The morning after Maccabi Haifa's alarming collapse in the Haifa derby, one of the club's most persistent radio critics wasted no time pointing the finger — squarely at head coach Barak Bakhar.
"Everything begins and ends with Bakhar," Itzik Aharonovich, the Haifa radio commentator and a regular guest on ONE's 'Sichat HaYom' podcast, said in an appearance discussing the greens' preseason troubles.
The trigger was Saturday's Toto Cup derby, in which Hapoel Haifa beat Maccabi Haifa 3-2. Bakhar's side fell three goals behind before a late two-goal rally fell just short of a full comeback, a result that has reopened old questions about the coach's methods less than two months after he was confirmed to stay in the job.
Aharonovich's central complaint was tactical: he said Bakhar too often deploys players out of their natural positions, singling out the decision to push defender Shon Goldberg into an unfamiliar deeper role as part of a back three. "Sometimes he has a problem — he puts players in positions that aren't theirs," he said, describing the team's on-field structure as "a circus."
He was sharpest on the club's handling of Goni Naor, the midfielder who returned to Maccabi Haifa on July 1 after his loan spell ended. Naor was reportedly told he was not part of the coach's plans for the new season before being restored to the derby squad anyway — a reversal Aharonovich suggested has done lasting damage. Bakhar, he said, may have effectively "finished" Naor's career at the club.
Aharonovich was equally unconvinced by the club's other returning loanee, Yarin Levi, who came back to Maccabi Haifa after a spell at Beitar Jerusalem and is expected to start alongside Yair Mordechai in midfield. He dismissed the idea that Levi solves the team's problems, calling him "not an aggressive player" and someone who is "difficult to work with."
Not every verdict was negative. Aharonovich praised Bruninho, the Brazilian attacking midfielder Maccabi Haifa signed from Ukraine's Karpaty Lviv for roughly €1.75 million on a three-year deal, saying he had impressed even in limited minutes since his move — though he questioned whether the club is getting the best out of him.
For Aharonovich, the debate isn't really about formations or philosophy. "The problem isn't tactics or style — it's effectiveness," he said, arguing Maccabi Haifa's issues run deeper than any single system.
The criticism lands at a sensitive moment for the club. Maccabi Haifa confirmed on May 27 that Bakhar would continue as head coach for 2026/27, with former captain Lior Refaelov stepping into a newly created sporting director role alongside him. The derby defeat, and the reaction it has produced from one of Haifa's loudest football voices, suggests that arrangement is already under scrutiny before a ball has been kicked in the league proper.
