Stadium: Moshava (11,500)
Coach: Kobi Refuah
The coach who grew up in the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department won a Toto Cup with the club before retiring as a professional footballer in 2005. He immediately joined Maccabi Petach Tikva as a coach in the Youth Department leading the Under-19 team. In 2013/14 Refuah was an assistant coach under Itav Luzon with the First Team and following that season he returned to coach the Youth Club.
Last season, Refuah moved to coach Maccabi Shearaim and in the middle of the season departed to coach Kiryat Shemona who were in danger of being relegated, however he successfully passed the test and kept the northern side afloat in the Ligat Ha’Al. Refuah came back to Petach Tikva this past summer and was named Head Coach.
Comings & Goings
Maccabi Petach Tikva had plenty of changes over the offseason starting with the acquisition of keeper Dani Amos who had been with Hapoel Akko last season before being relegated to the Leumit League at the end of the campaign. Petach Tikva strengthened its midfield as Romario Pires came over from Maccabi Haifa and Leroy Tzeiri from Beitar Jerusalem. Romanian Mihai Roman and Spaniards Aitor Monroy and Carlos Cuellar also joined the ranks of the Luzon family outfit plus striker Oz Oeretz also returned to the club.
On the flip side, Dor Hugi, Roie Gordana, Joe Mununga, Vazquez Hatozim and Rada Prica who returned to Sweden all left the team.
What have we had so far this season
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s first Israeli opponent this season was Maccabi Petach Tikva in the Toto Cup group stages as Eden Ben Basat scored to give the Yellow & Blue a 1:0 victory. The Toto Cup holders were subsequently eliminated from the competition after finishing in second to last place in Group B.
Refuah’s team began the Ligat Ha’Al campaign with a point after a dramatic draw with Beitar Jerusalem while on Matchday Three Petach Tikva moved to the top of the table with a 2:0 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv. Following a 5:0 blowout loss to Hapoel Beer Sheva, the club got right back onto the winning track with a 4:1 win over Bnei Yehuda. After eight Machdays, Petach Tikva sits in second place with 17 out of 24 points for a 75% success rate – a number that the team hasn’t seen in years.
Under the magnifying glass: Gidi Kanuk
The Petach Tikva midfielder began his career in the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department and moved to Petach Tikva at the age of 14. Kabul has opened the season extremely well and has turned into one of the most dangerous players on Refuah’s squad scoring 4 goals. The 23 year old is very quick on the ball and knows how to finish when presented with the opportunity.
