What is happening at Maccabi Haifa in the 2022/23 season is unusual in the landscape of Israeli football, some would even say unprecedented. After the decision of the Minister of the Interior Ayelet Shaked to grant the team’s midfielder Ali Muhammad the confirmation of his status as a temporary resident so that he would not be considered one of the foreigners in Barak Bakr’s squad, and after the addition of the two new stoppers, the Greens already have no less than ten players in the squad who were not born in Israel and came to it in the Relatively late in life. Against all this, time to get to know everyone’s roots.
Josh Cohen
age: 30, position: goalkeeper, exit: American
The 30-year-old goalkeeper was born in Mountain View, California (United States). He began his professional career with the Burlingham Dragons and later played for the Orange County Blues, Phoenix Rising and Sacramento Republic before moving to the Carmel Greens in 2019. On December 27, 2019, he received the status of a temporary resident, and on February 20, 2021, he officially received his Israeli identity card and passport, with the status of a new immigrant.
Nikita Rukavitsa
age: 35, position: pioneer, exit: Australian, team: Australia
The 35-year-old striker was born in Ukraine, but was previously a member of the Australian national team. This is the foreign player who scored the most goals in the history of the Premier League. He started his career at Perth Glory, later played for teams such as Twente, Hertha Berlin and Western Sydney Wanderers before arriving at Beitar Jerusalem in 2015. A season later he joined Maccabi Haifa and won the championship with the team. Last season he played for Hapoel Beer Sheva and returned last summer. The Australian received temporary resident status in 2016 on the basis of his Israeli partner.
Chiron Cherry
age: 34, position: attacking midfielder, exit: Dutch, team: Suriname
The 34-year-old midfielder was born in Aschada in the Netherlands, but his origin is Surinamese and he has appearances for the Suriname national team. He started his career in Twente, later played in teams like Cambor, Amen, Den Haag and Groningen, when in 2015 he joined KPR. Two years later, Sherry signed with the Chinese Guizhou Zichen, from there he moved to the Turkish Kayserispor and in 2019 he joined the Greens from Carmel, when he quickly became one of the key and significant players in Barak Becher’s team, including a number of especially important goals last season on the way to the championship.
Mavis Chibuta
age: 26, position: pioneer, exit: Congolese, team: Congo
The 26-year-old striker was born in Congo. He came to Maccabi Tel Aviv from Devils Noirs as a youth, and later played for teams such as Hapoel Kfar Saba, Bnei Yehuda and Ludogorets before arriving at Maccabi Haifa. In May 2016, he married an Israeli partner and began the process of obtaining citizenship. In January 2018 he received the status of a temporary resident and later Israeli citizenship. Chibuta has already played for the Congolese senior team, so he is unable to play for the Israeli team.
Daniel Sondgren
age: 31, position: Right shield, exit: Swedish, team: Sweden
The 31-year-old defender was born in Solna, Sweden, and joined the Greens last summer. He grew up in AK Solana, in 2016 he even returned to it and in 2019 he moved to Aris Thessaloniki, from where he joined the champion. Sondgren already played in the past for the Swedish national team and is married to Eileen Söderholm, a Swede of Jewish origin, and the two even have a daughter together. The defender scored the first goal in Maccabi Haifa’s 2:2 against the Red Star, a result that advanced Bacher’s team to the group stage of the Champions League.
Pierre Corneau
age: 25, position: left defender, exit: French
The 25-year-old defender was born in Avignon, France. He started his career in the reserve team of Montpellier and from there he played in the reserves of Dijon and Majorca, in Majorca senior and in teams like Oviedo B, Ibiza, Sabadell and Oviedo, from where he also came to the greens this summer, when he signed on July 1st. He recently made his debut in the Premier League in the Northerners’ 4:1 victory over Maccabi Netanya at Sami Ofer Stadium.
Ali Muhammad
age: 26, position: central contact, exit: nigerian, team: Niger
The midfielder, who will celebrate his 27th birthday next month, spent most of his career in Israel. Mohammed was born in Niamey in Niger to a local Muslim father and a Christian mother from Ghana and began his journey in Pan in his homeland. He made the move to Europe when he joined Bordeaux’s reserve team and landed in Israel in the summer of 2015 when he signed with Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla. Muhammad made his big break at Maccabi Netanya, from where he moved to Beitar Jerusalem and landed in Haifa in the summer of 2021. With the Greens, he was a partner in winning the championship, the Toto Cup and the Champions League and will be an important part of Barak Bacher’s team in the Champions League.
Franzi Piero
age: 27, position: pioneer, exit: Haiti, team: Haiti
The acquisition pioneer from Gangan admittedly received criticism after the champion of champions, but he has already proved why Bacher wanted him so much. Pierrot was born in Cap-Essien, Haiti, but grew up in Massachusetts and began his professional career at American Reading United. From there he moved to Belgium when he joined Mouscron and then continued in 2019 to Gangan, in Media last season he scored 15 goals in 34 games in the sub-league in France. This season Piero has already paid off bills when he scored five goals in the Champions League qualifiers: doubles against Olympiakos and Red Star Belgrade and another goal against Apollon Limassol.
Dylan in Tubinsica
age: 26, position: brake, exit: French, team: France
Haifa’s fresh acquisition grew in the youth department of Paris Saint-Germain. The brakeman of Congolese origin, born in Sergi Pontoise in France, did not reach the senior team of the Parisians and spent most of his career in Antwerp, Belgium. From there he continued in Tubinsica to the Portuguese Pamlicao owned by Idan Ofer and now he joins the Greens for their third appearance in the Champions League.
Abdulai Sk
age: 30, position: brake, exit: Senegalese, team: Senegal
Betwinsika’s friend, with whom he also collaborated in Antwerp, is a real Cinderella story. Sek, who was born in Bora in Senegal, spent the beginning of his career in several teams in his homeland, before making the move to Europe in 2014, when he signed with the Norwegian Honfoss. Sek continued to Sunderfiod, also from Norway, from where he moved to Antwerp in 2018 and he was also part of the Senegalese squad that won the African Championship in 2021.
