Hapoel Holon End Season After Loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Look Ahead to Europe and Next Year

Hapoel Holon were eliminated on Friday night by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the third and final game of the semifinals playoff series, ending their season. The team said it simply did not show up, adding that Maccabi was much better and that Holon failed both professionally and in energy and desire. While the first half still went reasonably well, Holon said it struggled to keep up after halftime.

Holon stressed that reaching this point was not obvious given everything the club went through during the season. After the break, the team stabilized under new coach Predrag Krunic and after replacing all of its foreign players. Club officials said that, despite the difficulties, rebuilding a team, reaching the semifinals and securing a place in European competition was a significant achievement.

The article also noted that Holon had agreed with several players during the season, only for them to back out at the last moment and refuse to come to Israel because of the security situation. Krunic said the team had shown a different mentality recently, with fighting spirit and determination, helped by strong fan support over the past month. He said it had been a difficult season, but the club managed to do solid work in the playoffs and secure a place in Europe for next season.

Krunic added that the team now needs to analyze the season and begin preparing for 2026/27.