2010–11 Israeli Premier League

Template:Short description The 2010–11 Israeli Premier League was the twelfth season since its introduction in 1999 and the 69th season of top-tier football in Israel. It began on 21 August 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011. Hapoel Tel Aviv were the defending champions.

Maccabi Haifa secured the title with a 2–0 win against Ironi Kiryat Shmona on 16 May 2011. This was their twelfth Israeli league title, This win gave Maccabi Haifa a 6-point advantage over the second-place team Hapoel Tel Aviv with one more round to go.

Teams

A total of sixteen teams compete in the league, including fourteen sides from the 2009–10 season and two promoted teams from the 2009–10 Liga Leumit.

Maccabi Ahi Nazareth and Hapoel Ra'anana were directly relegated to the 2010–11 Liga Leumit after finishing the 2009–10 season in the two bottom places.

Two teams were directly promoted from the 2009–10 Liga Leumit. These were champions Ironi Kiryat Shmona and the runners-up Hapoel Ashkelon.

Club	Stadium	Capacity
Beitar Jerusalem	Teddy Stadium	21,600
Bnei Sakhnin	Doha Stadium	8,500
Bnei Yehuda	Bloomfield Stadium	15,700
F.C. Ashdod	Yud-Alef Stadium	7,800
Hapoel Acre	Green Stadium[A]	4,000
Hapoel Ashkelon	Sala Stadium	5,250
Hapoel Be'er Sheva	Vasermil Stadium	13,000
Hapoel Haifa	Kiryat Eliezer Stadium	14,002
Hapoel Petah Tikva	Ramat Gan Stadium[B]	41,583
Hapoel Ramat Gan	Winter Stadium[A]	8,000
Hapoel Tel Aviv	Bloomfield Stadium	15,700
Ironi Kiryat Shmona	Ironi Stadium	5,300
Maccabi Haifa	Kiryat Eliezer Stadium	14,002
Maccabi Netanya	Sar-Tov Stadium	7,500
Maccabi Petah Tikva	Ramat Gan Stadium[B]	41,583
Maccabi Tel Aviv	Bloomfield Stadium	15,700

^A The club played their home games at a neutral venue because their own ground did not meet Premier League requirements.
^B The Petah Tikva Municipal Stadium was demolished. Hapoel and Maccabi Petah Tikva are hosting their home games in alternative stadia until the new Petah Tikva Stadium will be fully constructed. Both Hapoel and Maccabi chose to host its games in Ramat Gan Stadium.

Beitar Jerusalem	Bnei Yehuda Hapoel Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv	Ironi Kiryat Shmona	Hapoel Acre
Teddy Stadium	Bloomfield Stadium	Kiryat Shmona Stadium	Green Stadium
File:Teddy stadium, Jerusalem.JPG	File:Bloomfield stadium.jpg	File:Kiryat Shmona Municipal Stadium1.jpg	File:Green Stadium01.jpg
Maccabi Netanya	Hapoel Haifa Maccabi Haifa	Hapoel Petah Tikva Maccabi Petah Tikva	Hapoel Ashkelon
Sar-Tov Stadium	Kiryat Eliezer Stadium	Ramat Gan Stadium	Sala Stadium
File:Sar-Tov Stadium (21).jpg	File:Haifa-WM01 - Kiryat Eliezer Stadium during a local derby.jpg	File:Ramat Gan Ramat Gan Stadium 2.jpg	File:Sala Stadium01.jpg
F.C. Ashdod	Bnei Sakhnin	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	Hapoel Ramat Gan
Yud-Alef Stadium	Doha Stadium	Vasermil Stadium	Winter Stadium
File:Yod alef1.JPG	File:Doha Stadium01.jpg	File:Vasermil Stadium24.jpg	File:Winter Stadium, May 2011 04.jpg

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment	Table
F.C. Ashdod	Template:Flagicon Yossi Mizrahi	Resigned	20 May 2010	6th (09–10)	Template:Flagicon John Gregory	20 May 2010	Pre-Season
Hapoel Haifa	Template:Flagicon Shlomi Dora	Resigned	25 May 2010	11th (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Nitzan Shirazi	5 June 2010	Pre-Season
Hapoel Acre	Template:Flagicon Yaron Hochenboim	End of contract	27 May 2010	12th (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Eli Cohen	28 May 2010	Pre-Season
Bnei Yehuda	Template:Flagicon Guy Luzon	End of contract	31 May 2010	4th (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Dror Kashtan	31 May 2010	Pre-Season
Hapoel Be'er Sheva	Template:Flagicon Vico Haddad	End of contract	31 May 2010	9th (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Nir Klinger	31 May 2010	Pre-Season
Hapoel Ashkelon	Template:Flagicon Uri Malmilian	End of contract	31 May 2010	Liga Leumit 2nd (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Guy Azouri	14 June 2010	Pre-Season
Maccabi Tel Aviv	Template:Flagicon Nir Levine	End of contract	31 May 2010	3rd (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Yossi Mizrahi	10 June 2010	Pre-Season
Beitar Jerusalem	Template:Flagicon David Amsalem	Stepped down to assistant manager	11 June 2010	5th (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Uri Malmilian	11 June 2010	Pre-Season
Hapoel Ramat Gan	Template:Flagicon Yuval Naim	Resigned	29 June 2010	14th (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Shlomi Dora	1 July 2010	Pre-Season
Bnei Sakhnin	Template:Flagicon Marco Balbul	Resigned	29 June 2010	7th (09–10)	Template:Flagicon Yuval Naim	1 July 2010	Pre-Season
Bnei Sakhnin	Template:Flagicon Yuval Naim	Sacked	11 August 2010	Pre-Season	Template:Flagicon Haim Levy	14 August 2010	Pre-Season
Bnei Sakhnin	Template:Flagicon Haim Levy	Sacked	27 September 2010	16th	Template:Flagicon Slobodan Drapić	27 September 2010	16th
Hapoel Petah Tikva	Template:Flagicon Eli Mahpud	Sacked	16 October 2010	14th	Template:Flagicon Yuval Naim	16 October 2010	14th
Hapoel Ramat Gan	Template:Flagicon Shlomi Dora	Sacked	15 November 2010	16th	Template:Flagicon Tzvika Tzemah	15 November 2010	16th
Maccabi Tel Aviv	Template:Flagicon Yossi Mizrahi	Resigned	4 January 2011	3rd	Template:Flagicon Itzik Ovadia (caretaker)	4 January 2011	3rd
Maccabi Tel Aviv	Template:Flagicon Itzik Ovadia (caretaker)	Resigned	10 January 2011	3rd	Template:Flagicon Motti Ivanir	10 January 2011	3rd
Hapoel Ramat Gan	Template:Flagicon Tzvika Tzemah	Resigned	15 January 2011	16th	Template:Flagicon Itzik Baruch (caretaker)	15 January 2011	16th
Beitar Jerusalem	Template:Flagicon Uri Malmilian	Resigned	17 January 2011	12th	Template:Flagicon Ronny Levy	17 January 2011	12th
Hapoel Ramat Gan	Template:Flagicon Itzik Baruch (caretaker)	End of tenure as caretaker	3 February 2011	16th	Template:Flagicon Yaron Hochenboim	3 February 2011	16th
Hapoel Ashkelon	Template:Flagicon Guy Azouri	Sacked	15 March 2011	15th	Template:Flagicon Eli Mahpud	15 March 2011	15th
Bnei Sakhnin	Template:Flagicon Slobodan Drapić	Resigned	4 April 2011	15th	Template:Flagicon Shlomi Dora	4 April 2011	15th
Hapoel Petah Tikva	Template:Flagicon Yuval Naim	Sacked	13 April 2011	13th	Template:Flagicon Itzik Shaki (caretaker)	13 April 2011	13th
F.C. Ashdod	Template:Flagicon John Gregory	Resigned	18 April 2011	13th	Template:Flagicon Yossi Mizrahi	18 April 2011	13th
Hapoel Petah Tikva	Template:Flagicon Itzik Shaki (caretaker)	End of tenure as caretaker	1 May 2011	13th	Template:Flagicon Gili Landau	1 May 2011	13th

Foreign players

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Non-visa Foreign	Former Players
Beitar Jerusalem	Template:Flagicon Hervé Kage	Template:Flagicon Samuel Yeboah	Template:Flagicon Cristian González			Template:Flagicon Steven Cohen2	Template:Flagicon Darío Fernández Template:Flagicon Cristián Álvarez Template:Flagicon Serge Ayeli
Bnei Sakhnin	Template:Flagicon Atanas Bornosuzov	Template:Flagicon Danail Mitev	Template:Flagicon Kostadin Hazurov	Template:Flagicon Paty Yeye Lenkebe	Template:Flagicon Nastja Čeh		Template:Flagicon Dario Zahora Template:Flagicon Cristian Dănălache Template:Flagicon Darijan Matić
Bnei Yehuda	Template:Flagicon Pedro Galván	Template:Flagicon Iván Garrido	Template:Flagicon Kęstutis Ivaškevičius	Template:Flagicon Dele Aiyenugba	Template:Flagicon Nenad Marinković		Template:Flagicon Yeghia Yavruyan
F.C. Ashdod	Template:Flagicon Dragan Stojkić	Template:Flagicon Dimitar Makriev	Template:Flagicon Stéphane Mpondo	Template:Flagicon Emmanuel Sarki	Template:Flagicon Efe Ambrose		Template:Flagicon Cristian González
Hapoel Acre	Template:Flagicon Zome Louis	Template:Flagicon Dimaku Fidelis	Template:Flagicon Arafat Djako			Template:Flagicon Nicolás Falczuk2	Template:Flagicon Ibrahim Abdul Razak Template:Flagicon Samed Abdul Awudu
Hapoel Ashkelon	Template:Flagicon Eric Gawu	Template:Flagicon Stephen Ahorlu	Template:Flagicon Serge Ayeli	Template:Flagicon Darko Lovrić	Template:Flagicon Suad Fileković	Template:Flagicon Yeghia Yavruyan1	Template:Flagicon Zurab Menteshashvili Template:Flagicon Eric Nyarko
Hapoel Be'er Sheva	Template:Flagicon William Soares	Template:Flagicon Ibrahim Abdul Razak	Template:Flagicon Ibrahim Basit	Template:Flagicon James Bissue		Template:Flagicon Ryan Adeleye2	Template:Flagicon Bernardo Vasconcelos Template:Flagicon Ricardo Fernandes
Hapoel Haifa	Template:Flagicon Savity Lipenia	Template:Flagicon Nikola Grubješić	Template:Flagicon Saša Stojanović			Template:Flagicon Tvrtko Kale2
Hapoel Petah Tikva	Template:Flagicon Daniel Addo	Template:Flagicon Mirlan Murzayev	Template:Flagicon Austin Ejide	Template:Flagicon Fabian Stoller	Template:Flagicon Emmanuel Mathias		Template:Flagicon Jonathan Assous2 Template:Flagicon William Amamoo Template:Flagicon Junior Viza
Hapoel Ramat Gan	Template:Flagicon Carlos Chacana	Template:Flagicon Dimitar Telkiyski	Template:Flagicon Elin Topuzakov	Template:Flagicon Awudu Okocha	Template:Flagicon Aurelijus Staponka	Template:Flagicon Jonathan Assous2	Template:Flagicon Krum Bibishkov Template:Flagicon Vitaliy Sidorov Template:Flagicon Pablo Buendía Template:Flagicon Claudio Rivero
Hapoel Tel Aviv	Template:Flagicon Vincent Enyeama	Template:Flagicon Mário Pečalka	Template:Flagicon Bevan Fransman				Template:Flagicon Douglas Silva Template:Flagicon Romain Rocchi Template:Flagicon William Owusu
Ironi Kiryat Shmona	Template:Flagicon Bryan Gerzicich	Template:Flagicon William Njobvu					Template:Flagicon Caleb Ekwegwo Template:Flagicon Zoran Baldovaliev
Maccabi Haifa	Template:Flagicon Jhon Culma	Template:Flagicon Vladimir Dvalishvili	Template:Flagicon Seidu Yahaya	Template:Flagicon Tsepo Masilela	Template:Flagicon Andriy Pylyavskyi	Template:Flagicon Gustavo Boccoli1	Template:Flagicon Ignacio Canuto Template:Flagicon Adrien Silva
Maccabi Netanya	Template:Flagicon Carlos Arias	Template:Flagicon Leonid Krupnik	Template:Flagicon Serhiy Tretyak				Template:Flagicon Gaga Chkhetiani
Maccabi Petah Tikva	Template:Flagicon Ivan Mance	Template:Flagicon Sébastien Sansoni	Template:Flagicon Manuel Bölstler	Template:Flagicon Nebojša Marinković	Template:Flagicon Joe Bizera	Template:Flagicon Murad Magomedov3	Template:Flagicon Steven Pelé
Maccabi Tel Aviv	Template:Flagicon Haris Medunjanin	Template:Flagicon Nivaldo	Template:Flagicon Dimitar Rangelov	Template:Flagicon Djibril Sidibé	Template:Flagicon Savo Pavićević		Template:Flagicon Albert Baning

Playoffs

Key numbers for pairing determination (number marks position after 30 games):

Rounds
31st	32nd	33rd	34th	35th
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
07 – 10 8 – 9	7 – 8 10 – 90	08 – 10 9 – 7	0 0	0 0
11 – 16 12 – 15 13 – 14	11 – 12 15 – 13 16 – 14	12 – 16 13 – 11 14 – 15	11 – 14 12 – 13 16 – 15	13 – 16 14 – 12 15 – 11

Top playoff

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Thus, Maccabi Haifa started with 35 points, Hapoel Tel Aviv with 33, Maccabi Tel Aviv with 25, Ironi Kiryat Shmona with 24, Bnei Yehuda with 24 and Maccabi Netanya started with 22.

Middle playoff

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Thus, Hapoel Haifa started with 22 points, Maccabi Petah Tikva with 21, Hapoel Acre with 21 and Hapoel Be'er Sheva started with 19.

Bottom playoff

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Thus, Beitar Jerusalem started with 19 points, Hapoel Petah Tikva with 17, F.C. Ashdod with 17, Hapoel Ashkelon with 13, Bnei Sakhnin with 13 and Hapoel Ramat Gan started with 4.

Relegation playoff

The 14th-placed team, Hapoel Petah Tikva faced the 3rd-placed Liga Leumit team Hapoel Kfar Saba. Hapoel Petah Tikva, the winner on aggregate earned a spot in the 2011–12 Israeli Premier League. The matches took place on 24 and 27 May 2011.

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Hapoel Petah Tikva won 5–1 on aggregate.

Top goalscorers

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals
1	Template:Flagicon Toto Tamuz	Hapoel Tel Aviv	21
2	Template:Flagicon Eden Ben Basat	Hapoel Haifa	18
	Template:Flagicon Eliran Atar	Maccabi Tel Aviv	18
4	Template:Flagicon Moshe Ohayon	F.C. Ashdod	17
5	Template:Flagicon Pedro Galván	Bnei Yehuda	16
	Template:Flagicon Ben Sahar	Hapoel Tel Aviv	16
7	Template:Flagicon Omer Damari	Maccabi Petah Tikva	15
8	Template:Flagicon Roei Dayan	Hapoel Acre	14
	Template:Flagicon Wiyam Amashe	Ironi Kiryat Shmona	14
10	Template:Flagicon Tomer Hemed	Maccabi Haifa	13
Total			737
Average per game			2.67

Source: Israel Football Association

Season statistics

Scoring

• First goal of the season: Template:Flagicon Mahmoud Abbas for Hapoel Ashkelon against Hapoel Petah Tikva, 37th minute (21 August 2010)
• Widest winning margin: 5 goals –
  • Hapoel Tel Aviv 5–0 Hapoel Haifa (1 January 2011)
  • Hapoel Be'er Sheva 5–0 F.C. Ashdod (5 February 2011)
• Most goals in a match: 7 goals – Hapoel Ashkelon 3–4 Hapoel Be'er Sheva (12 March 2011)
• Most goals in a half: 5 goals – Hapoel Ramat Gan 3–2 Hapoel Acre, 0–0 at half-time (26 September 2010)
• Most goals in a match by one player: 3 goals –
  • Template:Flagicon Wiyam Amashe for Ironi Kiryat Shmona against Hapoel Tel Aviv (25 September 2010)
  • Template:Flagicon Ohad Kadousi for Hapoel Petah Tikva against Maccabi Netanya (22 January 2011)
  • Template:Flagicon Dovev Gabay for Hapoel Be'er Sheva against F.C. Ashdod (5 February 2011)

Discipline

• First yellow card of the season: Template:Flagicon Adir Tubul for Hapoel Ashkelon against Hapoel Petah Tikva, 31st minute (21 August 2010)
• First red card of the season: Template:Flagicon Rubil Sarsour for Maccabi Petah Tikva against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, 74th minute (23 August 2010)

See also

• 2010–11 Israel State Cup
• 2010–11 Toto Cup Al
• List of 2010–11 Israeli football transfers