Preview

Maccabi Tel Aviv returned to Bloomfield stadium for the MD25 ONE ZERO League match against Hapoel Jerusalem aiming to string a third victory in succession. On the eve of the penultimate match of the regular season, the last two victories over Hapoel Be’ersheva and Sektzia Ness Ziona took Maccabi’s point tally to 51 points- one adrift of second place Be’ersheva and 5 behind the leaders.

Maccabi’s coach Aitor Karanka made several changes to his starting line-up as Shahar Piven and Nir Bitton returned to the heart of defence alongside Derrick Luckassen. With Ofir Davidzada nursing a hamstring injury, Enric Saborit, slotted-in at left back with Andre Geraldes completing the defensive line at right back.

Karnaka named Gabi Kanichowsky and Eyal Golasa in the midfield engine room with Parfait Guiagon handed a more attacking role at the top of the midfield trio. Upfront, Karanka stuck with his striking duo Djordje Jovanovic and Eran Zahavi who led the line wearing the captain’s armband.

On the bench alongside goalkeeper Or Yitzhak, the Spanish coach named Dan Glazer, Dan Biton, Rares Ilie, Avi Rikan, Yonatan Cohen, Maor Kandil, Dor Turgeman and Dor Peretz.

Prior to kick-off a ceremony was held in honor of the class of 1978/79 as the championship winning side of that season were invited onto the pitch. To mark the memorable season and celebrate yet another annual retro festival, Maccabi’s current team wore a replica kit of that season during the match against Hapoel Jerusalem.

First Half

The presence of the Maccabi legends in the stadium must have inspired the team as it didn’t take long for Maccabi to break the deadlock. Parfait Guiagon slid the ball to Enric Saborit down the left flank before the Spanish full-back whipped in a cross which was volleyed home by Eran Zahavi to put Maccabi in front after four minutes. Zahavi took his tally to 15 league goals while Saborit added another assist to his 7 this season.

Two minutes later Guiagon skipped past Yao Koffi and charged towards the area but his cut-back from the byline was caught by Adeley Adebayo. Jerusalem’s keeper denied Zahavi a second goal in the 10th minute as the veteran marksman headed Andre Geraldes’ cross from the right straight at him. Maccabi’s continued as Djordje Jovanovic flashed a shot which agonizingly crept to the wrong side of the post.

Right on the half hour mark Ofek Biton got the ball in the back of Daniel Peretz’s net but the goal was disallowed after the Jerusalem forward was caught in an offside position. Six minutes later a Jerusalem attempt of a through ball near the halfway line struck Saborit to release Jovanovic through on goal. The Serbian forward unselfishly squared the ball to Zahavi who uncharacteristically managed to miscue his shot wide.

In the 42nd minute Maccabi broke into the Jerusalem area but Gabi Kanichowsky fired his shot over. On the stroke of halftime Guiagon sent Kanichowsky into the area once again before the diminutive midfielder skipped past a defender’s tackle but shot straight at Adebayo.

Idan Leiba’s halftime whistle sent both teams to regroup in the dressing room with Maccabi feeling disappointed by their slender lead.

Second Half

Karanka didn’t make any changes to personnel at the restart while his counterpart Ziv Ariye made two substitutions as Maccabi’s on-loan-duo Roy Revivo and Nadav Nidam bowed out and were replaced at the restart by Ariel Shalom and Jordan Botaka.

In the 52nd minute a kanichowsky corner was knocked down by Derrick Luckassen into the path of Zahavi whose close range effort was cleared by Adebayo and his defence.

Dour minutes later Maccabi counter attack saw Saborit carry the ball more than half the length of the pitch. The Spaniard exchanged passes with Kanichowsky before firing his shot over the crossbar. This was Kanichowsky’s final contribution on the night as he came off on 57 as part of a double substitution together with Guiagon with Dan Glazer and Dor Peretz entering the field.

The change didn’t seem to help as within a minute, Jerusalem were awarded a penalty after Saborit brought down Guy Badash inside the area. Idan Leiba pointed at the spot and despite the fact Peretz got a hand to the shot, he couldn’t deny Badash from scoring the equalizer. The visitors completed their comeback within two minutes as Glazer conceded possession deep inside Maccabi’s half before Badash picked the ball, shrugged off a challenge from Shahar Piven and Nir Bitton before curling a left foot shot beyond the reach of Peretz to make it 2-1.

Jovanovic came close to level the score on 69 as his effort from inside the penalty area required a double save from Adebayo who was also assisted by his crossbar in the process.

In the 71^st minute, Karanka reacted with a triple substitution as Dan Biton, Rares Ilie, and Yonatan Cohen came on for Golasa, Bitton and Jovanovic.

Cohen had a close range header tipped by Adebayo over the bar in the 80th minute but it wouldn’t have counted anyway as the linesman raised his flag for offside. Two minutes later Biton ghosted in at the far post to head Abdre Geraldes’ cross towards goal only for the keeper to pull yet another save.

With the clock ticking fast, the fourth official signaled six minutes of added time with Maccabi throwing everything forward in a desperate bid to level the score. Inside injury time Luckassen tried a long range effort which went a high and wide and summed up Maccabi’s performance on the night.

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Maccabi Tel Aviv hosts Hapoel Jerusalem on Saturday for the MD25 ONE Zero League match at Bloomfield stadium (19:30) at a match which will be dedicated to the Championship winning side of 1978/79. Shortly before leaving for the stadium, we compiled for you all the relevant information.

A retro festival at Bloomfield

The club will honour the legends of the past as the current first team will wear a retro set which is a replica of the kit worn by the legends of the 70’s. Shortly before kick-off at around 19:15 an emotional ceremony will take place on the pitch honouring the team, both players and staff of the 1978/79 season. We strongly recommend to make your way to the stadium as early as possible to ensure you don’t miss out and to allow yourself to take part.

Further attractions:

Photographers with instant polaroid cameras will await you around the stadium giving you an extra 70’s flavour but also leave you with a retro memoir. The photos will take place outside the club’s official megastore, around the entrance to gate 2 and near gates 7-8.

FOREVER club members will enjoy an exclusive gift – a blast from the past goodies sweets bag. You could receive your sweets bag at the FOREVER stand outside gate 2. An SMS about the gift will be sent ahead of the game.

With Purim around the corner, Make Up artists will be also on site near the official store and outside gates 2 and gates 7-8.

Inside the stadium there will be cut out images of Maccabi stars wearing the retro kit, for you have your photos taken with.

 

 

Vicky Peretz was one of the players whose was identified with Maccabi Tel Aviv during the 1970’s. After joining the club from Maccabi Ramat Amidar in 1973 in a trade deal which transferred 6 players in the opposite direction, Peretz developed into one of the best strikers Israeli football ever had. He led Maccabi to the League and Cup double in the 1976/77 season and was the top scorer with 20 goals in all competitions during the Championship winning 1978/79 season. He later moved to France and had an impressive career with Strasbourg (80-82) and Rennes (82-83) before returning to Maccabi for two seasons (83-85).

As we salute the class of 1978/79, Peretz’s coach Nissim Bachar and fellow teammates Moshik Schweitzer and Yaron Oz remember the legendary striker who tragically passed away in June 2021 at the age of 68. In a special interview the trio share some memories of the striker who is ranked 8^th in the club’s all-time goal scorers chart, the man who always gave a helping hand and the great significance Maccabi had in his life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Imagine one team consisting the following components all at the same time: Maccabi’s all time appearance record holder, 2 major strikers who top the club’s goal-scoring charts, an Israeli footballing icon who returned home at the perfect timing after an illustrious career in France another two legends before taking off for careers in England and France. This  cluster of household names that generations of Maccabi fans were raised on received the rubber stamp as the season ended by winning an impressive league championship.

This is not an unrealistic fantasy but a real recipe which took shape during a memorable season. The result was one of the greatest teams ever to play on Israeli soil – Maccabi Tel Aviv 1978/79.

Forty four years later, Maccabi is proud to pay tribute to its’ rich heritage and continues a tradition which began in the last decade and directs the spotlight onto this glorious era. The legendary team of the late 70’s which was the third of the golden generation that had won 5 league titles in 11 seasons and was built from Maccabi pillars such as Miko Belo, Moshik Schweitzer, Uri Saliman, Yaron Oz, Avi Yerushalmi, Giora Spiegel and the late Vicky Peretz, Avi Cohen, Mano Schwartz, Meir Nimni and others.

Every Maccabi fans at the stadium and those tuning in to watch the broadcast on TV will be able to pay their tribute and salute the class of 78/79 shortly before kick-off. The first team players will pay their respect as they will wear during the match against Hapoel Jerusalem a replica kit which was used during the 1978/79 season. In addition to the retro set which will be available for purchase at the official store, fans should expect additional surprises in and around the stadium.

If this wasn’t enough to get you all excited and count the minutes to kick off, then you should expect a wide range of content on the official website, the App and on the club’s social media channels. Everything will be dedicated to Maccabi Tel Aviv’s class of 1978/79 where we will give you a chance to dive into the history and expose yourself to some of the fascinating stories of that season and the people behind that winning team.

For those of you who love a bit of retro chic – the wait was worth your while as this season you could enjoy not one but two retro shirts in Yellow and Blue and Blue and White. To complete the look you will also find a 70’s style retro jacket with the traditional Maccabi logo at the front and a unique stylish retro scarf. All those items are already available on sale at the club’s flagship store at Bloomfield and on the ONLINE store.

FOREVER club members have an NIS 20 special coupon which will be sent to you and could be used for the purchase of retro shirts and the jacket. The coupon can be used at the official online store and is valid until Saturday March 4^th at 10:00.

Now is your time to ensure you have enough time left this weekend to dedicate yourself for a full Maccabi Tel Aviv retro experience

 

The 19-year-old striker marked his senior debut start with an early assist and a late goal in the 2-1 State Cup Quarter Final victory over Maccabi Petah Tikva. At the end of the match which secured Maccabi’s place in the Semi Final draw with a 6-1 aggregate victory, said: “First and formost I am delighted we advanced to the next stage” he said, “To help the team advance assist a goal and score a winner is a dream come true.”

 

Turgeman, who made his first senior start and also completed 90 minutes for the first time, admitted: “I was very excited in the beginning, but the assist in the opening minutes helped me gain confidence which just grew the longer the match progressed. I didn’t play too much this season, so just like other players who want to prove they deserve a chance, I was to be able to prove myself.”

On the decision not to go for a loan spell in the January transfer window, and fight for his place, Turgeman said: “I am fighting for playing minutes at Maccabi Tel Aviv which is the best team in Israel. I have the privilege of training alongside players here like Eran Zahavi who was my idol. These players just improve me and will make me a better player.”