Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. (Hebrew: מכבי פתח תקווה; "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., מועדון ספורט מכבי אבשלום עירוני פתח תקווה) is an Israeli professional football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish sports clubs.
The club was founded in 1912 by a group of Jewish students from Petah Tikva, who were studying in the Ottoman city of Constantinople (many of them would later serve in the Ottoman army during World War I), making it the second oldest Jewish football club in Israel after Maccabi Tel Aviv, which was formed in 1906.[1]
1920s: Pre-independence
In 1921, after the death of founder member Avshalom Gissin during the 1921 Palestine riots, the club added his name to the club's name, and the club was named "Maccabi Avshalom Petah Tikva".[1][2]
In 1927, the club moved to the Maccabi Petah Tikva Ground, where they would play until the 1970s.[1]
1930s: First major title
In 1935 they won their first piece of silverware, beating Hakoah Tel Aviv 1–0 in the cup final.[3] In 1939 they reached the final again, but lost 2–1 to Hapoel Tel Aviv. The following year they won the Haaretz tournament.
1950s: Second major title and goals galore
The club was included in the new Israeli League in 1949, and finished fifth in the inaugural post-independence league table.[4] In the next season (1951–52, there was no 1950–51 edition) they finished as runners-up to champions Maccabi Tel Aviv and also won the State Cup, beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 1–0. In 1953–54 (1952–53 was also not played) they also finished second with Eliezer Spiegel finishing as the league's top goalscorer on 16 goals from 22 matches.
1960s: The dark times
After several seasons of mid-table finishes, Maccabi finished bottom of the table in 1962–63 (a season in which the club were deducted 3 points due to suspicions of bribery during a game with Maccabi Jaffa)[4] and were due to be relegated to Liga Alef. However, the Israel Football Association decided to expand the league from 12 to 15 clubs and they were spared demotion. However, the club was relegated for the first time at the end of the 1965–66 season after finishing second from bottom.
After two seasons in Liga Alef (one of which – 1966–68 Liga Leumit – lasted for two years) the club won won the Liga Alef Super Cup and returned to the top division in 1968–69 as Liga Alef champions for the first time.
1970s: We will be back!
At the end of the 1970–71 season the club was relegated again after finishing second from bottom, but made an immediate return as Liga Alef champions (1971–72) for the second time.
In 1974–75 season, although Maccabi finished bottom, they were again reprieved from relegation due to league expansion.[4] However, after a repeated performance in 1976–77 they did relegated for the third time. Following another immediate return to the top flight through a second place promotion (1977-78), the club maintained several mid-table finishes and have remained in top division for 10 seasons.
The club finished 1987–88 season at the bottom of the table and relegated for the fourth time. In 1989–90 and 1990–91 the club won the Toto Cup. After 3 seasons the club won the second-tier league championship for the third time (1990–91) and returned to the top division, remaining there for 21 seasons.
Maccabi entered as an unseeded team due to low coefficient rating (7.218), and drawn a seeded team such as Partizan Belgrade with much higher coefficient rating (30.012). The Serbian side won the first-leg 2–0 in Ramat Gan. Two weeks later, at the second-leg in Partizan Stadium, Maccabi made the impossible. In contrary to all assessments and expectations, with a lot off faith and ability above all, they won 5–2 and 5–4 on aggregate. In a sensational comeback with strikerOmer Golan scoring a hat-trick (21', 44', 48').
The victory sent Maccabi to be a member of Group B, along with Palermo, Brøndby, Lokomotiv Moscow and Espanyol. However, these elite clubs proved to be too much for Maccabi to handle, and they lost all four of group stage matches, scoring just 1 goal while conceding 9.
2020s: It's been 72 years...
After a defeat to Hapoel Beer Sheva in the 2020 cup final, the club reached the final again during the Israel State Cup campaign. Once more facing Hapoel Beer Sheva, the club managed to lift the trophy, securing their third cup win after 72-years drought.
The club played at the Maccabi Petah Tikva ground between 1926 and the 1970s. Since they left the old Maccabi Petah Tikva ground they shared the 6,768-capacity Petah Tikva Municipal Stadium with city rivals Hapoel. At the end of 2011, the club moved to HaMoshava Stadium.
