Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion “Yehuda”, 12:00 Ramle Stadium (U19)
After a midweek win at Beitar Jerusalem, the young Yellow & Blue are back in action at the Ramle Stadium as they host Rishon Le’Zion on Matchday 17 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. Guy Tzarfati’s side have won 7 of their last 8 contests and are in 3rd place, just one point out of first place while the visitors are in 14th place with only 2 league wins to their credit.

Beitar Tubruk – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 8:30 Tubruk (U17)
The Under-17 squad gets back to action after two weeks off as they currently sit in 1st place with a 9 point lead on the 2nd place side. Eliezer Ben Aharon’s team heads to Tubruk on Matchday 16 and will visit the 12th place club who are in the midst of a 7 match winless streak.

Ironi Modiin – Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv, 12:30 Modiin New Pitch (U16)
The Under-16 side will look to get back on the winning track when they visit Modiin on Matchday 17. The young Yellow & Blue are in 13th place while the host’s sit in 13th on the table.

Gadna Tel Aviv Nissim – Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv, 9:00 Jaffa Charner (U15 South)
Following a 6:0 win in the State Cup competition, Ori David’s players will look to continue their fine play in an away match at Gadna Tel Aviv on Matchday 15. The Under-15 South side currently is in 1st place in league play while the host’s are in 10th.

Maccabi “Hadar” Herzliya – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 8:30 Herzliya Country Pitch Ran A (U15 North)
After their dramatic win in the State Cup Round of 16, the U15 North squad will attempt to continue their winning ways on Matchday 15 in Herzliya. The young Yellow & Blue are in 4th place just 3 points off the top of the table and the host’s are in 9th position on the table.

Matchday 16 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al saw Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv head to Jerusalem for a date with Beitar. The young Yellow & Blue sat in 5th place with a match in hand, winning 6 of their last 7 contests while the Yellow & Black found themselves in 13th place with only 3 league victories. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati opened the match with a strike force of Eylon Almog, William Agada and Mufleh Shalata.

Starting XI: Daniel Peretz, Amit Glazer, Alon Shtrozberg, Yoav Hofmayster, Fadi Najar, Tamir Glazer, Tomer Altman, Prince Thomas, Mufleh Shalata, Eylon Almog, William Agada.

First Half
Maccabi controlled the match from the get go and had their first chance of the contest in the 1’ when Agada’s opportunity hit the post and Almog’s follow up on the rebound went into the Beitar defense. Thomas tried his luck from long distance to no avail as the ball hit the outside netting of the goal while Altman’s chance was parried by the Beitar keeper right to Shalata but his shot was also saved by the host’s shot stopper as the match remained goalless.

However, after all of Maccabi’s chances it was Beitar who took the 1:0 lead on a counter attack as Roie Padida put the ball just over the goal line as ruled by the match referee. The Yellow & Blue continued to control the pace of play but couldn’t find the equalizer before the break as Beitar took their slim 1:0 advantage into the half.

Second Half
Tzarfati’s squad began the second half just as they ended the first which was in control of the contest by playing their style of football and it would pay off soon thereafter. Agada helped Maccabi “Shachar” draw even after a short pass off a free kick from the wing which led to a cross into the middle of the box that the attacker put behind the Beitar keeper, 1:1.

The U19’s scored their second goal of the match after a through ball from the midfield found Shalata who went one on one with the keeper and put the ball home for a 2:1 advantage. Eyal Hen came on as a substitute and sent a cross from the wing to Almog who scored from in close for a 3:1 Yellow & Blue lead.

Beitar tried to cut into the advantage and almost did so after mixing up the Maccabi defense, but the visitor’s were able to clear the threat as the young Yellow & Blue picked up the win leaving them just one point from the top of the table.

Due to the inclement weather over the weekend, most of the Youth Department State Cup Matches were postponed. However, both Under-15 clubs were in action.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 7:0 Ironi Kiryat Gat (U15 South)
The Under-15 South side hosted Kiryat Gat in the State Cup Round of 16 and won 7:0 thanks to goals by Ohad Mizrahi x2, Elad Kaplan, Rotem Germa, Bar Lin, Itay Ben Kimon and Aner Ashmendi. Head Coach Ori David summed up the victory: “This wasn’t a great game on our part and I’ll be happy to fix a number of things up along the way. We advanced to the next stage and now we’ll get ready for our league match against Gadna.”

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv 2:1 Maccabi Petah Tikva Partush (U15 North)
The young Yellow & Blue were able to come back from a 1:0 deficit to defeat the Sharon District league leaders just before the end of the extra time period. The victory moves Maccabi “Ilan” into the State Cup Quarterfinals. Goal scorers: Ben Lineker, Kamil Jabara. Head Coach Asaf Heber spoke about the win: “We received a tough draw in Petah Tikva in the Round of 16. We began the match a bit shell shocked after giving up an early goal due to a counterattack. Despite the deficit we were able to come back as the team pushed forward, controlled the ball and pressed the opponent. We were able to draw even in the 47’ and ended up winning the match in extra time. I’m proud of the guys as to how they reacted and fought hard. You could see how we played and how we followed the methodology of the club. I’m very happy for my players and it was very important for them to win the match.”

Just like the best players in the world: The Brand New Youth Department Project

Maccabi Tzur Shalom – Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv, 12:00 Tzur Shalom (U19)
After winning the MTA International Youth Tournament, the young Yellow & Blue will get back to domestic play in State Cup action. Guy Tzarfati’s side will travel to Tzur Shalom and will look to continue their positive momentum.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv (U17)
The Under-17 squad is off for a couple of weeks due to the National Team break as they find themselves in 1st place by 9 points over the second place side.

SC Pardes Chana “Tzav Pius” – Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv, 19:00 Prdes Chana Training field (U16)
The Under-16 side will play in the Israel State Cup as they travel to Pardes Chana as they will look to advance to the next stage of the competition.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Ironi Kiryat Gat, 08:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 South)
Kiryat Gat will visit Kiryat Shalom for a date with Maccabi’s Under-15 South team in the Israel State Cup Round of 16. Ori David’s squad is in first place in league play while their opponent currently sits in 11th place on the table.

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv – Maccabi Petah Tikva “Partush”, 08:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 North)
The Under-15 North club will host a State Cup Round of 16 clash against Maccabi Petah Tikva, Both sides are at the top of the table as the young Yellow & Blue come into the contest looking to move on to the next stage.

The Club’s Under-19 team hosted an International Youth Tournament at Kiryat Shalom that included Bayer Leverkusen, Red Star Paris, Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion. Guy Tzarfati’s side was in first place at the end of the competition and were awarded the Championship Trophy. We’ve put together some of the young Yellow & Blue’s best goals over the course of the tournament.

The Camera’s Lens Day 3

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Performance Director, Patrick van Leeuwen looked back at the Academy’s First International Youth Tournament and summed up its success:

“Good organization is only half of the job and that is what we, the MTA Academy have done leaving us all with a very good feeling after three days of tournament football!”

Tournament winners:
“To the above we have to acknowledge the achievement of our U19 team who were the winners of our first International Youth Tournament.”

More about the young Yellow & Blue:
“The Maccabi “Shachar” Under-19 side grew match by match and delivered a stable performance. When you perform well as a team, then success will come your way.”

Performance on and off of the field of play:
“Personally, I enjoyed the performance of all of the teams and everybody showed their qualities during the tournament both on and off the field.”

A big thank you:
“Thank you all, from the employees of the Academy that organized the tournament to the teams and coaching staffs that came and believed in our organization.”

Final wishes:
“Good luck and enjoy the start or continuation of your league!”

Until next time…

The Camera’s Lens Day 2

Patrick van Leeuwen looked back at day 2 of the MTA Youth Tournament at Kiryat Shalom:

“It was a great and beautiful day for the tournament as the weather and field conditions were perfect for all of the teams.”

Fans in Israel and abroad:
“The spectators that attended the Tournament enjoyed good performances by the teams. The matches were also broadcasted through via the club’s YouTube channel which is a great service for fans from other cities and for the followers of Bayer Leverkusen and Red Star Paris in Germany and France respectively.”

Professionalism of the sides”
“The professionalism of all the teams was visible on and off the field which resulted in a great second day of the tournament.”

Final thoughts:
“Tomorrow, all of the teams will play another two matches, which will bring the total to 5 matches for each team in three days. I would like to wish everyone a successful third and final day of the tournament.

Following Friday’s matches, Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen spoke about the first day of the Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Under-19 International Tournament:

“The first day of our International U19 tournament has come to an end and we have seen some good matches from the participating teams although the weather gave us some problems and we had to make some changes in the program”

The camera’s lens: Day 1 of the International U-19 Tournament

Good atmosphere:
“All in all everything worked out well and our Academy employees created a good atmosphere for youth football development.”

Plenty of football to come:
“Over the next couple of days, we will be able to see more matches being played by all of the teams. The matches will give everyone plenty of football to talk about from the coaches and players to our spectators as well.

About the upcoming matches:
Tomorrow, Saturday, the matches begin at 11:00 and we hope to see you at our training ground Kiryat Shalom to enjoy youth football.”

Closing Ceremony & Celebrations

Maccabi Tel Aviv Matches

Day 3 Match Photos

The club’s Under-19 side began the final day of the MTA International Youth Tournament with a 1:1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen and followed that up with a 3:1 victory over Maccabi Haifa to take home 1st place.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI included Daniel Peretz, Tomer Machluf, Alon Shtrozberg, Yoav Hofmayster, Noam Cohen, Tamir Glazer, Prince Thomas, Mufleh Shalata, Eyal Hen, Eylon Almog, William Agada.
The first half began perfectly for Maccabi as striker Eylon Almog found the back of the goal for a 1:0 lead in the early minutes of the contest. The majority of the half was played aggressively in the midfield as both side’s looked for quality chances. However, it would be Leverkusen who would score via penalty to even up the score at 1:1 just before the break. The young Yellow & Blue continued to press for a go ahead goal in the second half and had a number of wonderful opportunities thanks to Almog and Shalata but the Leverkusen keeper was up to the task. Prince Thomas was issued a second yellow card that left Maccabi with 10-men as the contest ended deadlocked 1:1.

Later on in the day, Tzarfati’s side faced Maccabi Haifa with the following Starting XI: Daniel Peretz, Tomer Machluf, Alon Shtrozberg, Yoav Hofmayster, Noam Cohen, Tamir Glazer, Yoav Hofmayster, Mufleh Shalata, Eyal Hen, Eylon Almog, William Agada.
The match started well for the young Yellow & Blue as Almog and Hen scored in the first half to give Maccabi a 2:0 lead at the break. Agada found the back of the goal in the second half good for a 3:0 lead as the Greens pulled a goal back before the final whistle as Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Haifa 3:1 and were crowned Champions of the tournament.

Day 3 Results
Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion 1:0 Red Star Paris
Rishon: Amit Mor

Maccabi Haifa 1:1 Beitar Jerusalem
Haifa: Maor Levy
Jerusalem: Roie Padida

Bayer Leverkusen 4:0 Red Star Paris
Leverkusen: Govan Yetzlin x2, Klaus Song, Sam Sherak

Rishon Le’Zion 2:1 Beitar Jerusalem

Opening Ceremony

Maccabi Tel Aviv matches

The rest of the matches from Day 2