Maccabi Tel Aviv FC is delighted to announce the return of Eran Zahavi to the Club on a 2 year contract.

Mitch Goldhar stated: “I am pleased to welcome Eran back to Maccabi. His achievements speak for themselves. Eran’s competitive drive are aligned with the club’s hunger to succeed. We have a lot of work to do to achieve our goals, the addition of Eran is another step toward our preparations for next season”

Barak Itzhaki, Head of Maccabi’s Football Department, added: “During his time at Maccabi, Eran not only achieved professional success but also led by example in his approach to physical and mental conditioning, training and match play. We are delighted Eran is returning to Maccabi and believe that together we can achieve our goals this season”.

Eran said: “I am excited to be able to rejoin Maccabi Tel Aviv and am grateful to Mitch Goldhar, Jack Angelides and Barak Itzhaki for making it happen. I would also like to thank Maccabi’s fans who I could not let down as the heart didn’t allow me make any other choice. I have the option to repay you all for the love you have shown me all along the way. As I have always done throughout my career I set myself ambitious targets and I know that these are aligned with those set by the Club. Striving for excellence and pushing for both personal and team’s achievements, is something I intend to do whilst giving everything to help my teammates and everyone connected with the Club achieve the targets and success we all desire.”

Work has begun: Maccabi Tel Aviv held this evening (Monday) its’ opening training session of the 2022/23 season at the PenguinPickUp complex in Kiryat Shalom.

In his second tenure at Maccabi, Vladimir Ivic and his coaching staff put the players through their paces. New signing Joris van Overeem was given a chance to meet his teammates for the first time as he held his debut session at Maccabi.

The players who were on international duty with the various national teams: Dan Glazer, Brandley Kuwas and Djordje Jovanovic are expected to join later on during the pre-season as will Oscar Gloukh, Orel Baye, Dor Turgeman and Roy Revivo who are currently with Israel U19’s at the European Finals in Slovakia, were also absent.

On Monday, June 27th, the team will travel to Holland for a 10-day pre-season training camp before playing the first official match of the season on July 14th against Maccabi Netanya in the Toto Cup.

Sheran Yeini will remain a Maccabi Tel Aviv player during the 2022/23 season after the 35-year-old captain signed a new one-year-deal with an option to extend.

Yeini, told the club’s official website: “It is a great honor for me to sign for another season at Maccabi Tel Aviv, a club that became a home for me long ago and its’ employees a family to me. Just like every season I intend to give my utmost best in order to help the team succeed and return to be the same successful tough Maccabi our fans deserve to watch”.

Barak Itzhaki, Head of Maccabi’s Football Department, added: “Sheran’s qualities and his contribution to Maccabi Tel Aviv in terms of setting an example and professionalism will help us a lot both on and off the pitch. We are delighted that he will continue with us for another season”.

Last season, Yeini, made his 519^th appearances for the club in all competitions and is ranked 2^nd in the all-time club appearance record.

Yeini, who last season made his 76^th appearance in European competitions and leads the list of players with international appearances appeared . During the 17 seasons he played at Maccabi, Yeini won 14 trophies: 5 Championships (12/13, 13/14, 14/15, 18/19, 19/20), 2 State Cups (14/15, 20/21), 5 Toto Cups (08/09, 14/15, 17/18, 18/19, 20/21) and 2 Super Cups (19/20, 20/21).

Maccabi Tel Aviv begin preparations ahead of the 2022/23 season as the players arrived over the past few days at Shamir Medical Centre (Assaf Harofeh) where they held a series of physical tests.

New signing Joris van Overeem who landed in Israel from Holland ahead of pre-season training was handed a chance to catch a glimpse of Maccabi’s training kit as the 28-year-old was also amongst those being tested.

Vladimir Ivic’s charges will officially begin pre-season training on Monday before heading off on June 27th to Holland for a training camp. On July 14th Maccabi play their first official match of the 2022/23 campaign as they host Maccabi Netanya for a Toto Cup match at Bloomfield.

Maccabi Tel Aviv begin their 2022/23 European campaign in the Conference League 2nd qualifying round with a tie against PFC Zire of Azerbaijan.

The draw which took place at UEFA’s Headquarters in Nyon, teamed Maccabi up with Azerbaijan outfit PFC Zire that finished last season’s domestic campaign in 4th spot.

Maccabi were seeded for the draw as the first leg of the two legged tie will take place on July 21st with the return leg a week later on July 28th. Extra time and a penalty shoot-out would be applied if required after the second leg – as the winners advance to the Europa Conference League 3rd qualifying round.

Qualifying phase:

First qualifying round: July 7th & 14th

Second qualifying round:  July 21st & 28th

Third qualifying round: August 4th & 11th

Play-offs: August 18th & 25^th

Joris van Overeem, (28) joined Maccabi Tel Aviv from Dutch side Utrecht as the midfielder who has an Israeli mother successfully underwent a medical before signing a contract until the end of the 2024/25 season.

Van Overeem, told Maccabi’s official website: “I am happy to arrive in Tel Aviv and join Maccabi – the biggest club in Israel. My ambition at Maccabi is to win as many titles as we possibly can. I am looking forward to play in front of Maccabi’s fans at Bloomfield stadium”.

Maccabi’s Head of Football Department, Barak Itzhaki added: “Joris is a versatile player who can play in various positions across the midfield. He gained vast experience in the top division in Holland as well as at international level in European competitions and the various young Dutch national teams. Van Overeem, was a key player at the clubs he played for, and we are certain that he will contribute to Maccabi in achieving all our goals”.

 

Van Overeem, a product of AZ Alkmaar’s Youth Academy, made 27 appearances in all competitions for Utrecht last season and a total of 116 since joining the club in 2018. Having made 32 international appearances for the Dutch young national sides at U-16 to U-21 levels, van Overeem made his senior debut at the age of 19 whilst playing for AZ under Dick Advocaat.

A one-season long loan spell at Dordrecht (2014/15) resulted with van Overeem making 35 appearances before returning to AZ. In the 2015/16 season van Overeem scored 7 goals in 46 appearances and played with AZ in the Europa League group stages. The following season van Overeem was part of AZ’s team that faced Maccabi in the EUROPA League group stages at the AFAS stadium as overall he scored a total of 13 goals in 117 appearances for Alkmaar.

Maccabi Tel Aviv begin preparations ahead of the 2022/23 campaign as they report back to training on June 20th before departing to Holland for a pre-season training camp which will take place in Mierlo between June 27th and July 6th.

During the camp Maccabi will play three pre-season friendly matches with two of the opponents already determined – Alemannia Aachen (Germany) and KVC Westerlo (Belgium).

The first match on June 29th will see Ivic’s charges face German outfit Aachen that ended last season 12th in the fourth division.

On July 2nd Maccabi will face KVC Westerlo at the Het Kuipje stadium for a pre-season friendly that will be their first since winning promotion to the top Belgian division.

The opponent and date (July 5th/6th) of Maccabi’s third pre-season warm-up match will be determined and announced at a later stage.

A week after returning to Israel (July 14th) Maccabi will officially kickoff their 2022/23 campaign as they host Maccabi Netanya for a Toto Cup match at Bloomfield stadium.