Haim Megrelashvili (Hebrew: חיים מגרלשוילי; born July 4, 1982, in Tirat Carmel) is a retired Israeli football defender. For the bulk of his career he played for Hapoel Haifa. He joined Maccabi Haifa in 2003 from cross-town rival Hapoel Haifa, and within a short time became Israel's rookie of the year.
 Megrelashvili with Beitar Jerusalem in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | July 4, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Tirat Carmel, Israel | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Hapoel Haifa | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2004 | Hapoel Haifa | 87 | (3) |
| 2004–2007 | Maccabi Haifa | 66 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Vitesse Arnhem | 24 | (1) |
| 2009 | → Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan) | 16 | (2) |
| 2010 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 12 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Alki Larnaca | 25 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Maccabi Haifa | 2 | (0) |
| 2012 | → Beitar Jerusalem (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Beitar Jerusalem | 30 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | AEK Larnaca | 29 | (1) |
| 2014–2018 | Hapoel Haifa | 85 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 June 2016 | |||
Biography
editHaim Megrelashvili is of Georgian Jewish ancestry and his surname literally means "son of Megrelia" in Georgian.
Career
editHe started his football career at Maccabi Haifa as a schoolboy before concentrating on athletics and gymnastics. His brother, Akiva, continued playing football and joined Hapoel Kiryat Shmona. During his first season at Maccabi Haifa, he started a total of twenty-six matches. His second season at Haifa was far from a success: He started just seven games. Ronny Levy gave Megrelashvili more opportunities in the 2006/07 season and he played an integral part of the squad's progression to the round of sixteen in the UEFA Cup.
His European performance as well as domestic performance created interest from Dutch club Vitesse.[1] He joined the Eredivisie side for the 2007–08 season, signing a deal until 2010. His contract was terminated by the club in August 2009.[2]
Megrelashvili was without a club until January 2010 when he signed for Maccabi Petah Tikva.[3]
On March 15, 2008, in the match against Twente, Megrelishvili was substituted after only six minutes into the game, after a number of defensive errors.[4] Two weeks later, in the match against AZ, Megrelishvili was replaced after 16 minutes. On June 6, 2011, Megrelishvili signed for Maccabi Haifa on a two-year contract.
Honours
edit- Maccabi Haifa
- Israeli Premier League (2): 2004–05, 2005–06
- Toto Cup Al (1):2005–06
- Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Toto Cup Al (1): 2008–09
- Israel State Cup (1): 2017–18
References
edit- ^ Doron Ben Dor. ארבייטמן: הגיע הזמן שאתפוצץ על המגרש (in Hebrew). One.co.il. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
- ^ Haim Megrelishvili en Vitesse ontbinden contract Archived 2009-08-28 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)
- ^ חיים מגרלשווילי חתם במכבי פתח תקווה Archived 2010-01-10 at the Wayback Machine (in Hebrew)
- ^ The earliest ever tactical substitutions Guardian.co.uk
External links
edit- Official
- (in Hebrew) Profile and biography of Haim Megrelashvili on Maccabi Haifa's official website Archived 2007-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
- Unofficial
- (in Hebrew) IFA Profile Archived 2011-08-18 at the Wayback Machine
- (in Hebrew) Profile and statistics of Haim Megrelashvili on One.co.il
- (in Hebrew) Profile and statistics of Haim Megrelashvili on Maccabi Haifa Online