Maccabi Tel Aviv sports director Jordi Cruyff spoke with the Youth Division professional staff at a special meeting of the Division's coaches

As part of the ongoing contact between the senior team and the Youth Division, Maccabi Tel Aviv sports director Jordi Cruyff today attended a meeting of the Youth Division's head coaches. Also in attendance were the Youth Division's director of football Nir Levin, Youth Division manager Ariel Avram and all the members of the division's professional staff, including head coaches, assistant coaches, goalkeeping coaches and physical fitness trainers. During the meeting, Cruyff focused on professional matters, the relationship between the senior squad and the Youth Division and the need and means to nurture young players. After addressing the gathering, Cruyff patiently answered any and all questions posed by members of the Youth Division staff, both of a professional or a general nature.

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s put on a stellar performance as they comprehensively beat league leaders Maccabi Haifa 4-0 to close the gap at the top of the national Under-19 Premier League table

In the second of their Under-19 Premier League round two fixtures, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" found themselves welcoming league leaders Maccabi Haifa for an intriguing fixture at the Kiryat Shalom training ground. This was to be the third encounter between the two sides this season, the first going Maccabi Tel Aviv's way 3-1 in the pre-season "Super Cup", the second a 3-2 home victory to Maccabi Haifa in matchweek 2 of the current season.  

A victory would put Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s within seven points of league leaders Maccabi Haifa and head coach Ziv Arie's side began with determination, creating the first real chance of the match within the first five minutes with a free kick by striker Yonatan Cohen that Maccabi Haifa keeper Tal Boomstein only saved at a stretch. "Shachar" maintained dominance though and striker Dor Jan was next to test Boomstein with a shot that sailed over the net. Halfway through the half "Shachar" midfielder Daniel Gretz strode into action with two strikes from distance that nearly found the Maccabi Haifa net. Just before the half hour mark, though, he tried his luck from closer range, passing a defender and striking the ball beyond Boomstein into the net at the far post to give his side a 1-0 advantage. That advantage was doubled five minutes before the interval when defender Guy Aviv crossed to Dor Jan in the area, who slotted home his tenth league goal of the season. But "Shachar" had not yet spoken the last word of the half, as three minutes later the margin was already a remarkable 3-0 courtesy of Yonatan Cohen's third goal in as many games.

Shortly after the restart, the impressive Maccabi Tel Aviv rout looked set to continue but a goal by midfielder Shaked Azulai was ruled out. Eleven minutes into the second half the visitors tried to pull one back courtesy of an effort by Maccabi Haifa's Dor Hugi but "Shachar", too, continued to probe for a fourth and twelve minutes later Dor Jan came close only to find Boomstein alert to the danger. It wasn't until injury time that "Shachar" finally finished the scoring with a penalty taken by striker Amit Farhi to polish off an impressive 4-0 victory by Maccabi Tel Aviv over the league's number one, Maccabi Haifa.

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s will play their next league match in a fortnight's time when they make the short trip to the neighbouring municipality for an encounter with Hapoel Ramat Gan.

 

 

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s opened the second round of national Under-19 Premier League matches on the right foot with a convincing 0-4 victory over Hapoel Ra'anana, courtesy of a brace by Dor Jan and individual goals by Yonatan Cohen and Eliel Peretz

After closing off this season's first round of national Under-19 Premier League matches with an away victory against Hapoel Beer Sheva, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" set out on Saturday looking for a second consecutive win on the road. This time the opponent was Hapoel Ra'anana, whom Maccabi defeated 3-1 at home in the first match of the 2013/14 Under-19 Premier League season. And it was head coach Ziv Arie's lads who indeed opened the match more brightly and saw two chances by midfielders Daniel Gretz and Matan Hozez saved by Ra'anana keeper Omri Glazer before the matchclock showed seven minutes.  Ten minutes later, Maccabi keeper Sahar Hason was kept alert as well as he went off his line to save from Ra'anana's Ben Mizan. The first goal was finally scored just after the half hour mark when "Shachar" striker Yonatan Cohen struck from outside the area for his second goal in as many matches after scoring the equaliser last week in Beer Sheva.

After the restart it was Yonatan Cohen once again who came close to scoring his and his team's second, but Omri Glazer parried his effort. "Shachar", however, continued their assault on the Ra'anana goal and five minutes past the hour mark substitute fullback Guy Aviv broke down the right and sent an accurate cross to midfielder Eliel Peretz who put the ball in the opposition net for Maccabi's second of the match. Three minutes later Maccabi striker Dor Jan saw an effort cleared off the line but in the following attack scored from outside the area with the help of a deflection off a Ra'anana defender to put "Shachar" ahead 0-3.  

Ten minutes from time Eliel Peretz came close to scoring his second but was frustrated by the woodwork. More fortunate was team captain Dor Jan, who found the ball at his feet after fellow striker Amit Farhi just failed to round the Ra'anana keeper and dinked into the net his second goal on the day and his ninth of the season. Before the ref's whistle, Jan would have three more headed attempts at achieving a hat-trick foiled, but Maccabi's convincing 0-4 victory sent them to the fourth spot in the national Under-19 Premier League table.

Next week, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" will return to the Kiryat Shalom training ground for an intriguing home tie against league leaders Maccabi Haifa.

 

 

Trailing Hapoel Beer Sheva 1-0 at half time, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s turned the match around after the restart courtesy of goals from Yonatan Cohen and Sohil Armeli to book an important victory in the last contest of the first round of Under-19 Premier League fixtures

After suffering a disappointing injury time loss to Maccabi Petach Tikva last week, fifth placed Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" set off to Reiser Stadium to face Hapoel Beer Sheva, ranked four places below them in the Under-19 Premier League table, for the last match of this season's first round fixtures. Looking to finish off that round on a positive note and improve their road performances into the bargain, "Shachar" head coach Ziv Arie made five changes to the side that faced Petach Tikva: Effi Tal opened in the right back position, Ofek Barzani at left back, Daniel Gretz in midfield  and Matan Hozez and Yonatan Cohen in attack.

Unfortunately the first half boded ill as the home side jumped to a 1-0 lead and until the sides left the pitch for the interval, Maccabi's extra fire power up front failed to find an equaliser. The comeback, however, began three minutes after the restart as Yonatan Cohen found the net for "Shachar", his second goal of the season in his first match as part of the starting eleven. Twenty minutes later the turnaround was complete as striker Sohil Armeli netted his third goal of the season to give his side a 2-1 advantage they held on to until the end of the match.

Maccabi's Under-19s will kick off the second round of Under-19 Premier League matches next Saturday when they travel to Hapoel Ra'anana, a side they beat 3-1 in the home fixture in September.  

 

TODAY CHILDREN FROM THE "EDUCATING FOR EXCELLENCE" PROGRAMME JOINED CHILDREN OF THE MACCABI TEL AVIV YOUTH DIVISION AT A JOINT PRACTICE AT THE KIRYAT SHALOM TRAINING GROUND

As part of Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club's ongoing involvement in community affairs, children from the "Educating for Excellence" programme were today invited to join children of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division at a joint practice at the Kiryat Shalom training ground. "Educating for Excellence" is an organisation established for the purpose of promoting equal opportunity in education, with a view to narrowing the enormous social and economic gaps that exist within Israeli society. The project was initiated in the realisation that gifted children living in Israel’s disadvantaged neighbourhoods, who achieve so well in their first years at primary school, must at the same time cope with considerable economic, social and family-related difficulties. As a result they often do not have access to the kind of support and enrichment that would enable them to realise their potential.

Participating in today's joint practice with children of the "Educating for Excellence" programme were the children of the Youth Division's Under-10 Team South. The participating children of the "Educating for Excellence" programme are all residents of Tel Aviv's Kiryat Shalom neighbourhood, located directly across from Maccabi Tel Aviv's Kiryat Shalom training ground to which it lent its name. The children began with a joint warm-up, after which they broke up into mixed groups to play practice games at the training ground's synthetic pitch. For the children of "Educating for Excellence", this was their first opportunity to attend a football practice of this kind, led by the head coach of Maccabi's Under-10 Team South, Asaf Profeta.

In the course of this season, the "Educating for Excellence" children will be participating in a further five practice sessions together with the children of Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division. In March and April fellow participants will also be the club's Under-10 Team South but in March they'll train with the Under-11 Team South as well. In May there will be two joint practices with the club's Under-12 Team South.

In addition to practices, children of the "Educating for Excellence" programme are participating in a variety of special events held at the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division, such as the candle-lighting ceremony that was held during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah last December and in various lectures that are held at the Youth Division centre. They will also participate in the special Bar Mitzvah ceremony and trip held for the Division's children reaching their thirteenth birthday, the traditional age for Jewish children to celebrate this festive event.   

 

Now at the age of the traditional Jewish Bar Mitzvah, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-14s are working hard to improve their game, with just four teams separating them from the senior squad

Class of: 2000

League: Under-14 Central District

Head coach: Ayal Tzahi

Size of squad: 19 players

About the team:

The Under-14 Team South are a tightly knit squad, with most of the lads having played together for a number of years, including in last year's Under-13 Team South. Only five new players joined the squad at the beginning of this season, along with a brand new head coach. Until joining Maccabi, Ayal Tzahi had spent a number of years at the youth division of municipal rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv and last year coached in the youth division at Maccabi Netanya. The team play in the national Under-13 League Central District and after nine league matches occupy the third spot in the table of sixteen Under-13 clubs.

Training regime:

The Under-13 Team South professional staff hold four practices each week (Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) in preparation for the team's Saturday matches. The squad are also provided with two enrichment trainings each week, both lasting 45 minutes, during which the players invest additional time in improving their technical abilities. In order to provide the youngsters with more personal attention at these practices, the professional staff enable each player to train in a number of areas with a limited number of teammates in each area. In addition to head coach Ayal Tzahi and his assistant Israel Kakkon, these practices are also attended by Dudi Aharonov, professional director of the middle teams of the Youth Division: The Under-13s through the Under-15s.

Team objectives:

The goals of the Under-13 Team South are identical to those of the entire Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division: "To improve the performance of young football players and provide them with the tools they need to further their footballing careers".  Coaches Tzahi and Kakkon explain: "Every team at Maccabi Tel Aviv's Youth Division have very clear objectives. Our goals are first and foremost in the area of team play, to have the team playing in accordance with the principles of the Division as laid down by the Director of Football Nir Levin. At this age individual achievement plays no role and is not emphasised on the pitch, just the manner of playing".

Squad members:

Goalkeepers – Ehud Elisha, Aharon Syanov

Defenders – Roy Harush,, Tomer Machluf, Assaf Sapir, Uri Ben Yehezkiel, Alon Strosberg, Bar Levi.

Midfielders – Niv Abutbul, Adir Hardon, Raz Levi, Roi Alon, Raz Hadar, Amit Zolicha, Amit Mordechaiev, Aviv Rotman

Strikers – Leon Gardshuv, Tal Da'on, Gal Porat 

 

An injury-time penalty scored by midfielder Daniel Gretz gave Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s an away win at Beitar Jerusalem

Today (Tuesday), the Bayit VeGan training ground in the nation's capital saw Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" face Beitar Jerusalem in a game from matchweek 11 of the national Under-19 Premier League which was postponed due to the severe winter weather that hit the country in mid-December. After being eliminated from the State Cup competition by this same Beitar side just ten days ago, head coach Ziv Arie's charges were looking to improve on their performance. The first 40 minutes of the match provided little sign of that improvement by either club, but five minutes before half time the hosts went 1-0 up courtesy of an accurate strike by Rafal Amiel. To their credit, Maccabi recovered quickly and three minutes later a swift onslaught was crowned by a powerful level shot by striker Sohil Armeli that struck the crossbar and crossed the line for the equaliser.

After the restart Maccabi dominated and pressed the hosts in their own half, but the first real opportunity was created at the other end by Beitar striker Moshe Peretz after a quick counter attack. Next it was Maccabi defender Shawn Goldberg who came closest with a strong header at Beitar keeper Stav Shoshan, and Sohil Armeli had another go from an excellent position, only to see his effort blocked. As the game approached the 90 minute mark, the hosts had another opportunity to finish off the match but Yonatan Nitzko's strike sailed high over Maccabi keeper Sahar Hason's net. In the end it was in injury time that the score was settled, and this time in Maccabi's favour. "Shachar" striker Dor Jan was brought down in the area and midfielder Daniel Gretz stepped up to the spot to score the dramatic winner and hand Maccabi an important 1-2 away victory.

Maccabi's Under-19s maintain their grip on the fourth spot in the table and will complete their third encounter in the space of a week when they host third-placed Maccabi Petach Tikva this Saturday at Kiryat Shalom training ground in a pacesetters match that will be broadcast on Israeli sports channel Sport 5 at 12pm.

 

A single goal just after the hour mark by hosts Hapoel Haifa sent Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s home from the Kiryat Haim stadium empty handed

After the disappointment of an early exit from the Under-19 State Cup competition last week, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" returned to Under-19 Premier League duties with the wind of two consecutive league victories in their sails. The third win on the trot would have to be at the expense of Hapoel Haifa, who were returning to a newly renovated Kiryat Haim Stadium, kicking off a busy week in which Maccabi's Under-19s head out for a second away tie on Tuesday against Beitar Jerusalem and finish next Saturday at home against Maccabi Petach Tikva.

Five places in the table and six points separated the two sides in Maccabi's favour as the match kicked off, and the visitors began putting the Hapoel Haifa goalkeeper under pressure from the very start. Striker Raz Itzhak came close early on but the pass he received in front of goal escaped him and midfielder Daniel Gretz, who latched on to it, failed to get it into the net. Slowly the hosts also got into the match and tried their luck on goal, with Noam Kolkofsky hitting "Shachar" keeper Sahar Hason's woodwork. At the other end striker Dor Jan was chasing his eighth league goal of the season but he too was prevented by the frame and the two sides finished the half without disturbing the scoreboard.

After the restart "Shachar" renewed their attempts to break the ice and avoid their first goalless draw of the season, with substitute midfielder Dor Peretz striking high above the goal. But in the race to break the deadlock, Hapoel Haifa succeeded where "Shachar" had so far failed: Just past the hour mark Ofer Sifrian struck on the turn from the area and put his side ahead 1-0. In the 25 minutes that remained, "Shachar" carved out a number of opportunities in front of goal, the best of the lot being a close-range effort by Daniel Gretz that went astray. But the equaliser continued to elude them and full-time saw a disappointed "Shachar" squad leave the pitch having suffered their fourth defeat of the season.

The defeat left Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" on 20 points after twelve league encounters, seven points off the pace of league leaders Maccabi Haifa. Their next challenge begins on Tuesday at 2.30pm in the capital's Bayit VeGan training ground, when Maccabi's Under-19s play their game in hand from a postponed matchweek 11 tie away to Beitar Jerusalem.   

 

  

 

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s lost to Beitar Jerusalem on a single first-half goal, ending their campaign in this season's Under-19 State Cup competition

On the last Saturday of 2013 the Under-19 squad, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar", abandoned their league duties for a round four Under-19 State Cup tie, the first round that sees the top teams in the Under-19 Premier League enter the competition. They were drawn for a tricky away encounter with fellow pacesetters Beitar Jerusalem and the home side started out more briskly, wasting no more than two minutes before testing Maccabi keeper Sahar Hason, who succeeded in saving a shot by Beitar's Avishai Cohen at full stretch. Ten minutes later even Hason's best efforts were of no avail. Beitar's Bar Shalom latched on to a ball on the edge of the area and his shot high into the Maccabi net gave his side an early 1-0 advantage. The home side continued to test the Maccabi keeper, who withstood a header by David Kaltunis, while at the other end striker Dor Jan created Maccabi's first real chance of the game. Until the half Maccabi dominated possession but apart from a second effort by Dor Jan, they rarely looked like scoring.

After the restart, "Shachar" head coach Ziv Arie made a number of changes, bringing on striker Yonatan Cohen who almost immediately curled a shot that grazed the Beitar goalpost. Maccabi continued to look for an equaliser that would keep them in the Under-19 State Cup competition but a further effort by Dor Jan in the 65^th minute also failed to get by Beitar keeper Stav Shoshan. In the dying moments of the match midfielder Dan Glazer made Maccabi's last attempt to get on level terms when he latched on to a clearance and shot just over the crossbar. Maccabi kept up the pressure until the final whistle, which unfortunately for them marked the end of their road in the Cup competition in their first attempt to advance.

Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" will hope to recover quickly from their disappointment when they play away to Hapoel Haifa next Saturday in matchweek 13 of the Under-19 Premier League.   

 

 

 

After Maccabi Tel Aviv's senior team won their first Tel Aviv derby of the 2013/14 season earlier in the week, this coming Saturday it will be the turn of the Under-19s

Five days after the senior squad triumphed in their first municipal derby of the 2013/14 season, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Under-19s will attempt to replicate their older clubmates' success this Saturday at 12pm when their counterparts from Hapoel arrive at the Kiryat Shalom training ground for matchweek 12 of the national Under-19 Premier League in a match to be broadcast on the Israeli sports channel Sport 5. Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar", like all of the Under-19 teams, will come well rested to the match, as all of the previous Saturday's league games fell victim to the stormy weather that passed through our region last week. Here follow a few talking points in the run-up to this traditionally intriguing encounter:

Position in the table

The top of the national Under-19 Premier League table is quite crowded at the moment but as things stand right now, Maccabi have the edge: Their five extra points put them six places above their municipal rivals. With 17 points Maccabi trail league leaders Maccabi Haifa by six points, while Hapoel occupy the 11^th spot in the table twelve points behind the leaders.

Current form

Maccabi will enter the match in a better run of form than their Hapoel counterparts. Their last three encounters have produced a draw and two wins, the last of which a 5-2 triumph against Hapoel Ramat Hasharon. Hapoel Tel Aviv by contrast have suffered two defeats and drawn once in their last three outings.

Recent Derby results

The last derby played between the two Under-19 sides came in matchweek 20 of the 2012/13 season when Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" bested Hapoel Tel Aviv 0-1 at their Wolfson training ground. In the parallel fixture last year at Kiryat Shalom, Maccabi suffered their only loss to their municipal rivals in the last four seasons by a score of 0-2.

Saturday's forecast

One element at least of this match's scenario is similar to that which preceded Maccabi's 0-1 victory at Wolfson last season – it also followed the first team derby by five days (that's right, the delightful 4-0 triumph at Bloomfield Stadium). So far results are concerned, an exact repeat of that scenario is already off the table, but a Maccabi sweep of both senior and Under-19 derby matches in the same week would without question be every bit as joyful.