Nivea, one of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s sponsors, participated in this year’s Super Pharm expo at the Tel Aviv fairgrounds and under the banner “We are the People” which promotes teamwork. Maccabi players Omer Atzili, Itai Shechter and Eyal Golasa were invited to the Nivea Men stand at the exhibit. They were greeted with warmth and participated in a table soccer tournament against some of the company’s heads, including Ronen Shamir, the CEO of Alpa Cosmetics, the Israel importer of Nivea products.

Maccabi Tel Aviv inaugurated the FOREVER supporters’ club this summer which set up to give fans greater access to the club and to special events and Maccabi is now delivering.

In an activity on Wednesday night open only to FOREVER members at the T-House Saloon and Garden in Tel Aviv, some 120 fans were given some thrilling insights by Ori Cooper, the pundit and former scout who gave a talk, and they then engaged in conversation with former star Yoav Ziv, the present team manager.

Before the start of formalities, those present were received souvenir chaser glasses emblazoned with the club’s logo. Cooper then began his talk, entitled “Football behind the scenes,” in which he recounted stories from the scouting scene both locally and abroad, and about matters related to Maccabi.

The evening’s activities then moved on to a riveting open discussion with Ziv, who fielded lots of questions. He discussed latest developments at the club and recounted events from his own playing days and told of the leaner period he had endured from the time of Jordi Cruyff until today.

The next FOREVER event is not far off, it will take place during the away match against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona at the end of the month when the game will be screened in a family event that will include refreshments. See you there.

Maccabi Tel Aviv striker Matan Hozez has recently secured a place in the first team’s starting lineup and took time at Monday’s festive launch of the “Special Maccabi” team for athletes with special needs to talk about his form.

Hozez said he had made a decision to stay at the club, work hard and fight for his place in the side and things are going well.

“I never even thought about leaving, it has never been a consideration. I knew I would stay at Maccabi in any event. I feel great and am hugely satisfied that I am playing and working hard for my place. It has been worthwhile,” Hozez said.

“Clearly, there have been tougher times when things were more difficult for me but I am pleased that I can be considered part of the squad and that I am doing well,” he added. 

Hozez said coach Vladimir Ivic has demanded that his players put constant pressure on opposing teams and that they were working hard to implement the plans. It was very pleasing to be able to do so and watch things come to fruition and yield results.

“Through this system we are able to keep possession of the ball for longer and prevent our opponents from scoring,” Hozez said.

He was pleased that colleagues who were out injured were returning to fitness.

“Good clubs have big, quality squads and there is great competition over who will be best and be able to fulfill the game plan but the coach gives an equal chance to everybody but utilises the players most suitable for his game plan.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum participated in Monday’s launch of the “Special Maccabi” team, an initiative for athletes with special needs founded by Maccabi Tel Aviv FC Fund in partnership with Bank Hapoalim, and took a few moments to talk about the first team’s situation and his fantastic start to the season.

“Goalkeepers hate to let in goals and I always want my goalmouth to remain shut but most important for us is gaining the three points and the win,” said Tenenbaum, who is 10 minutes away from setting a new all-time Israeli record for keeping a clean sheet. 

Brazilian-born Tenenbaum has reached 993 minutes without conceding a goal and if he keeps the ball out of his net for 10 more minutes at least in the next league fixture at the end of the month against Kiryat Shmona, he and Maccabi will break the record currently held by Maccabi Haifa and their goalkeeper Giora Antman of 1,002 minutes set in 1988-89.

Tenenbaum said his success wasn’t due to chance but it’s all down to hard work.

“I have been at Maccabi for three years and I have worked every day but now that I have been given the chance to play, I am ready. The fact that we haven’t conceded a goal since the start of the season isn’t a matter of luck, it’s the entire team’s effort, not only mine. I had dreamed of becoming Maccabi’s goalkeeper and our situation at the moment is great,” Tenenbaum said.

The new immigrant from Brazil said he maintains contact with his predecessor between Maccabi’s posts, Serbian Predrag Rajkovic and says he’s also doing well at his new club, Stade de Reims in France. 

“He also went nine consecutive games without conceding a goal but what he tells me when we talk will remain between us. The main tip he has given me is to work hard in training.”

If there has been any doubt that Tenenbaum hasn’t needed to work hard while keeping all his clean sheets, he assures this is far from the situation.

“The goalkeeper’s job isn’t only to make saves but to ensure that his defence is coordinated and this requires a lot of vigilance. I talks to my defenders all the time and point out situations to them constantly. I speak to them either in Spanish, Portuguese or Hebrew as I am able to converse in all those languages and the players all understand me and each other, that’s the most important thing.”

Tenenbaum said he maintains contact with Haviv Ohayon, one of Maccabi’s goalkeepers who was badly injured during training.

“I’m very upset about his condition. I have visited him several times in hospital with his father. We pray that he may recover and return to play with us but it’s in God’s hands.”