Haim Megrelashvili

Haim Megrelashvili
חיים מֶגְרֵלָשוִילִי

Personal information
Date of birth	July 4, 1982 (1982-07-04) (age 29)
Place of birth	Tirat Carmel, Israel
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Left Defender
Club information
Current club	Maccabi Haifa
Number	8
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	24	(1)
2009	→Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan)	16	(2)
2010	Maccabi Petah Tikva	12	(0)
2010–2011	Alki Larnaca	25	(1)
2011–	Maccabi Haifa	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 August 2010. † Appearances (Goals).

Haim Megrelashvili (Hebrew: חיים מֶגְרֵלָשוִילִי‎; born July 4, 1982 in Tirat Carmel) is an Israeli football defender plays for Maccabi 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. Haim is also known for his attacking skills, often joining Maccabi attacks from the wings.

He is of Georgian Jewish ancestry and his surname literally means "son of Megrelia" in Georgian. Due to its complexity, his surname is almost always misspelled as "Magrashvili" instead.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Haim started his footballing career at Maccabi Haifa, as a schoolboy before giving up football altogether and concentrating on athletics and gymnastics. His brother, Akiva, continued playing football and joined Hapoel Kiryat Shmona. During Haim's first season at Maccabi Haifa he managed to start a total of twenty-six matches. His second season at Haifa was far from a progression as he managed to start a mere seven games. Ronny Levy would give Megrelashvili more opportunities in the 2006/07 season and Haim played an integral part of the squads progression to the round of sixteen in the UEFA Cup. His European performance as well as domestic performance caused him to garner 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 FC Twente, Megrelishvili was substituted after only 6 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.In June 6 2011, Megrelishvili signed In Maccabi Haifa For Two Years.

Honours

Maccabi Haifa

• Israeli Premier League (2):
  • 2004–05, 2005–06
• Toto Cup Al (2):
  • 2005-06, 2008–09

References

1. ^ Doron Ben Dor. "ארבייטמן: הגיע הזמן שאתפוצץ על המגרש" (in Hebrew). One.co.il. http://www.one.co.il/Cat/Leagues/MatchArena.aspx?type=7&matchId=197836&articleId=91261&bz=0. Retrieved 2007-04-29. 
2. ^ Haim Megrelishvili en Vitesse ontbinden contract (Dutch)
3. ^ חיים מגרלשווילי חתם במכבי פתח תקווה (Hebrew)
4. ^ The earliest ever tactical substitutions Guardian.co.uk

External links

Official

• (Hebrew) Profile and biography of Haim Megrelashvili on Maccabi Haifa's official website

Unofficial

• (Hebrew) IFA Profile
• (Hebrew) Profile and statistics of Haim Megrelashvili on One.co.il
• (Hebrew) Profile and statistics of Haim Megrelashvili on Maccabi Haifa Online

Persondata
Name	Megrelashvili, Haim
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1982-07-04
Place of birth	Tirat Carmel, Israel
Date of death
Place of death