Category: News

The Under-16 team opens up training

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The Under-16 Team, Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv also got underway as they begin preparations for the 2019/20 season. Asi Heber will take over the team after coaching the Under-14 North team and will be joined by assistant coach Ben Caplan as the team will be comprised of payers who featured for the U15 side last season.

Heber looked ahead to the new season: “I’ve missed being on the pitch and I can’t wait get back to coaching. so it’s very exciting to start the new season especially with a new club in the U16. I’m beginning my 4th season with the club and I want to acknowledge the faith that they had in me for this promotion. The team has many quality players and our goal is to continue their development and to take them up a notch while helping them reach their dreams and of course see them move up in the club and play for the first team one day.”

The Under-17 team gets underway

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The Under-17 squad, Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv began training camp ahead of the 2019/20 campaign under brand new Head Coach Ori David and his assistant Jeffrey Yishai. David, who won the league title with the Under-15 side will begin his first season with the U17 and his team will be comprised of players from the Under-16 team.

David spoke about the challenges ahead for the new season: “This very exciting for me as I begin my 11th season with the club and my first with the Under-17. The players are those who are worked with as the coach of the U15 team and it a feeling of fulfillment to now be in this position. I am very happy to meet up with them again. My main goal is of course to work with players on their technical, mental and tactical abilities as they make the jump to the Under-19 side the next year. We will want to win all of the available titles that are in front of us and continue to imbue what it is to be part of Maccabi on an individual and team level.”

Under-19 squad opens up training camp

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The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Academy began training camp as the Under-19 team, Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv took to the pitch under new Head Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon who conducted his first session with the squad together with assistant Tzion Cohen and keeper coach Shura Uvarov. On July 27th the team will head to Bulgaria as they prepare for the 2019/20 season.

The squad is comprised of some veteran players from last year’s squad along with Under-17 players who won their league championship under the same Ben Aharon who moved up with them and spoke about the task ahead: “It’s very exciting. For 8 seasons I saw various coaches coming and going and now it’s my turn. My patience and hard work paid off and the fact that I persevered with a goal in mind, helped me become the coach of the Under-19 Maccabi Tel Aviv team. This was a long term goal that I had set for myself when I began coaching.”

Ben Aharon continued, “As the U19 coach my personal goal is to help develop and advance the clubs young generation of players; to bring them up to the level that they will be able to play for the first team during the upcoming seasons. My expectations are high and I believe in the team and the players, some of which I coached in the past. Their expectation is to win titles in style by dominating the league and cup.”

Memories from 2012/13: Surprise visitor

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In June of 2012 Maccabi Tel Aviv began preparations for the season ahead with a new hope in the air. The first signing by Jordi Cruyff as Technical Director was none other than the attacking midfielder Gonzalo Garcia which was the first move as the history of Israeli football was changed and Maccabi Tel Aviv changed forever.

Seven years since the signing, Garcia has hung up his football shoes and is now the coach of Holland’s Twente. The former Yellow & Blue midfielder visited Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Training Camp in Mierlo as well as some of the players he played with during his time with the club in Sheran Yeini, Eliran Atar as well as others during the Uruguayan’s tenure with the team.  

Rikan: “We’ve worked hard. Money time begins now”

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Avi Rikan, the Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder looked back at their 2:1 win over Sparta Rotterdam as well the training camp. He also spoke about Saturday’s Champions Cup match against Bnei Yehuda:

“This was our third game this week and it has allowed us to get into shape. In a few days the real thing begins and we want to be prepared.”

Familiarity:
“We’ve worked very hard and in the past seasons we held just one training camp but this season we had two. We spent a lot of time together and this is our second season with the professional staff, so we are familiar with each other. You’ll see that next week we will be in even better shape when it’s money time which begins now.”

Champions Cup on Saturday:
“Saturday night we will battle for the season’s first title and a club like Maccabi Tel Aviv wants to win every title that is available. This match is important and we’ve worked hard. We’ll rest up when we get back home and go into the game focused and ready to go.”

Ending on a High Note: Maccabi defeats Sparta Rotterdam 2:1

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Maccabi Tel Aviv played their final preseason friendly of their training camp as Sparta Rotterdam was the opponent for the third match this past week in Mierlo, Holland just ahead of the opening of the 2019/20 campaign with a Saturday clash versus Bnei Yehuda in the Champions Cup.

Rotterdam was the first Dutch opponent of the Yellow & Blue’s Training Camp as they were just promoted to their domestic league’s first division after ending last campaign in second place and advanced via the playoff round.

Head Coach Vladimir Ivic’s Starting XI included keeper Andreas Gianniotis, Dor Peretz, Jair Amador, Ophir Davdizada, Maor Kandil, Dan Glezer, Ruslan Barsky, Avi Rikan, Eylon Almog, Chico Ofoedu, Itay Schechter.

First Half
Maccabi pressed Sparta and created chances in the 7’ by Shechter and a minute later by Rikan but the Rotterdam keeper made the stops. The Yellow & Blue’s Dutch opponent began to control the pace of play and pressured the Maccabi goal which resulted in a goal in the 21’ when Ragnar Ache scored from in close for a 1:0 lead.

Rotterdam continued to maintain possession but Almog had a chance for Maccabi from 17 meters in the 35’ but wasn’t able to beat the Sparta keeper Tim Coremans. Kandil also had an opportunity to draw Maccabi even a minute later thanks to an Ofoedu cross but his effort came up short as Sparta held a slim one goal lead after 45 minutes of action.

Second Half
Ivic made four substitutes to start the second half as Sheran Yeini, Matan Baltaxa, Dor Micha and Yonatan Cohen all came on in favor of Amador, Davdizada, Almog and Ofoedu. Maccabi began the second half on the right foot and in the 49’ Kandil sent Rikan a ball from the right side that he put home to draw the Yellow & Blue even at 1:1.

Maccabi continued to press and in the 56’ Micha gave Shechter a beauty of a through ball that he easily converted as Ivic’s squad took a 2:1 lead. Cohen’s header off a Rikan cross just missed the target and in the 70’ Aaron Schoenfeld was introduced in favor of Shechter.

In the 75’ Omer Atzili made his training camp debut since his injury and immediately following the substitute Cohen surprised Sparta’s second choice keeper Michael Fabrie from 25 meters but made the save. Eden Kartzev replaced Dor Peretz in the 81’ and three minutes later Schoenfeld sent Atzili a nice ball but the latter couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity as Maccabi wrapped up a 2:1 victory to end training camp on a high note.

The Youth Academy’s Camp is Underway

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The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Academy’s Boost Camp began on Sunday for children ages 10-15. The day began with video analysis and then moved to the pitch for an hour and a half. To end the day, the group had lunch together.

Over the course of the camp, the players will have professional training session along with professional meetings with mental coaches, nutritionists, medical staff and more.

The coach in charge of the camp is Ori David who is the Under-17 team’s coach and he spoke about the opening day of the program: “It was a successful first day form all aspects. The children came hungry to learn and develop into better footballers. We began immediately with a video analysis session and showed them what we will be working on throughout the camp. On the pitch we worked on physical fitness, technical elements and coordination. Everyone ended the day on a high note as we shared lunch together as they can’t wait for the next day of the camp. Whoever would still like to signup for the camp can still do so.”


The camp is taking place at the PenguinPickUp Training Facility at Kiryat Shalom between July 14-31, three times a week for children ages 10-15.The Youth Academy coaches are in charge of the training sessions and the content of the sessions are per the club’s philosophy under the auspices of Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen.

Other coaches include Eliezer Ben Aharon, Shura Uvarov, Dedi Ben Dayan, Jeffery Yishai, Israel Eini and others. The staff will continue to work with the youngsters to help prepare them for the opening training sessions of the season.

Camp details:
Dates: July 14-31 – 9 days of training
Training days: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday between 08:30-11:30.
Ages: U10-U15
Location: 106 Derech Ben Tzvi, Tel Aviv – PenguinPickUp Training Ground at Kiryat Shalom
Cost: 1950 NIS
For further information: Phone 03-680-6169 or email lbenaharon@mtafc.com

Maccabi agree Nick Blackman return

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Maccabi Tel Aviv FC can announce that an agreement has been reached with Nick Blackman which will see him return to the club on a two-year-contract with an option for a third season. 

The 29-year-old Jewish forward has joined Maccabi on a free transfer and became the second signing of the 2019/20 season.

Maccabi CEO, Ben Mansford, told the club’s official website: “We are all delighted that Nick will be returning to Maccabi. Nick showed everyone what he was about during the 2017/18 season and therefore needs no real introduction. Nick came to meet Vladimir Ivic in Holland last week and it was clear that he was excited to become part of a Championship winning group and to play his part in pushing forward this season. We are pleased to be able to add him to the current squad. Nick will give Vlada another attacking option and this will add to the already strong competition across the front line. Welcome back Nick”.

Blackman scored 12 goals in 40 appearances for Maccabi in all competitions during the 2017/18 season – returns to the club. He scored the only goal of the game during Maccabi’s 1-0 Europa League group stage victory away to Villarreal and helped the side win the Toto Cup.

19:00: Maccabi faces Sparta Rotterdam in Preseason Friendly

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Maccabi Tel Aviv will hold their third and final preseason friendly this evening, Sunday at 19:00 when they face Sparta Rotterdam at their Holland training camp. The match will take place in Mierlo against the team from Holland’s top division.

This morning, the team continued their preparations for the new campaign and tomorrow Vladimir Ivic’s squad will make their way back to Israel for the Champions Cup on Saturday against Bnei Yehuda. A few days later, the Yellow & Blue will play their first Champions League Group Stage qualifier.

As for Maccabi’s rival this evening, Rotterdam was promoted to the Eredivisie this past season after finishing in 2nd place in the second league and advancing via the playoffs.