Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem

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Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem
Club crest
Basic data
Surname Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem
Seat Jerusalem
founding 1926
August 2007
Colours Red Black
Website katamon.co.il
First soccer team
Head coach Lior Zada
Venue Teddy stadium
Places 31,733
league League of credit
2018/19 4th Place
home
Away

The FC Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem ( Hebrew הפועל קטמון ירושלים), often just called Katamon , is an Israeli football club in Jerusalem that plays in the Liga Leumit , the second Israeli division. Hapoel Katamon was founded in 2007 by supporters of the Hapoel Jerusalem association who were dissatisfied with the club's board of directors. The club is thus the first in the country to be founded and run by fans. Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem is named after the Katamon neighborhood in Jerusalem, where the original Hapoel Jerusalem stadium was located.

history

The first team: 2007/08

The football club Hapoel Jerusalem was founded in 1926. The club belonged to the Histadrut , Israel's trade union umbrella organization, and represented socialist values. In 1957 the club rose to the first Israeli league for the first time. In the 1960s and 1970s, "the golden phase" of the association, Hapoel outstripped urban rival Beitar Jerusalem - an association of the right-wing "revisionist" movement - both on the field and in the stands. In 1973, the team achieved their greatest success in club history - winning the Israeli Cup.

Since the early 1980s, Hapoel Jerusalem had lost its pioneering position in the city compared to Beitar Jerusalem. After Hapoel fans had tried unsuccessfully for years to find an entrepreneur with whose support the sporting and economic decline could be stopped, in 2007 some fans, under the direction of journalist Uri Sheratzky and with the support of politician and businessman Nir Barkat , initiated the purchase of the club . After this attempt had also failed, it was decided to found a new company under a different name. Many fans switched to Hapoel Mevaseret Zion , a club that played in the fourth division. There they built "Hapoel Katamon".

Those responsible and fans of the original Hapoel Jerusalem club criticized this approach; the fans who stayed behind argued that "real fans" never left their team, regardless of how bad things were for the club. Nevertheless, the majority of the fans switched to "Katamon".

At the beginning of their first season (2007/08) around 1,000 season tickets were purchased. Around 3,000 fans came to the opening game in Givat Ram Stadium , an impressive number in Israel, where even in the first division few clubs have such support.

The team reached the seventh round of the Israeli Cup . At the end of the first season after the re-establishment, the team was in second place. The first place and thus promotion to the third division was only missed by one point.

Even in the 2008/09 season, "Katamon" failed to rise despite the reinforcement of the squad. At the end of the season, the club was in seventh place and was only eliminated in the seventh round of the cup. After the season, another negotiation took place between the fan team and Hapoel Jerusalem from Josi Sasi in order to achieve a union of the two teams. This failed because of the requested amount of money, which Sasi rejected as excessive. He also refused to disclose documents about allegedly high levels of debt. For many fans, this failed attempt served as proof that no amicable solution could be found. As a consequence, the fan team decided to become the "true" successor to Hapoel Jerusalem alone. The fans voted for a spin-off from Hapoel Mevaseret and for the formation of a new team in Liga Gimel, the 5th and final Israeli league. From now on, this team should be called "Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem".

In the run-up to the 2009/10 season, the Jerusalem city administration gave the newly founded team their consent to play the home games in the Givat Ram Stadium. Lior Zada ​​was hired as a coach. The former Hapoel Jerusalem legend Amir Gola was convinced of his resignation and took over the leadership of the team as captain of Katamon. When the team rose to the fourth division at the end of this season, it became clear how important this decision had been. In the decisive game, Katamon defeated Beitar Ashkelon 2-1 in front of 4,000 fans in the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.

Before the 2010/11 season, the crowd favorite Shai Aharon also switched to Hapoel Katamon. Aharon had played as the captain of Hapoel Jerusalem the previous season. This change was heavily criticized by those in charge of the original club. Hapoel Jerusalem was relegated to the third Israeli league and was only able to mobilize a small number of around 100-150 fans per game.

As in the previous season, Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem managed to land in first place in 2010/11 and to move up to the Liga Alef Darom, the third League South. In the decisive game Katamor Makkabi Shaaraym defeated 3: 1 in front of 4,000 fans in Teddy Stadium .

In the 2012/13 season, Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem was promoted to the Liga Leumit .

In September 2018, the Hapoel Katamon won the Liga Leumit cup competition: the Toto Cup is the first trophy in the club's history after eleven years.

social commitment

The association has around 800 members (as of 2018) who elect the club leadership for the following twelve months in March.

In contrast to Beitar Jerusalem, which has not signed an Arab player in its entire club history, Hapoel Jerusalem has a long tradition of Arab players, such as Ali Othman and Amar Salman , who mainly come from the residential district of Beit Safafa in South Jerusalem .

The Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem fan scene is mainly composed of young, politically more left-wing liberal Jerusalemites, for whom the club is one of the last options. Katamon fans not only value athletic performance, but also fairness, coexistence and the rejection of violence.

The players signed by the club are obliged to participate in the club's social projects.

Projects

Fans organized Hebrew courses for Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia or looked after children from the binational Yad be Yad school . For several years this social initiative has focused on the “Neighborhood League”, in which children from six schools from all over Jerusalem (including East Jerusalem) play. In addition, the participating children receive school support from Hapoel fans.

The fans also take part in exchange projects with other clubs. Since 2008, there have been partnerships between Hapoel Katamon and Werder Bremen , including mutual visits.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ More than 110 loudspeakers in Jerusalem Stadium. In: www.stadionwelt-business.de . Thomas Krämer, accessed on February 15, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Nitzan Horesh: Soccer / Small-time losers are back in town . Haaretz , May 20, 2002.
  3. ↑ Jeremy Last: Hapoel Jerusalem fans plan alternative team . The Jerusalem Post , July 12, 2007.
  4. ↑ Jeremy Last: The Last Word: The fall and rise of Hapoel Jerusalem . The Jerusalem Post , February 15, 2008.
  5. ↑ Jeremy Last: The Last Word: Hapoel Katamon brings fan power back to the beautiful game . The Jerusalem Post , October 24, 2007.
  6. ↑ גביע המדינה. Israel Football Association, 2007/2008 (Hebrew)
  7. ↑ ליגה א 'דרום. Israel Football Association, 2007/2008 (Hebrew)
  8. ↑ Jeremy Last: Katamon negotiations break down . The Jerusalem Post, June 11, 2009.
  9. ↑ הפועל קטמון / ירושלים עלתה לליגה ב '. Maariw , September 4, 2010 (Hebrew).
  10. ↑ מוטי פרנג'י (Moti Frangi): חצה את הכביש: שי אהרון חתם בקטמון. Maariw , June 21, 2010 (Hebrew).
  11. ↑ הפועל קטמון ירושלים עולה לליגה א '. Youtube, April 14, 2011 (Hebrew).
  12. ^ Mark Weiss: Anti-racist Jerusalem soccer team wins place in pro leagues . In: The Times of Israel , May 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ a b Silverware for Katamon as progress continues on and off the field. In: SD Europe of September 27, 2018, accessed on October 20, 2018 (English)
  14. ↑ Asher Goldberg, Doron Bergerfreund: An Arab player at Betar Jerusalem? Forget it! Haaretz , January 13, 2003.
  15. ↑ Christoph Gunkel: The other curve , taz. September 26, 2008.  Retrieved September 11, 2010
  16. ^ Tim Franks: The Land Where Two Nations Live Together . BBC News, May 19, 2008
  17. ↑ Jannie Schipper: Hapoel Katamon: de enige real fan club in Israel. In: NRC of March 31, 2018, accessed October 19, 2018 (Dutch)
  18. ^ Hapoel Katamon: The Red Side of Soccer. Photo exhibition by Yali Amit, and a short video by Cheb Kammerer . ( Memento from April 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Willy Brandt Center , May 5, 2010; Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  19. ↑ A bridge of collaboration. SV Werder Bremen website from May 27, 2015, accessed on October 19, 2018