2018 was a very successful year for the Maccabi Tel Aviv Avi Cohen Youth Academy as it continues to imbue the philosophy of Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen. Over the past 12 months, the Youth Academy both hosted and took part in International Tournaments, won championships in their respective leagues, played in the UEFA Youth Champions League and also continued to advance the Girls Team project. Here are five of the accomplishments from the past calendar year.
1. Maccabi Tel Aviv’s International Youth Tournament
The calendar year began with the Youth Academy hosting an International Youth Tournament. Maccabi “Shachar” under the direction of Guy Tzarfati won the competition as his side played against the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Red Star Paris, Maccabi Haifa, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion. Over the course of 3 days the PenguinPickUp Training Ground at Kiryat Shalom hosted the teams and their players for a first rate tournament. For a summary of the competition click here.
2. Championships
The 2017/18 Season ended with a very sweet taste in everyone’s mouths. All of the Youth Academy squads playing in a competitive league through the Israel Football Association won their respective championship. The Under-19 squad won their 9th league title ending their campaign with an 8 point gap from second place after scoring 65 goals, the most in the league. For a full recap click here.
The Under-17 team also celebrated their championship, wrapping up their league title 5 Matcndays before the end of the season. Eliezer Ben Aharon’s squad won 25 games, drew 4 matches and lost only once as they finished the campaign up 19 points. For the full recap click here.
The Under-16 side picked up their championship in photo finishes fashion. Thanks to 9 straight wins to end the campaign, the young Yellow & Blue were able to take home the title on the last day of the season and then won the Champions Cup as well. For the full recap click here.
The Under-15 squad also won their respective league on the second to last Matchday of the season by defeating the #1 rival for the crown, Hapoel Beer Sheva. The team scored 126 goals and recorded 17 clean sheets. For the full recap click here.
3. Prestigious Under-15 Tournament in Vienna, Austria
At the end of the season, the Under-15 squad played in a prestigious tournament in Vienna, Austria. The goal of the competition was to give the players a chance to experience an international tournament with clubs of the highest level.
Participating teams included Maccabi Tel Aviv, Rapid Wien, Admira Wacker, Lokomotiv Moscow, Schalke 04, Ferencvárosi, AIK Stockholm and Red Star Belgrade. The young Yellow & Blue ended the competition in 4th place. For a recap click here.
4. Academy Girls Project
The Girls Project at Maccabi Tel Aviv is continuing to expand. There is a team training at the PenguinPickup Training Ground at Kiryat Shalom and are playing in a competitive league while there is a new girls team at the Hadar Yosef Athletic Facility as well. The competitive team advanced to the quarterfinals of the State Cup and the Club is also continuing to expand its programs for girls with the recruitment of girls between the ages of 5-15. The goal is to create a number of teams at different age groups with each squad limited to 25 girls and the teams will use the club’s football philosophy. For further information click here.
5. Youth Champions League
The Under-19 club took part in the Youth Champions League and advanced to the second round of the tournament by winning a two legged tie over Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala on aggregate 5:3. Guy Tzarfati’s squad then played Sigma Olomouc from the Czech Republic who took the 3:3 tie on away goals. The team gained invaluable experience in Europe by taking part in this experience. For the recap click here.
