Six weeks ago, Goni Naor was, in all but name, told his Maccabi Haifa career was over. On Saturday night he could be lining up for the club in the season's first competitive fixture — a Haifa derby.
Sport5 reports that the defender has been added to Maccabi Haifa's squad for tonight's Toto Cup meeting with Hapoel Haifa, kicking off at 20:30, after sporting director Lior Rafalov informed him over the summer that he was not part of the club's plans and left him out of the preseason training camp.
Naor, who joined Maccabi Haifa from Hapoel Jerusalem in 2023, spent the second half of last season on loan in Greece, where he saw only sparing action. On his return this summer he was training apart from the main group, in the category the club reserves for players expected to leave.
That plan has been complicated by a defensive injury crunch. Sport1/Maariv reports that Pedrão, pencilled in to start in central defence, has been ruled out with a muscle injury, while Elad Amir is among other defenders unavailable — leaving manager Barak Bakhar short of recognised cover at the back.
With those absences, and with recent signing Nigel Lonwijk having managed only a single training session since arriving, Naor has been drafted back into the matchday squad and could feature in central defence for the derby.
The timing underlines how thin Haifa's options are as they head into a season opener against their local rivals. According to Ynet, the club has undergone a heavy summer squad overhaul, and Bakhar has said he wants to integrate his new arrivals gradually rather than throw them all in at once — a plan the injury list has already unsettled.
For Naor, who was on the fringe of being frozen out entirely, the derby offers an unscheduled chance to be seen in action again, even if his longer-term standing at the club remains unresolved.
Maccabi Haifa host Hapoel Haifa in the Toto Cup derby on Saturday evening, with both Haifa clubs sharing the Sammy Ofer Stadium as their home ground.
