Maccabi 'Shachar' Tel Aviv played their first match of the Ramljak Tournament in Croatia yesterday where they drew 0-0 against the hosts, Dinamo Zagreb. The physical and intense game was played at a very high level by both clubs and finished without any goals. 

Today, Maccabi plays Cagliari from Italy and will finish the group stages facing Olympiakos of Greece. The squad which includes players born in 1997-98 also features Almog Eylon who is born in 1999.

Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department Director, Nir Levin who is in Croatia said, "We are playing in one of the best tournaments with some of the top teams. The organization and professionalism surrounding this competition is second to none both on and off of the pitch. We finished the first match in a scoreless draw against a side that has won this event 19 out of 20 times and a team that provides most of the players for Croatia's Under-19 team.

The weather here is hot just like at home and the matches are being played right next to Dinamo Zagreb's Stadium 'Maksimir' where Maccabi Tel Aviv drew 2:2 under my direction back in UEFA CUP back in 2001."

Coach Ziv Arie took over coaching this crop of players two weeks ago as they moved up from the Under-17's Maccabi 'Oded' Tel Aviv. The competition will give the team international experience in preparation for the UEFA Champions League Youth Tournament this coming season.

The Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv youth team will participate in the Mladen Ramljak Memorial Tournament which begins tonight in Zagreb. Ramljak played for Dinamo Zagreb in the 1960’s and 70’s and tragically passed away in a car accident in 1978.

Maccabi, coached by Ziv Arie will be among a number of European clubs participating in this yearly tournament including Copenhagen, Cagliari, Benfica and the hosts Dinamo Zagreb. The Yellow-and-Blue will open the competition against Zagreb today (Thursday) and on Friday will face Cagliari while their last match will be against Greek side Olympiakos.

The youth team will be going through some changes as not only have the players who won last year’s championship born in 1995-96 moved on with the 1997-98 group attempting to fill their shoes, but Dan Romann has joined Ziv Arie’s professional staff as well.

The Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv squad for the Zagreb Tournament:

Goalkeeper: Haviv Ohayon

Defenders: Amit Rosenboim, Ran Vaturi, Nadav Amran, Bar Galili, Lenny Zvi Aharon, Daniel Rahimi, Ron Gabay

Midfielders: Omri Haramati, Rany Hamzey, Gavriel Kanichowsky, Amit Shapira, Tomer Altman, Sahy Golan, Itai Aloni

Forwards: Or Dasa, Dor Galili, Almog Eylon

Professional Staff: Ziv Arie, Nir Levin, Dan Romann, Daniel Yogev, Eitan Kenafo

Maccabi Tel-Aviv 'Shachar' beat Beitar Tubruk 3:2 and won its eighth (U-19s) state championship

It took Ziv Arie’s team eight minutes to score the opening goal, when Yonatan Cohen launched a beautiful kick from a difficult angle into the visitors net. After the opening goal, Maccabi took their feet of the gas paddle and conceded the equalizing goal as Eyal Danin scored from the edge of the 16 yard box. While Maccabi’s defense was still thinking about the equalizing goal, Eyal Danin punished Maccabi's defense for the second time in one half, and scored another goal, 1:2 to the visitors.

After conceding the second goal Maccabi returned to game when Matan Hozez delivered a great cross straight to Eliel Peretz who headed the ball into net right at the edge of half time, and set the halftime score at 2:2.

The main event at the start of the second half was a red card shown to Beitar Tubruk’s player after a brutal tackle on Dan Glazer. After the sending off, Maccabi had a hard time penetrating the Tubruk’s defense. The third goal finally arrived on the 73rd minute as Omri Haramati that came in the game a few minutes earlier scored from inside the 16 yard box. 3:2 Maccabi.

Right after the referee blew the final whistle, Ziv Arie's team lifted the championship plate!

Yesterday (Tuesday) the traditional Bar Mitzvah ceremony for the two Maccabi Tel Aviv U13 Youth Department teams, celebrating their 13th birthdays during the course of this season, was held at Kfar Hamaccabia.

The parents of the young players were also at this impressive event along with the coaching staff and management of the youth department and distinguished guests such as Gidon Brickman, Baruch Azrati and Yehuda Livne, and three first team players, Dor Peretz, Gael Margulis and Sahar Hason, who themselves moved up in the past from Maccabi's youth department to the senior team.

At the event, the guests enjoyed the screening of videos of each team filmed by their parents, and a breakdance show where club's mascot, Maccabinio, joined in and showed his skills on the dance floor along with a couple of the barmitzva boys.

This evening concluded the club's Bar Mitzvah Experience for these teams, a program which also included a unique trip to Jerusalem where they were welcomed at the Western Wall and at the Knesset, where they met with Knesset Member, Tzahi Hanegbi.

Ariel Avram, Youth Department Manager and Head of Football Administration at Maccabi Tel Aviv, spoke on behalf of the club and congratulated the young players and their parents. He stressed the importance of this celebration to Maccabi Tel Aviv as a club that doesn't just train and develop future football players, but also supports their formal and cultural education to contribute to their becoming responsible members of the community as they grow up.

Maccabi Tel Aviv would like to congratulate the young players and their parents, wishing them every success in their way ahead.

Maccabi Tel Aviv ‘Shachar’ theoretically won the league after a 3-0 victory against Hapoel Ramat Gan in Winter Stadium.

Coach Ziv Arie spoke about his team’s season: “We can’t imagine losing the title because of the great goal difference but we’ll wait patiently until next week to lift the silverware. We need to give credit to the other teams at the top of the league. We played great football for the majority of the season and I had no doubt we will win the league. We challenged ourselves unintentionally halfway through the season by losing points and allowing Haifa to join the race, but we managed to pull ourselves back with honors. The guys really evolved into champions in the last five matches. There are some talented players here and the club wants to promote them. If a player will be good enough, he’ll make his way into the first team. I had big shoes to fill after Amir left. He did a great job promoting players, as well as winning the league. The club is happy with the results, but we would have continued in the same way even if we lost the title”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWv3DSg-CI0

The U-19s are might take part in UEFA’s Youth Champions League for the first time in Israeli football. “There are two ways to get into the Youth Champions League- if the first team qualifies to the Champions League we will enter automatically. If not, we will take the necessary steps to take part in the Youth League”, said Arie.

Team captain Dan Glazer celebrated the win by saying: “This is one of the happiest days of my life. I wish we’d have more moments like this in our careers. We told ourselves during the first half that we need to win what is ours. Hapoel Ramat Gan fought well. We told ourselves that nobody is going to hand us the title and we have to do it ourselves. Playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv’s first team is my biggest dream and I hope it will happen”.

Maccabi’s top scorer, Yonatan Cohen said at the end: “It was a very difficult season. We had some trouble halfway through but we knew we have a good team. We won the league by winning big games away in Be’er Sheva and Haifa. I’m happy I could contribute to the team. We’ll have easier training sessions this week and we’ll celebrate with the teammates. At the moment I am with the U-19s and not ready to decide on my personal future”. 

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv ‘Shachar’ is almost the certain league champions (due to a better goal difference) for the 2014/15 season after a 3-0 win over Hapoel Ramat Gan

Maccabi Tel Aviv ‘Shachar’ theoretically won the league thanks to a better goal difference than second place Maccabi Haifa. Ziv Arie’s team 3-0 win over Hapoel Ramat Gan kept a three-point lead at the top of the table from Maccabi Haifa. Maccabi Tel Aviv 'Shacher' will be official champions next weekend. 

Arie’s team knew before the game that their destiny is in their own hands. Hapoel Ramat Gan’s keeper denied attempts from Armeli and Kanikovski and kept the score level at half time.

Maccabi piled the pressure on Ramat Gan’s goal in the second half and the first goal came at the 75th minute. Eliel Peretz scored a well placed header following an assist from Mavis Tchibota. Second half substitute Omri Haramati doubled the lead at the 80th minute with another assist from Tchibota. Maccabi sealed the victory with a 90th minute goal, which signaled the start of the celebrations.

Only an unlikely scenario may take away the title from Maccabi next weekend if they lose points. However, a 29-goal difference lead over Maccabi Haifa should make sure the title will return to Kiryat Shalom.

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv ‘Shachar’ will face Hapoel Ramat Gan this Saturday (12am,Sport5) with only two games left in the U-19s league.Arie: "we need to be cautious"

The 29^th fixture of the U-19st league will kick-off this Saturday. With only two games left, Maccabi Tel Aviv “Shacher” is in a terrific position to win the league, having a three points lead and a better goal difference over second in the table, Maccabi Haifa. While the young Yellows are preparing for the match, Coach Ziv Arie took some time to provide us with his insights towards the matchup with Hapoel Ramat Gan this Saturday at noon.

“We need to be cautious. We were complacent against Petah Tikva and it nearly cost us the game. Hapoel Ramat Gan needs the points as much as we do. In addition they’ll have something to prove after the heavy loss we inflicted on them in the previous round. It won’t be a simple game. The game against Hapoel Petah Tikva was an easy game on paper but we made it difficult on ourselves. It is hard to read the kids in these situations but we remain calm towards the game. We made a great tactical preparation. We know we are the better team, but sometimes its not enough in football”.

Arie runs a very intensive training session. He takes the time to comment and to correct his players, and mostly makes sure to keep them their tensions high ahead of Saturday: “We have to cope with the pressure physically and mentally. The data showed us that our offense wasn’t running as much against Petah Tikva. Why did it happen? It could be a mental issue; complacency, pressure or over motivation. We might have heard some of the external voices saying we are already champions. It could easily transmit from your head to your feet. We want to think that we have a European approach in this area, but we were probably affected anyway. The best thing that happened against Petah Tikva is that we won. Young players find it sometimes difficult to peak as they did against Haifa”.

Arie mentions the game against Maccabi Haifa for a good reason. The coach who was promoted from the U-17s holds a perfect record against Haifa in the last two seasons. The 4-2 victory against Haifa in ‘Ketzef’ gave Maccabi Tel Aviv a great push towards winning the U-19s league. If they do clinch the title, Maccabi would become the record holder with eight championships: “We are not at a point to discuss football philosophy. After losing to Be’er Sheva (1-0), we decided that we have to win every game in order to achieve our goals.  We had a good tactical performance against Haifa and we knew how to take our risks".

A short while before the game against Haifa, Maccabi’s staff struggled with the team’s finishing in front of goal. Arie’s team would create many chances but would miss many of them, a fact that caused them to lose points against Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Be’er Sheva: “In the first round we cruised through games against teams like Nes Ziona and Beiter Jerusalem. In the second round however, we found it more difficult to score, although we managed to pull through. Against Haifa we knew that they are planning to attack, which meant that we had more space to play our game. The players were calm in front of goal and it was reflected by the final score”.

 

Arie is about to finish his second season in the U-19s. He promoted no less than 12 players from his former U-17s, which might explain the good season the young Yellows are going through. The U-19s had already broken the record for goals per season and now are looking towards their next goal, to become champions.