Category: News
Youth team notch first win
Maccabi Tel Aviv “Shahar” the club’s youth side registered its first win of the season on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Maccabi Netanya “Shlomi”.
The win followed two draws in the previous two fixtures of the current season. Farpa Guyagon scored twice and Raveh Assayag added a third goal before Amit Yaacov’s consolation effort for Netanya.
In other fixtures for the youth academy teams, hosts Ashdod beat Maccabi’s boys’ (under-17) team 3-2 and the U16 team in the same category lost 2-1 at home to Beitar Tubruk but the U15 team scored a huge 15-0 away win over Hapoel Nahalat Yehuda in the cup. The goals included two hat tricks for Omer Dinar and Osher Bruchim and Yosef Lior, Tom Bloch and Agam Hanoch each scoring two goals. Additional goals were scored by Ido Dalal, Ron Rabinovitch and Yehezkel Ben.
Rikan: After three clean sheets we are gaining in confidence
Avi Rikan spoke to reporters after the 1-0 win over Hapoel Kfar Sava and said: “It was a game of two halves. I think in the first we played well, we controlled the tempo and played high and had a few chances. But after we scored, we regressed and allowed them back in.
“We should have scored a second goal and killed the game off but unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
“Our opponents make changes sometimes and I feel we don’t adapt quickly enough. We really need to take advantage of situations when we have control of the ball and our opponents are caught napping.
“We are not as dominant as we were last season and its clear to see in our play, but we are very sure in our ability and I’m happy that for the third game in a row we have not conceded a goal.”Our defence is working well and it gives us a lot more confidence that we can get the results we need.
“We may not be as brilliant as last season, but we have got similar results. Of course, there are great expectations that we will play as we did last season and this is already a yardstick against we will be measured.
“We will be tested greatly next week in a big game against Maccabi Haifa, Bloomfield will be full and it will be a great occasion. We will have to show that we are up to the task.”
Ivic: “We played well in the first half. There is still room for improvement”
Maccabi Tel Aviv returned from the international break this evening (Saturday) and were back to their winning ways. The Yellows wearing Blue beat Hapoel Kfar Sava 1-0 and after the final whistle coach Vladimir Ivic summed up the match from his point of view.
Before Haifa: Maccabi beat Kfar Saba 1-0
Against a lack-lustre Hapoel Kfar Saba, Maccabi dominated and never looked in any kind of trouble. But it took a moment of individual brilliance in the 38th minute from Dor Micha to confirm Maccabi’s superiority. Latching onto a perfectly weighted pass from Chikeluba Ofoedu, Micha controlled the ball and hit a superb shot into the top corner. And despite a more determined second-half effort from the newly promoted hosts, Maccabi keeper Daniel Tenebaum was mainly a spectator. 
Coach Vladimir Ivic made three changes to the side which was held to a 0-0 draw by Bnei Yehuda before the international break. Ofir Davidzada replaced Enric Saborit at left-back while Avi Rikan stepped into the midfield alongside Dan Glazer and Micha.
Maccabi dominated the game with the probing Yonatan Cohen a constant threat and Hapoel keeper Itamar Israeli making saves from Avi Rikan and Ofoedu. In the second half the hosts were enjoying more pressure and in the 62nd minute had an excellent chance to level the scores when Maccabi defender Eitan Tibi’s lame header put Benjamini Koku through but the striker’s shot was easily smothered by Tenebaum. 
Kfar Saba were reduced to 10 men when midfielder Kevin Reinstein got a second yellow card from referee Ohad Asulin five minutes from time and Maccabi saw out the game with plenty left in the tank.
Said Ivic after the game: “We were not as dominant in the second half as we were in the first and we need to look at this. But we controlled the game from start to finish and we look forward to next week’s match against Macabi Haifa
Youth team beat Maccabi Netanya 3-1
Maccabi “Shahar” Tel Aviv’s youth team asserted their authority over Maccabi Netanya in the third round of the youth premier league on Saturday and registered their first win of the season following two draws as Farpa Guyagon scored twice and Raveh Assayag added a third goal before Amit Yaacov’s consolation effort for Netanya.
Guyagon settled Maccabi’s nerves already in the second minute after Assayag sent in a cross from the right for his the Ivory Coast midfielder to slot into the back of the net. He added a second strike in the 36th minute as Maccabi asserted their dominance.
Assayag added a third goal for coach Eliezer Ben Aharon’s side by rising high to head over Netanya goalkeeper Razi Abu Hamza into the net in the 51st minute.
Netanya’s Amit Yaacov scored a consolation goal for the visitors and the result was never in doubt.
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s lineup: Ben Moussaioff, Guy Mizrahi, Omer Yitzhak, Dan Lugassi, Shahar Rosen, Nadav Nidam (Assaf Hershko, 53), Omri Ram (Tal Turgeman, 78), Rotem Yatzker (Niv Berkovitz, 57), Raveh Assayag, Farpa Guyagon (Shai Balahsan, 67), Nehorai Biton (Shaked Navon, 46).
Van Leeuwen looks forward to the new season
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth academy is entering its fourth year under the tutelage of a team headed by Patrick Van Leeuwen, the club’s performance director. We caught up with the Dutchman to hear his take on the work he has done so far and his plans for the upcoming season.
Summing up the period to date and vision for the future:
“For the last three years, the youth academy has come on in leaps and bounds and we have made significant progress. My vision has been instilled and it has more or less become our lingua franca. Coaches and players are working to the high standards we expect and they have got better every season.
“We have set high standards in the development of young players and when I look back today, I can see that we have a firm base on which to build and on how we want to play football.
“Looking forward to my fourth season at the club, I expect to see more progress from players and teams. Additionally, I expect to see high quality work by coaches both in training and on the sidelines during matches. We are already at a stage where we do not have to make major changes and this is because we set a firm base in place at the outset. Now we can concentrate on specific points which will take players a step forward towards becoming better at doing the things they enjoy, namely: playing football.”
Plans for the upcoming season:
Elite Program:
“We inaugurated the elite training project last season and during the current season we want to target efficiencies. This is a programme that is working concurrently to regular training, and is aimed specifically at the players who are included to the project. The additional aspects that players will receive involve mental training, lifestyle demands for top athletes, analyzing situations with the use of video footage, physical training and tactical tuition that is tailor made for each individual participant.
We will increase the coaching staff so that they can concentrate on each player’s development. This will involve recruiting former club players who will be able to impart their experience and knowledge on the young talent. We received very positive reaction last season.”
Data analysis:
“The data analysis of players’ physical development in training and play, information that we receive through our cooperation with “Playermaker” we are able to monitor four separate teams from age 14-17 and we use GPS technology to track the activity of the youth team. This is a vital tool that provides us with the means to analyze whether out plan to increase player performance is working. We will store the data in order to create a benchmark for academy players at each age group and it will allow each coach to set standards every year because they will be able to know whether the players have reached the level we expect of them. The system also allows players to monitor their own progress through a smart phone app where they can view clips and personal data.
Girls’ Academy:
“Another aim is to continue to develop the girls’ academy. This project was started through our schools initiative last year when we set up a girls’ league team. In the coming season we want to establish an academy that will be organized in the same way as the one we have for the boys and we want to utilize the same training tools and analysis. This is a grand plan that we have set out and we want to ensure that we can implement it in the best possible way so that we can get girls to get excited about playing football.
We certainly hope that this will help the development of women’s soccer in Israel and will open the door for Maccabi players into the women’s national team.”
International tournament:
“In January, we will hold an international youth tournament at Kiryat Shalom following on from a similar event that has been held in the past two seasons. We hope also to add two more events for teams aged under-17. We want our players to get a taste of short-term competition and to be able to achieve results in a concentrated event which lasts only a few days.”
Goals For The Season
“For this season, we hope to be able to get youth players ready to enter play with the full squad and to give them the opportunity to train with our senior team so that the coach will be able to get an idea of their abilities. For the younger teams, we expect players to be able to set an example to other teams and to become the leading teams in their respective leagues, as they do every season.”
“Of course, just as with the youth players moving up to senior level, we want the same to happen with the younger players and hope they will be able to demonstrate that they are capable of competing for places in higher age group teams.
“We will also continue to monitor the progress of youth players who are on loan at other clubs in the second division where they can gain vital experience of tougher competition.
“If we want to continue to recruit the best talent, we need good scouts and one of our main activities is to hold open days for players from throughout the country. We want to get the best players playing for us and give them the opportunity to nurture their talent. 
Open days in the upcoming season will be aimed at boys aged five-12.”
Scouting:
“We hope also to attract young players through our branches in the north and the south with activities for six- and seven-year-olds through games and training, and hope that this will instill interest for the future. We will start with boys but expect also to see young girls joining in.”
Football Network:
Another initiative that we are continuing from last season is cooperation with other clubs through the Football Network. We have established connections with other clubs and have allowed them to observe our training sessions and to receive guidance from our coaches so that they too can improve their own work. We currently have 12 clubs who want to cooperate with us. Our aim is to be as open as possible and to share information for the good of everybody.”
Media:
We have developed our social media platform and I am especially proud that academy players can glean information from our Instagram page and from the web site. I particularly like the fact that it is possible to the youth team matches on the web site. It adds interest and enthusiasm to the players who know that they are being watched.”
Summary:
The season has begun and I really expect our work and progress to continue at full speed. I want to see our players who are out on loan playing at the highest level possible and that all Maccabi’s players will have the opportunity to play competitively. With the help of parents and full motivation, I believe that we will have a wonderful season.”
Maccabi v. Kfar Sava in numbers
The first time that Maccabi played a newly promoted club after the formation of the state in 1948, the opponents were Hapoel Kfar Sava and Maccabi won 2-1. Merimovich and Studinski scored for the winners.
The two sides have met 85 times in league fixtures. Maccabi have won 41 times, 28 matches ended in draws and Kfar Sava won on 16 occasions.
Maccabi’s highest winning margin over Kfar Sava is 5-0 and has been achieved on three occasions: Twice in 1988-89 and in 2015-16.
Two players have scored hat tricks for Maccabi against Kfar Sava: Benny Tabak in 1988-89 and Andrej Kubicka in 1998-99.
In all, 61 players have scored for Maccabi in clashes with Kfar Sava. Avi Nimni and Eli Driks are top scorers with eight goals each.
Micha: We are tested most when we are under pressure
Maccabi Tel Aviv will return from the international break on Saturday with a clash in the TASE Premier League away to newly-promoted Hapoel Kfar Sava at the Moshava Stadium in Petah Tikva.
With Maccabi’s regular captain, Sheran Yeini, out injured, midfielder Dor Micha will wear the captain’s armband. He appeared at the pre-match news conference on Thursday and discussed the team’s below-par form before the hiatus.
“We have worked hard in the past few days during the break knowing that we must demand more of ourselves and must play to a higher standard now that we are back in action.
“Players are measured when times are tough. Last season things went swimmingly, but that was last season. This season we are facing a tougher situation but relations with the coach and the staff are excellent.
“As for Hapoel Kfar Sava, it will be another test for us. No matches are going to be easy in this league. They played very well in their last outing and we will have to be at our vigilant best.”
