The Hapoel Haifa Chronicle
Squad30 Aug 2027
7 saves: Yoav Gerafi was the team
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market30 Aug 2027
Matan Ambar hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hapoel Haifa can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Tomer Zarfati says Hapoel Haifa went back on their word
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Lautaro Torres in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hapoel Haifa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Hapoel Haifa
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Hapoel Haifa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rubén Lezcano is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Maccabi Tel Aviv tell Hapoel Haifa: Kristijan Belić is not for sale
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market30 Aug 2027
Itay Dabbur steps up from the Hapoel Haifa academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Itay Dabbur has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market30 Aug 2027
Adi Abada steps up from the Hapoel Haifa academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Adi Abada has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Market Hapoel Haifa promote Ofir David from within
- Boardroom A promise the Hapoel Haifa board did not keep
- Player ratings Mohamad Abu Rumi beats them one at a time