The 34-year-old midfielder who made a second half substitute appearance against Antalyaspor said at the end of Maccabi’s 2-1 friendly victory over the Turkish side: “It is important to win every game even if it is a practice match” Avi Rikan said. “We arrived here to work on some physical and tactical aspects of our game which we would like to implement in such matches. We are happy with the victory but we still have plenty to work on as we would like to improve ahead of the second part of the season. We are working very hard here, we will rest tonight and return to work hard tomorrow”.

On the rarity of holding a winter training camp, Rikan added: “This is the first time for me and I think for everyone as well. It is irregular and in fact it split the season into two halves. We will need to regroup and begin everything from the beginning. For us players it is fun to be all together, regardless of the distance from our families and homes, but we are enjoying every day. The facilities are amazing and the coaching staff is supporting us and pushing us to work hard”.

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s winter training camp in Antalya, Turkey is well underway as Vladimir Ivic’s charges line-up for a friendly match against local side Antalyaspor for a friendly practice match (14:00).

Antalyaspor are currently ranked 11th in the Turkish top flight with 16 points (5 wins, 1 draw and 6 defeats) from 12 matches. Coached by Nuri Sahin, Antalyaspor features several international players in their squad in Brazilian duo Fernando and Luiz Adriano, US striker Haji Wright, and Swiss forward Admir Mehmedi.

This will be the first of two friendly matches Maccabi will hold in the training camp as they face Adana Demirspor who are ranked 3rd in the Turkish table on December 4th.

It took Maccabi 11 minutes to create the first goal-scoring opportunity as Parfait Guiagon found Matan Hozez inside Antalyaspor’s penalty area with a cleaver pass but goalkeeper Alperen Uysal was quick to react.

A Joris van Overeem corner in the 22^nd minute was headed by Enric Saborit straight at the keeper.  

Right on the half hour mark Zahavi sent a delicate chip into the path of Saborit who was blocked by an Antalyaspor defender.

Four minutes later Luiz Adriano was sent clear through but Daniel Tenenbaum who started in Maccabi’s goal, charged out to prevent his fellow Brazilian countryman from scoring.

A Joris van Overeem cross from the left in the 42^nd minute was headed by Hozez straight into the hands of Antalyaspor’s keeper Alperen Uysal.

Zahavi stole the ball on the edge of Antalyaspor’s penalty area on 43 but his shot struck a defender before Uysal managed to collect.

Two minutes later, Hozez kept on tormenting the Turkish defence down the left flank sent a square ball that reached Guiagon who saw his shot bounce off the post.

Inside injury time Maccabi took the lead after Hozez sent a cross from the left which was headed by Zahavi onto the far post before the ball struck Guray Vural to beat his own keeper.

Ivic made nine changes at the restart as only Tenenbaum and Yeini were the players to continue in the second half.

The hosts managed to get the ball in the back of Tenenbaum’s net on 53 after Maccabi’s keeper was beaten by a Gokdeniz Bayrakdar shot. But the linesman raised his flag for offside and Antalyaspor’s equalizer was disallowed.

Avi Rikan narrowly missed the top corner with a fierce drive in the 60^th minute and Dan Biton had a shot of his own directed straight at the keeper a minute later.

In the 67^th minute Maccabi almost doubled their lead as Biton fed Djordje Jovanovic whose square ball found Oscar Gloukh before his close range effort was saved by the keeper.

At the opposite end on 69 Tenenbaum kept his goal locked as he denied Ege Bilsel’s shot from inside the area.

The end to end action continued as Jovanovic and Rikan exchanged passes before Yonatan Cohen forced a save from the keeper. Jovanovic pounced on the rebound and slid the ball home but his effort was ruled out for offside.

In the 74^th minute Antalyaspor were rewarded for their efforts as former Switzerland international  Admir Mehmedi scored the equalizer with a fierce volley.

Gloukh restored Maccabi’s lead in the 81^st minute as the 18-year-old received the ball from Biton inside Antalyaspor’s area, beat three defenders and fired a sharp shot which sealed the win at  2-1.

Maccabi Tel Aviv: Daniel Tenenbaum, Andre Geraldes (Gabi Kanichowsky 46), Shahar Piven (Idan Nachmias 46), Sheran Yeini, Enric Saborit (Ofir Davidzada 46), Matan Hozez (Yonatan Cohen 46), Dor Peretz (Avi Rikan 46), Joris van Overeem (Dan Biton 46), Parfait Guiagon (Eyal Golasa 46), Eran Zahavi (Oscar Gloukh 46), Dor Turgeman (Djordje Jovanovic 46).

 

Cyber Monday madness is already here, this time round we promised a special surprise as we are quick to deliver with a new record which seals the world’s biggest shopping festival: Maccabi and fashion giant house FILA are proud to launch the official fourth kit which will follow us during the remainder of the 2022/23 season.

For the second season in succession the club introducing a refreshing new fashionable twist with a fourth kit which doesn’t shy away from stretching the boundaries. A sky blue colour was chosen to lead the 22/23 special edition with the highlight being the connection to one of the most important elements for every Maccabi fan – the Maccabi crest. There is no Maccabi fan who doesn’t recognise the famous star of the David comprising of the letters M-A-C-C-A-B-I on every piece of the shirt’s garment.

The good news is that the current timing, on the brink of the November sales shopping madness, we are offering an exclusive discount and a price of NIS 199 (instead of NIS 249) in purchasing the official fourth kit. But that is not it: Fans who will purchase the short at the online store and will “hit” the step which was stipulated in advance (for example: the 10th person to purchase a shirt online, the 100th and onwards) will win a prize – an official fourth shirt signed by one of the Maccabi players whose identity will be revealed at a later stage!

Additional characteristics of the fourth kit:
A fit design
Short sleeve
100% polyester – functional material allowing maximum sweat evaporation.
The club’s crest made out of quality silicone with the stars sewn onto the shirt.
A 2022/23 authentication badge sewn on the inside of the strip

As the World Cup continues to draw most of the attention and all domestic football is placed on hold until the end of the tournament in Qatar, Maccabi Tel Aviv will step up its’ preparations for the remainder of the season. Vladimir Ivic’s charges jetted out to Turkey where they will hold a winter training camp in Antalya between November 27th and December 5th.

You could find all the updates and photos from the winter training camp on the clubs’ social media platforms: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter as well as the official website and Application.

Shortly before take off, veteran captain, Sheran Yeini, spoke about the first training camp in the middle of the season and said: “We are not used to this but nonetheless it will allow us a lot of time to work and prepare for the second league round. This is also a good time for the players who were not with us in the previous (summer) training camp to work with us. We expect to have enough time to improve our bonding both socially and tactically. We will work even harder to be fully prepared to the second league round. We would like to kickstart the round at full speed”.

During the training camp Ivic’s charges will have an intense work-out ahead of the remainder of the 2022/23 domestic season. Maccabi will hold two friendly matches against Antalyaspor (30.11) currently 11th in the Tukish Super League and Adana Demirspor (4.12) currently 3rd.

Maccabi is set to return to action on December 7th as they host Hapoel Jerusalem for a Toto Cup tie, before facing second division outfit Hapoel Um el Fahm for a State Cup tie (December 11th).

Video: AN inside look at training in Kiryat Shalom