History
The club was established in the year 1934 as a Mandatory Palestinian Club and initially played in green and white stripes. They became founder members of the Israeli League in 1949, and in 1954 reached the State Cup final for the first time, losing 4–0 to Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 1961–62 the club finished bottom of Liga Leumit (then the top division) and were relegated to Liga Alef. They returned to the top division in 1964.
After a third-placed finish in 1968–69, the 1970–71 season saw Netanya win their first title by a margin of eleven points, the largest in Israeli football history. They also reached the State Cup final, but lost 2–1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 1972–73 Neyanya finished thirteenth in Liga Leumit, avoiding relegation by only two points. However, the following season they won their second title. In 1975 they changed their kit to play in black and yellow. They won a third title in 1977–78, and completed the double by beating Bnei Yehuda 2–1 in the State Cup final. They also finished as winners of their group in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. A fourth championship was won in 1979–80 by a margin of ten points, whilst their fifth title, in 1982–83 was won by a fourteen point margin. In the same season they won the League Cup, a feat repeated the following year. In 1986–87 and 1988–89 they reached the League Cup final, but lost on both occasions.
In 1994–95 Netanya finished bottom of Liga Leumit and were relegated to Liga Artzit, in the same season the youth team won the youth championship. After winning the league in 1998–99 they returned to the top division. However, they were relegated again in 2003–04 after finishing second from bottom, though they made an immediate return to the top division after finishing as Liga Leumuit runners-up in 2004–05, a season in which they also won the Toto Cup Leumit.
In December 2005 Daniel Jammer, a Jewish German businessman bought the club for a fee of $1,500,000. In 2006–07 the club finished as Premier League runners-up, a feat repeated the following season. In April 2008 Lothar Matthäus was appointed manager. Although the club led the league in the early part of the 2008–09 season, they eventually finished fourth and Matthäus was sacked and replaced by Nati Azaria.
Read more about this topic: Maccabi Netanya F.C.
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