History and balance against Israeli clubs: Meet the Europa League rivals of Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Juventus is one of the biggest teams in world football, but the rest of the Israeli champion's rivals are also a difficult hurdle, and some of them have glorious traditions. These are the teams that will face the last remaining representative of Israeli football in Europe this coming autumn and winter.
The Europa League draw has set up a very difficult series of matches for Hapoel Be'er Sheva. The Israeli champion will face a number of very strong and difficult teams, including one of the most glorious clubs in world football - Juventus. The other rivals are AZ (Netherlands), Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Bournemouth (England), Celta Vigo (Spain), Besiktas (Turkey), and OFI Crete (Greece). The first round matches will take place on September 16-17. To ensure you are as prepared as possible, here is an introduction to Hapoel Be'er Sheva's rivals.
Juventus
Titles: 36 league titles, 15 cups, 9 Super Cup wins, two Champions League wins, three UEFA Cup wins, two European Super Cup wins. There is no doubt that Juventus is the biggest name drawn against Hapoel Be'er Sheva. The Old Lady, the record holder for Italian league titles, comes to the Europa League after a disappointing season. The Bianconeri squad is full of quality, and the encounter against them is expected to be the highlight of the Israeli champion's European campaign. Juventus already has a history against Israeli football, in particular against Maccabi Haifa. Now it will be Be'er Sheva that gets the chance to measure itself against the powerhouse from Turin, managed by Luciano Spalletti, with stars like Kenan Yildiz, Randal Kolo Muani, and Gleison Bremer.
Bournemouth
Titles: None. Bournemouth is one of the biggest surprises of the Premier League last season, finishing in sixth place. Marco Rose replaced Andoni Iraola on the sidelines. Bournemouth relies in the front part on the Brazilian striker Evanilson, and this summer they made an impressive acquisition by signing defender Antonio Silva from Benfica for 25 million euros. Founded in 1899, the club reached its peak in the 2014/15 season, when they were promoted to the Premier League for the first time.
Union Saint-Gilloise
Titles: 12 league titles, 4 cup wins, two Belgian Super Cup wins. Union Saint-Gilloise has turned in recent years into a permanent member of European competitions. Anan Khalaili played for them for two years, winning the championship (2025) and the cup (2026). Founded in 1897, the team was one of the greatest in Belgian football at the beginning of the 20th century. After a long period of decline, they returned to the top league in 2021 and became a permanent member of the top of the Belgian league.
AZ (Alkmaar)
Titles: two league titles, five Dutch Cup wins. AZ is well known to the Israeli public and arrives after winning the Dutch Cup and reaching the quarter-finals of the Conference League. They have previously met Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Founded in 1967, AZ became a top team after returning to the first league in the late 90s, and in 2009, under Louis van Gaal, won their second championship.
Dinamo Zagreb
Titles: 26 Croatian league titles, 4 Yugoslavian league titles, 17 Croatian Cup wins, 7 Yugoslavian Cup wins, one win in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Dinamo Zagreb is an empire in Croatian terms, which returned to the throne last season. Be'er Sheva has very bad memories of the Croatian team after a 5-0 defeat in the 2018/19 Champions League qualifiers.
Celta Vigo
Titles: None. Celta Vigo is an intriguing rival from the Spanish league, returning for another European season. This summer, they added Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir on loan. The team's great days were at the end of the 90s, when Haim Revivo starred for them, playing an integral part in their successes and big wins in Europe.
OFI Crete
Titles: two cup wins, one Greek Super Cup win. OFI Crete is on paper the most comfortable rival for Be'er Sheva. The team won the Greek Cup last season and recently won the Greek Super Cup for the first time in their history by beating AEK Athens on penalties.
