once again in the Lilian Cup and lost again to Maccabi Netanya in the final 2–3. Be'er Sheva also reached the State Cup final but lost to Hapoel Lod after a penalty shootout; Rafi Eliyahu missed the crucial penalty.

In 1984–85 Be'er Sheva avoided relegation after a crucial victory against Beitar Jerusalem that was a contender for the championship in the last day of the season.

Although Be'er Sheva settled in the center of the standings in the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons, they reached the Toto final and lost to Hapoel Petah Tikva 1–2.

In 1987–88 the team got to 3rd place and won the Lilian Cup after winning 1–0 against Hapoel Tel Aviv, and also won the Toto Cup after winning 2–0 against Maccabi Netanya.

In 1990–91 the team got into the high playoff and finished 6th.

Ran Pesach years (1991–1994)

In 1992–93 the team finished 4th. In 1993–94 Be'er Sheva finished 3rd and started to play in the UEFA Cup, and became the first Israeli team to reach this competition. The team introduced some players from the youth department like: Asi Rahamim, Efraim Davidi, Gadi Hazut, Oren Sagron, Stav Elimelech, Shlomo Iluz and Victor Moroz.

Eli Lahav years (1994–1997)

In 1994–95 the team were beaten by Aris Thessaloniki from Greece and lost at home 1–2 and in the away game 1–3. In the Israeli league Be'er Sheva once again finished in 3rd place and went once again to the UEFA Cup and competed against KF Tirana from Albania. Be'er Sheva won at home 2–0 and in the away game 1–0. Hapoel Be'er Sheva were overwhelmed by Barcelona who had some famous players like: Luis Figo, Iván de la Peña, Oscar Garcia, Jordi Cruyff and Meho Kodro who also played in Maccabi Tel Aviv. The first match that took place in Vasermil Stadium ended in a 0–7 defeat and the second match ended in another defeat 0–5. Later that season Be'er Sheva won the Toto Cup after a 3–0 victory against Hapoel Kfar Saba.

In 1996–97 with Eli Guttman as a coach Be'er Sheva finished in 3rd place, reached the final cup, and beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0. Be'er Sheva played extremely well with Giovanni Russo, Shay Holtzman, Sead Halilović, Alexander Solov, Liron Basis and Gadi Hazut. The chairman Eli Lahav decided to leave and sold the club to Eli Zino.

Eli Zino years (1997–2007)

Be'er Sheva beat Žalgiris Vilnius from Lithuania 2–1 after drawing 0–0 in the first game. In the next round against Roda, Be'er Sheva lost 1–4 in Vasermil Stadium and 0–10 in the Netherlands. The horrible season continued in the Israeli league and ended with relegation to the second division after 27 years.

In 1998–99 the team battled against Maccabi Netanya but failed to return to the first division and finished in 3rd place, and also in 1999–00 the team finished only in 4th place.

In 2000–01 the chairman, Eli Zino, took Eyal Lahman as the team coach. After a bad start Lahman was replaced with Shlomo Scharf. Scharf left after two games and was replaced by Michael Kadosh. Be'er Sheva recuperated with players like Ofir Haim, Rami Abu-Laben and Peter Emola. The team returned to the first division after a 5–0 victory over Hapoel Ramat Gan. It also achieved a respectable 3–2 victory over Beitar Jerusalemin the State Cup.

In 2001–02 and 2002–03 Be'er Sheva played well and finished in 5th place. In 2002–03 Be'er Sheva reached the Cup final after beating Hapoel Tel Aviv 1–0 and in the semifinal 3–0 against Maccabi Haifa. In the final Be'er Sheva lost to Hapoel Ramat Gan in a penalty shootout. Rami Eliyahu missed the crucial penalty just like his father, Rafi Eliyahu, in the early 1980s.

In 2003–04 Eli Guttman replaced Michael Kadosh. Hapoel Be'er Sheva, with players Dedi Ben Dayan, Tomer Haliva, Alon Mizrahi, Ofir Haim and Miroslav Weiss, finished in 4th place.

In 2004–05 Be'er Sheva once again relegated because the chairman had released players as a result of financial difficulties.

In 2005–06 and 2006–07 the financial difficulties continued and the team got stuck in a lower division.

Alona Barkat years (since 2007)

In July 2007 Alona Barkat purchased Hapoel Be'er Sheva. In August 29, 2007 during a practice match against Maccabi Be'er Sheva, Hapoel Be'er Sheva Zambian striker Chaswe Nsofwa collapsed and died from heart failure. Later that year Be'er Sheva finished in 4th place and did not get promoted to the first division.

In 2008–09 Be'er Sheva returned to the first division after four years of absence and also won the Toto Cup, scoring 1–0 against Maccabi Herzliya all thanks to the coach Guy Levi.

In 2009–10 there was a new coach, Guy Azouri, and some new players like: David Revivo, Erez Mesika, Siraj Nassar and Lior Asulin. As a result of poor defense Be'er Sheva bought William Soares in a huge trade that cost 600 euros, and the defender Pavel Prgel. Despite all the changes Be'er Sheva continued to play badly and Hapoel Be'er Sheva fans demanded to lay off the coach Guy Azouri. In March 2010 as a result of the violent incident of a fan towards the coach, Azouri decided to resign. Alona was also upset and decided to leave. The fans began with an exciting campaign to make her stay and after two months, Alona decided to stay. The team finished in 9th place. The professional manager of the Youth Department, Vico Hadad replaced Guy Azouri. In that season Ofir Davidzada from the youth team began to play and replaced Shimon Harush.

In 2010–11 with the coach Nir Klinger, Be'er Sheva signed some new players such as: Avi Yehiel, Lior Jan, Ricardo Fernandes and Oded Gavish. The season started with a dramatic 1–0 victory against Maccabi Petah Tikva. The team played well until Maor Melikson left to Wisła Kraków which paid 700 euros; after that the team went down and finished in 9th place after a 2–0 victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In 2011–12 Alona tried to be based on home players and the combination of experienced players, but the season started really badly with 6 consecutive losses; only at game 7 did Be'er Sheva win for the first time. Nir Klinger decided to resign and Guy Levi replaced him and after a critical victory against Beitar Jerusalem. Be'er Sheva successfully avoided relegation and finished in 13th place.

In 2012–13 Alona brought the former Maccabi Haifa coach Elisha Levi. The team bought some new players like Austin Ejide and Tomer Swisa. The team reached the Toto final but lost to Hapoel Haifa 0–1 after overtime and after their striker Ido Exbard missed a crucial penalty. They avoided relegation once again after an away victory against Maccabi Netanya F.C 3–0. Netanya, however, was relegated to the second division.

Towards the 2013–14 season, Alona Barkat decided to give another chance to Elisha Levi and also brought some good players such as: Elyaniv Barda, Maor Buzaglo, Glynor Plet and Ben Bitton. Those signs gave Hapoel Be'er Sheva the greatest season since their championship back in the 1970s. Be'er Sheva also went on to play in the UEFA Europa League.

In 2014–15 Maor Melikson returned and Be'er Sheva brought some new players like: Shlomi Arbeitman, Roei Gordana, John Ogu, and Ovidiu Hoban. The team faced RNK Split from Croatia in the Europa League. Be'er Sheva lost 1–2 in the first game and could not play in Israel because of the war with Gaza in summer 2014, drawing 0-0 in GSZ Stadium in Larnaca, Cyprus, meaning they were knocked out of the Europa League. The team reached the final of the Israel State Cup but lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Third championship

In 2015–16 Alona brought Barak Bachar as a new coach and also signed some new players like: Anthony Nwakaeme, Shir Tzedek, Ben Sahar and Mahran Radi and also brought some new advanced training equipment to test the ability of the players in training and in games. Be'er Sheva played against Thun from Switzerland. The first game took place in Teddy Stadium and ended 1–1; in the second game they won 2–1.

The championship was decided in the last round, on May 21, 2016. Be'er Sheva played against Bnei Sachnin and won 3–1; meanwhile Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2nd place won against Maccabi Haifa, but Be'er Sheva kept their distance from 2nd place and won the national championship for the third time, the first in 40 years. They played in the UEFA Champions League for the first time. They were in the Second Qualifying Round of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League.

2016-2017 season

Be'er Sheva got into the third qualifying round of the 2016-2017 UEFA Champions League in a 3-2 win on aggregate against FC Sheriff Tiraspol. Then, Be'er Sheva secured a Europa League group stage position by stunning Greek side Olympiacos F.C. 1-0 on aggregate, the furthest they ever reached in their club's history. In the playoff qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, Be'er Sheva lost 5-4 on aggregate to Celtic despite winning 2-0 at Turner Stadium. In the 2016-2017 UEFA Europa League, Be'er Sheva made it in the round of 32 in the Europa League in 2nd place behind Sparta Prague in Group K and ahead of Southampton and Inter Milan. Be'er Sheva got two historic wins against Inter Milan 2-0 by goals from Miguel Vitor and Maor Buzaglo and 3-2 by goals from Maranhao, Anthony Nwakeaeme, and Ben Sahar. They became the first ever team to beat Inter Milan in the same group stage home and away. To get through in the Europa League, Be'er Sheva tied Southampton 1-1 getting in by head to head matches. Be'er Sheva won the Toto Cup for Be'er Sheva on December 28, 2016, beating Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona 4-1 by 2 goals from Ben Sahar and 1 goal for both Maharan Radi and Elyaniv Barda. In the 2016-2017 Israeli Premier League, Be'er Sheva are top of the table 6 points ahead of Maccabi Tel Aviv with 19 games played. In the last 32 of the Europa League, Be'er Sheva will face Turkish side Beşiktaş J.K. Be'er Sheva got knocked out of the Israel State Cup after a 2-1 defeat against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona.

Stadium and facilities

Since its inception in 1949, the club Hapoel Be'er Sheva has played in 3 different plots, starting out playing on the soil surface at the stadium which was located in the old city.

In 1959, the municipal stadium was built and inaugurated in Be'er Sheva on 31 October 1959 in a Hapoel Be'er Sheva game against Hapoel Tel Aviv. December 1988 ended in a major overhaul of the stadium, the contribution of Mrs. Lilly Friedman-Vasermil, and the stadium was named for Arthur Vasermil. Ms. Friedman-Vasermil perpetuated the name of her son, who was murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazis, in 1943, Majdanek extermination camp, at the age of seven.

In 1995, in honor of her portrayal of Hapoel Be'er Sheva in front of a Barcelona UEFA Cup group, the stadium was renovated and plastic seats were installed at the bleachers instead of exposed concrete.

In 2009 the rest of the seats were installed in the galleries, following the return of Hapoel Be'er Sheva Premier League.

On 30 May 2015 the last game was played in Vasermil Stadium, which increased Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0–4 on the team Beitar Jerusalem. The home stadium of Hapoel Be'er Sheva today is Turner Stadium named after Jacob Turner.

Compound Vasermil

Be'er Sheva Municipality decided during 2015 to commemorate the legendary stadium named Arthur Vasermil that carries on a meaningful story.

This compound serves mainly the youth department groups Hapoel Be'er Sheva, but sometimes even the older group.

Compound five training facilities include a field with artificial turf as required by FIFA.

In 2013 the building was inaugurated "at the Association". The project includes 750 square meters of computer rooms, professional spaces, dressing rooms, doctor's room, coaches room, an area for gatherings, logistics and other rooms with modern elements of the most advanced in the country and meets all the standards of the Israel Football Association Premier leagues. There is a possibility of building another floor to the club in the future, to continue activities such as a football academy construction project.

Fans

Hapoel Be'er Sheva fans spread throughout the country and are one of the largest audiences in Israel.

The 2012/2013 season fans won the title of Be'er Sheva year's fair audience. In recent years, Be'er Sheva fans have been highly praised by Israeli sports media encouraging the highest level observed.

Fans Association – Vasermilya

The association was established in early 2013 and approved by the Registrar of associations; the name "Vasermil" was chosen to preserve and remember the name of the late Arthur Vasermil, a Jewish boy who perished in the Holocaust. The stadium named for him accompanied the group throughout the years and was the home of football fans in the city.

The aim of the association is to represent the community of fans of Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and a battle between the fans, the players and the professional staff to strengthen the familiarity between them, and that the association maintains the tradition of the club while preserving the interests of the club. In addition, the association works to eradicate violence and racism and cooperates fully with the fans and the club management.

The association works regularly since its inception in social networks, and can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The association sends information including news, photos, events of the association and a real-time update on the results of games. In addition, the Association of South radio shows fans as the "voice in the stands", and the Android App Store has an app named Vasermil.

Ultras Organization – UltraSouth

Fans Organization was founded in 2014 after reunion by two organizations named TheCamels and The SouthSide.

The main idea was to unite all organizations through the years into one Ultras Organization.

The principal activity was based at gate 5 in Vasermil Stadium; the organization settled in the south gate of the new stadium.

The organization's goal is to care for decor in the stands, to create a pleasant atmosphere with free fruit for all and quality.

The organization takes care to make flags and signs in high-level deployment to increase the standard of decor in the stands. There is a songwriter for the group and for the players. In addition, the organization is in regular contact with the fans through Facebook.

Club crest and colours

With the establishment of the club, it was decided by the management team that a crest, labeled below with Hapoel Be'er Sheva, would be placed on jerseys. This symbol has served the club until 1993.

In 1993 the club management decided to change the group crest, and because over the years the club had earned the nickname "Camel", the club tried to create a symbol for it. Between 1993 and 1995 the crest had a modified camel hump below, a soccer ball in the center circle, and the team name written in Hebrew and English at the edges.

From 1995 to 2016, Hapoel Be'er Sheva flaunted symbol whose lower half was a soccer ball, and the top half contained a chimney that symbolizes the municipal building, a symbol of the original executive, and the slogan "the pride of the Negev" to describe the team from the capital of the Negev.

On 21 June 2016 the club's management presented the official emblem at the 2016/2017 season press conference. The current symbol is based on the symbol that served the club from the 1995/1996 season to the 2015/2016 season: the lower half circle shape is half a soccer ball, the top half contains a chimney symbolizing the municipal building, a symbol of the original executive, and the top edges of the circle display the club's Hebrew and English name. In addition, the crest is displayed above the round star; this star represents that the club has won championships.

Honours

Record in Europe

As of 9 December 2016:

Meetings in Europe

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Retired numbers

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Foreigners 2016–17

Only up to six non-Israeli nationals can be in an Israeli club squad (only five can play at the same time). Those with Jewish ancestry, married to an Israeli, or have played in Israel for an extended period of time, can claim a passport or permanent residency which would allow them to play with Israeli status.

Professional staff

Youth department

Hapoel "three" Be'er Sheva, which represents the country's main southern football, and one of the largest youth departments in Israel.

Youth department groups

Professional director of the Youth Department: Sharon Avitan

Honours

Youth team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.