José Rodríguez, King of Israel

The football season in Israel started without an audience in the stadiums and was stopped three times: twice by Covid and once by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the latest eruption of which left 248 dead and more than 2,000 injured. In spite of everything, the First Division of the Middle Eastern country was able to be completed and it did so with the triumph of Maccabi of Haifa of Joseph Rodriguez, which ended 10 years without conquering the regularity tournament with more than 30,000 people in the stands of the Sammy Ofer stadium.

Haifa's Maccabi were able to celebrate their victory last week, but an unexpected draw against Kiryat Shmona left everything for the final matchday. José Rodríguez's team came to the match against Hapoel Beer Sheva with the obligation to win and went into the break with a three-goal lead. Two goals from the rival in the second half gave excitement to the championship, but Kiryat's draw in the fiefdom of Maccabi Tel Aviv definitely dyed the title green.

The most atypical season in memory therefore ended with Haifa's Maccabi lifting their first league title since 2011, when the Greens achieved an undeniable triumph with Elisha Levy on the bench. The third most successful club in Israel celebrated its return to the throne covered by more than 30,000 fans, a luxury consequence of the high rate of vaccination that the country has reached: almost 60% of the population has already been vaccinated against Covid.

“Kings of Israel. We deserve this league”, wrote the Spanish José Rodríguez after winning his fourth title as a professional footballer. The one from Villajoyosa, who signed for Maccabi de Haifa in 2020, after competing in the Second Division with Fuenlabrada, has been a fundamental pillar for his coach, Barak Bakhar, and has ended up becoming one of the best midfielders in the First Division From Israel. In the game that ended up giving his team the title, Rodríguez caused the penalty that meant 1-0 and stole 14 balls.