Ironi Kiryat Shmona
Full nameIroni Kiryat Shmona Football Club
Founded2000 (2000)
GroundMunicipal Stadium, Kiryat Shmona[1]
Capacity5,300
ChairmanIzzy Sheratzky
ManagerShay Barda
LeagueIsraeli Premier League
2022–23Israeli Premier League, 13th of 14 (relegated)
WebsiteClub website

Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona Football Club (Hebrew: מועדון כדורגל הפועל עירוני קרית שמונה) known as Ironi Kiryat Shmona is an Israeli football club based in Kiryat Shmona[2], in the northern district of Israel. The club is a current member of the Israeli Premier League, and plays at the Ironi Stadium.[1] They won their first league title in 2011–12.

The Roaring Lion statue on the team's logo is a well-known monument. It commemorates the casualties of the Tel Hai battle that happened north of Kiryat Shmona on March 1st, 1920.

History

The club was founded in 2000 by a merger of Hapoel Kiryat Shmona of Liga Alef and Maccabi Kiryat Shmona of Liga Bet, and took Hapoel Kiryat Shmona's place in Liga Alef, as well as playing at Hapoel's stadium. The merger was initiated by businessman Izzy Sheratzky owner of Ituran Location and Control, who are the official sponsors of the team.[3]

In the new club's first season they won the North Division of Liga Alef and were promoted to Liga Artzit. In 2002–03 they finished as runners-up to Hakoah Ramat Gan and were promoted to Liga Leumit. In their first season at the second level they narrowly missed out on promotion, only finishing below runners-up Hapoel Nazareth Illit on goal difference. They finished third again in 2005–06, but won the league in 2006–07 to earn a promotion to the Israeli Premier League, the first time a club from the town had played in the top division. In the same season they also won the Liga Leumit Toto Cup.

The club's first season in the Premier League saw them finish third and qualify for the UEFA Cup. In their first season in Europe, home matches had to be played at the Kiryat Eliezer Stadium in Haifa. After knocking out FK Mogren, they lost to Litex Lovech in the second qualifying round.

In 2008–09, the club finished bottom of the Premier League and were relegated to Liga Leumit. However, the following season they won the division and were promoted back to the Premier League.

On 15 December 2009, Ironi Kiryat Shmona won the 2009–10 Toto Cup Leumit.

On 19 January 2011, Ironi Kiryat Shmona won the 2010–11 Toto Cup Al, a year after winning the Leumit version of the cup, it was their first major title. In addition, Ironi Kiryat Shmona became the first team to win both first and second Toto Cup trophy in a back-to-back year.

On 24 January 2012, Ironi Kiryat Shmona defended their Toto Cup Al by beating Hapoel Tel Aviv in the 2011–12 Toto Cup Al finals.

On 2 April 2012, Ironi Kiryat Shmona won the Israeli Premier League and became the 14th Israeli champions. They won the league after finishing their match against the runner-up Hapoel Tel Aviv. in a goalless draw, having five more rounds left for that season. Their championship was the first to be won by a team outside the three major cities (Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa) for almost 30 years.

On 20 May 2012, The club changed its badge due to UEFA sponsorship rules which forbids the use of a sponsor name in both the kit and team badge. The new badge includes a number of footballs including a big one which used in the former badge, the Lion of Judah statue from the Battle of Tel Hai and a gold star to mark the only team championship.[4]

In 2020, the club were on the verge of relegation to the Liga Leumit, trailing three points behind the 12th placed team (safe from relegation) with one match to go, but managed to stay in the Israeli Premier league and finished 12th thanks to goal difference.

In the start of the 2022-23 season, Menahem Koretzky was assigned as the team's manager. On 21 December 2022, Koretzky left the club and instead of him Nir Berkovic was appointed as manager. On the 11th of February, 2023, Berković was sacked and a few days later Slobodan Drapić was assigned as manager. After a long struggle in the Israeli Premier league, On 6 May 2023, the club eventually relegated from the Israeli Premier league to the Liga Leumit after 13 years in the Israeli Premier league. On the 16th of May Shay Barda was appointed as manager.

European record

Season Competition Round Opponent 1st leg 2nd leg Aggregate
2008–09 UEFA Cup Q1 Montenegro Mogren 1–1 3–0 4–1
Q2 Bulgaria Litex Lovech 0–0 1–2 1–2
2012–13 Champions League Q2 Slovakia MŠK Žilina 0–1 2–0 2–1
Q3 Azerbaijan Neftchi Baku 4–0 2–2 6–2
PO Belarus BATE Borisov 0–2 1–1 1–3
Europa League Group stage France Lyon 3–4 0–2 4th
Spain Athletic Bilbao 1–1 0–2
Czech Republic Sparta Prague 1–3 1–1
2014–15 Europa League Q3 Russia Dynamo Moscow 1–1 1–2 2–3
2015–16 Europa League Q3 Czech Republic Slovan Liberec 1–2 0–3 1–5

Current squad

As of 3 August 2023
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Israel ISR Matan Zalmanović
2 DF Israel ISR Noam Cohen
5 DF Israel ISR Ayid Habshi
6 DF Israel ISR Ofir Benbenisti
7 MF Israel ISR Yair Mordechai
8 FW Nigeria NGA Evo Ememe
10 FW Israel ISR Guy Ben Lulu
11 FW Israel ISR Mohamed Khatib
12 DF Israel ISR Alaa Jafar
14 DF Israel ISR Dudu Twito
15 MF Israel ISR Ariel Sheratzky
16 FW Panama PAN Alfredo Stephens
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF Israel ISR Or Hasin
19 MF Israel ISR Avihay Wodaje
21 FW Israel ISR Roei Zikri
22 GK Israel ISR Assaf Tzur
25 DF Israel ISR Ziv Leigh
29 MF Israel ISR Roy Harel
32 DF Israel ISR Shay Ben David
44 MF Cameroon CMR Georges Mandjeck
87 FW Israel ISR Mohamad Abu Rumi
91 FW Israel ISR Bilal Shahin
99 FW Israel ISR David Dego

Out on loan

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Israel ISR Nir David Drori (at Hapoel Acre until 30 June 2024)
— DF Israel ISR Ziv Morgan (at CFR Cluj until 30 June 2024)
— MF Israel ISR Mustaffa Abu El Hija (at Tzeirei Tamra until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Israel ISR Shalev Desta (at Hapoel Afula until 30 June 2024)
— FW Israel ISR Mohamad Shaker (at Bnei Sakhnin until 30 June 2024)

Foreigners for 2023–24 season

Only up to six non-Israeli nationals can be in an Israeli club squad. 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.

  • Brazil Gian
  • Nigeria Evo Ememe
  • Panama Alfredo Stephenes

Former players

Club staff

Position Staff
ManagerIsrael Meni Koretski
Assistant ManagerIsrael Ravid Gazal
First-Team CoachIsrael Adrian Rochet
Goalkeeper CoachesIsrael Samion Rahman
Fitness CoachesIsrael David Bublil
AnalystIsrael Alon Cohen
MasseurIsrael Hod Hanuna
PhysiotherapistIsrael Itzhak Gueta
StewardEngland Danny Peretz

Managers

Titles

References

  1. 1 2 "The Israel Football Association". Eng.football.org.il. Archived from the original on 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  2. ↑ Mittelstaedt, Juliane von (2012-09-19). "The Secret Behind Israel's Star Soccer Team Kiryat Shmona – SPIEGEL ONLINE". Spiegel Online. Spiegel.de. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
  3. ↑ "Izzy Sheratzky's Thwarted Attempt to Invigorate Kiryat Shmona". Haaretz. September 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Ironi Kiryat Shmona new badge: The lion from the battle of Tel Hai and the championship star" (in Hebrew). ONE. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
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