Maccabi Haifa F.C. begins rebuilding effort after disappointing season

Maccabi Haifa is embarking on a rebuilding effort after a disappointing fifth-place finish last season, which saw them miss out on European qualifiers. The team has also had a rough start to the new 2026/27 season, losing their first two Toto Cup games.

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It’s great to begin anew. We had a couple of very tough seasons, and we needed to learn from what went wrong. We also had to make some serious changes, both at our training center in Kfar Galim and with our staff. We know that we will be judged by our results. We wanted to bring in players with a specific profile for the club, and we feel that we found the right players, but of course we will only know for sure once we are on the pitch.

Despite the early setbacks, Head Coach Barak Bachar and Sports Director Lior Refaelov expressed optimism during the club's season-opening press conference. Bachar stated, "It’s great to begin anew. We had a couple of very tough seasons, and we needed to learn from what went wrong. We also had to make some serious changes, both at our training center in Kfar Galim and with our staff."

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There are times when you need to know how to make changes, and that’s what we did. We brought in some new coaches who can raise the standards of our training sessions, and being able to work with Lior Refaelov off the pitch now after he played under me a number of years ago means we can really help build this club back up. Both of us know what it means to be a part of Maccabi Haifa, and we will do our best to create the right system and procedures. We put all of our failures on the table after last season, and we knew what we needed to do together to begin making the necessary changes.

Refaelov, in his second year as sports director, acknowledged the challenges of the previous season, particularly working with many young players. "Personally, I feel more prepared this season as a sports director," he said. "The beginning of my journey in this role was not easy, but I learned a great deal, and we started making the changes that we needed to."

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We’re happy and excited to begin a new season, and we were able to take a lot from last season and learn from it, as it was also my first year in the position. It was not a simple season, and we really tried to get out of what was a crisis while working with a lot of young players. Personally, I feel more prepared this season as a sports director. The beginning of my journey in this role was not easy, but I learned a great deal, and we started making the changes that we needed to.

Both Bachar and Refaelov highlighted the importance of the club's supporters. "The connection with our fans is crucial, and we can’t win any title without them," Refaelov emphasized. "They are an enormous support for the club, and we have to work together as one."

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The connection with our fans is crucial, and we can’t win any title without them. They are an enormous support for the club, and we have to work together as one. I want us to stand side by side with our supporters.