Lior Refaelov spent a decade and a half as one of Maccabi Haifa's most cherished attacking players. Now working from the other side of the desk as the club's sporting director, he opened the Greens' 2026/27 pre-season campaign on Thursday with an unusually candid press conference — including the admission that he was quietly lobbying to keep coach Barak Bachar long before it became official business.
"I was one of those who pushed for Barak to sign already in March for another season," Refaelov told reporters, according to ONE. He said the club had grown weary of constant upheaval on the bench and in the dugout. "There was almost a professional revolution every summer, and it's very hard to operate that way."
The comments add texture to a decision Maccabi Haifa had already made public in May, when the club confirmed Bachar would continue as head coach for the new campaign, with Refaelov stepping into the sporting director's chair after hanging up his boots. Refaelov's version, delivered two months later, frames that outcome as something he pushed for internally rather than simply administered.
Much of the session, however, centred on the summer's most emotional departure. Refaelov confirmed that winger Dolev Haziza has left the club, calling it "one of the hardest decisions I made personally." He said the timing was deliberate — the club waited until deals for Bruninho and Yair Mordechai were finalised before sitting Haziza down.
"I'm sure he was angry, and I'm sure he received it in a way that wasn't even respectful," Refaelov said, acknowledging how the process looked from Haziza's side. He added that his affection for the player remains undimmed: "I have much love for him, and when I saw his farewell video today I was very moved."
On leadership, Refaelov confirmed winger Kenji Gorré will wear the captain's armband next season alongside goalkeeper Omri Glazer and Ali Mohammad. "Today we informed him that he will be captain next season, together with Glazer and Ali Mohammad," he said, praising Gorré's character.
The choice carries extra weight given Gorré's summer. The Dutch-born winger represented Curaçao at the 2026 World Cup, where the Caribbean island — the smallest nation ever to reach the tournament — was drawn into Group E alongside Germany, Ecuador and Ivory Coast. Refaelov said Gorré arrives back in Haifa "from the World Cup charged with purpose to mobilize all the energies he experienced there."
Elsewhere in the squad rebuild, Refaelov said Yarin Levi's return to the fold is being treated as effectively a new addition. "I'm treating him as a new signing, along with players who joined and loaned players who returned," he said, pointing to a squad being reshaped around a mix of youth, fresh faces and reintegrated loanees. Brazilian midfielder Bruninho arrived from Karpaty Lviv, while Yair Mordechai joined on a four-year deal from Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona. Winger Manuel Benson's recovery from injury was also discussed as part of the squad picture.
Refaelov did not shy away from the club's recruitment difficulties either, acknowledging that security concerns have complicated conversations with prospective signings and their families — a recurring theme for Israeli clubs courting foreign players in the current climate. He also took personal responsibility for past transfers that failed to work out, saying the issue was often adaptation rather than a lack of quality.
He laid out three guiding principles for the season ahead: rebuilding the connection with supporters, raising internal standards, and re-establishing a clear professional identity after a turbulent campaign. He also flagged Maccabi Haifa's recurring injury problems as an area the club intends to address through changes to its medical and fitness procedures.
The tone throughout was less a victory lap than a reckoning with a difficult season past — but Refaelov's willingness to detail the reasoning behind both the Bachar reappointment and the Haziza exit suggests a club trying to project more stability, and more transparency, heading into 2026/27.
