Maccabi Haifa Seeks New Coach After Bakhar's Resignation

Translated & summarized from N12 by baba

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Maccabi Haifa is searching for a new coach after Barak Bakhar resigned following a 4-0 defeat. The team will return from the international break with a new manager. Potential candidates include Barak Itzhaki, Sharon Mimer, Guy Luzon, Marko Balbul, Itay Mordechai, David Marten, Adrian Rochet, and Guy Tzarfati, with a foreign coach being a less likely option.

The story in 6 lines · by baba

Maccabi Haifa is seeking a new coach after Barak Bakhar's resignation.
Bakhar resigned live on air following a 4-0 loss to Maccabi Netanya.
Barak Itzhaki has an exit clause from Anorthosis and a guaranteed contract.
Sharon Mimer is a former assistant to Barak Bakhar and coached other Israeli teams.
Guy Luzon and Marko Balbul are former coaches with experience at Maccabi Haifa.
Several other Israeli coaches and a foreign coach are also considered candidates.

Maccabi Haifa Seeks New Coach After Bakhar's Resignation — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Maccabi Haifa is in the market for a new head coach following the resignation of Barak Bakhar, who stepped down live on air after a 4-0 loss to Maccabi Netanya on Saturday. The team will return from the international break to face Bnei Sakhnin with a new manager at the helm.

Several coaches are reportedly available. Barak Itzhaki has an exit clause from Anorthosis, which would require compensation, and is expected to earn 120,000 euros until the end of the current season, with a guaranteed two-year contract. Sharon Mimer, formerly of Bnei Sakhnin and Bnei Reineh, recently managed Ashdod but couldn't prevent their relegation. He is considered an appreciated coach, having previously led Reineh to the upper playoff and served as Bakhar's assistant at Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

Guy Luzon, who coached the youth national team and Maccabi Haifa previously, has expressed his intention to return to club coaching. Marko Balbul, a former Maccabi Haifa coach, has not managed since October 2024 after a brief stint with Northeast United in India. Itay Mordechai, currently the youth department director at Maccabi Haifa and who briefly managed the senior team at the end of the 2024/25 season, has stated he feels ready for the senior coaching role.

Other potential candidates include David Marten, Bakhar's assistant who has experience in the National League, and Adrian Rochet, a former Kiryat Shmona player and current youth coach at Maccabi Haifa, who has also served as an assistant coach for the senior team. Guy Tzarfati, Bakhar's assistant for three stints at Haifa, left the club at the end of the season and has been linked with managing Ashdod. A foreign coach is considered a less likely option after the short tenure of Diego Flores.