Ophir Davidzada, the Maccabi Tel Aviv defender summed up the season that was while also looking ahead to the next:

“That’s the magic of the coach and the club. It’s a club that demands 100% of the players no matter when or where. The coach brought a winning approach which we all felt from the beginning of the season and we see it every match no matter who is on the pitch.”

Champions League qualifying:
“There are some difficult opponents that we could get drawn against but I believe in the squad and coach who will prepare us to be ready to win the matches in front of us, but first it will be training and preparation.”

The campaign that was:
“My season on a personal level wants the best and I had a lingering injury but that’s football and it can happen. I am happy that I’m past the injury and that I was able to finish the season properly and now I’m looking ahead to next season.”

Personal goals for next season:
“Most importantly I want to be healthy and from the professional side to make sure I give 100% effort and I show that I deserve to be on the pitch.”

Final thoughts:
“We want always show our strength and not stop. We want to be able to score as many goals as we can and I think that this is what winner is.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv had a dream 2018/19 season, one of the greatest in the club’s history. Vladimir Ivic’s players ended the season in style defeating Hapoel Beer Sheva 4:0 at Turner Stadium and set a number of records in the process.

Maccabi set the biggest point gap between first and second place of all time as the curtain came down on the season with a 31 point difference over Maccabi Haifa. The biggest gap to date had been 16 points set by Maccabi Haifa in 2005/06 and Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013/14.

The victory over Beer Sheva increased the gap to 34 points between the incoming champion and the outgoing champion which had been 32 points set in 1986/87 when the new champ Beitar Jerusalem had 66 points while the outgoing titleholder Hapoel Tel Aviv had 34 points.

The win over Beer Sheva set a new successful rate of 82.4% besting the 1995/96 Maccabi Tel Aviv squad which held the previous record of 82.2% since the league moved to 3 points earned per victory (1982/83).

Maccabi also reached 89 points – the all time club record and second in league history (after Maccabi Haifa 1993/94 – 95 points, 39 Matchdays).

Maccabi’s 4:0 win over Beer Sheva was their 27th of the season and it also matched the club’s all time record which was set in 1993/94.

Maccabi ended the campaign without an away loss and joined 5 other teams which had done the same.

On the defensive side, Maccabi recorded a clean sheet their 21st of the season and equalled Kiryat Shemona’s feat in 2011/12.

Maccabi Tel Aviv ended the season in style with a 4:0 win at Hapoel Beer Sheva. The Yellow & Blue dominated play throughout the 90 minutes and left no doubt as to why they were crowned champions. A John Ogu own goal opened the scoring to give Maccabi a 1:0 lead while Yonatan Cohen’s free kick strike doubled the advantage right before halftime. Avi Rikan added the third goal and Eli Dasa scored in added time to wrap up a 4:0 win to end the season in style.

Head Coach Vladimir Ivic’s Starting XI included keeper Daniel Tenenbaum, Eli Dasa, Shahar Piven, Eitan Tibi, Jair Amador, Ophir Davidzada, Dor Peretz, Dan Glezer, Avi Rikan, Yonatan Cohen and Itay Shechter.

Available on the bench: Daniel Peretz, Eric Saborit, Chico Ofoedu, Eliran Atar, Bar Cohen, Eyal Hen, Ruslan Barsky.

First Half
Beer Sheva’s Tomer Yosefi had the first chance of the evening in the 6’ but Tenenbaum made the stop and two minutes later Maccabi’s Yonatan Cohen’s free kick was taken care of by Ariel Harush. Yosefi once again was dangerous in the 11’ but Tenenbaum was in place to make the save.

In the 23’ Maccabi took a 1:0 lead thanks to an own goal by Beer Sheva midfielder John Ogu who knocked the ball behind Harush off a Davidzada cross into the box. Shechter’s 18 meter blast just missed the target while Rikan’s volley was saved by an alert Harush.

Arik Sabo of Beer Sheva, Shechter and Tibi were all issued yellow cards in the 35’ and two minutes later Peretz almost beat Harush but the keeper was up to the task. However, just before the break Cohen’s left footed free kick beat Harush to give the Yellow & Blue a 2:0 advantage as the just before the halftime break.

Second Half
Beer Sheva had the opening chance of the half when Dor Elo sent Michael Ohana the ball but the latter headed it over the bar in the 48’ and 11 minutes later Rikan tried to find Cohen but his cross just missed the mark.

Maccabi continued to attack and scored their third goal of the match when Dasa sent a ball to Shechter whose header went off the bar right to Rikan who slammed it home for a 3:0 lead in the 62’. Ruslan Barsky replaced Piven who came off injured in the 69’ and Miguel Vitor was issued his second yellow card and was sent off with a red card due to a foul on Peretz.

Chico Ofoedu entered the match in favor of Shechter in the 75’ and three minutes later Cohen was handed a yellow card. Eliran Atar was the final substitute of the season coming on for Rikan in the 81’ as the Yellow & Blue continued to threaten the Beer Sheva goal via Cohen, Peretz and Ofoedu. However, it was Dasa that added a fourth marker just outside of the box to complete a dominant 4:0 win.

Every good thing comes to an end. After one of the most exhilarating seasons in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s history, the Yellow & Blue will end the 2018/19 campaign this Saturday (20:00) at Hapoel Beer Sheva on Matchday 36 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Japanika.

* Vladimir Ivic’s squad comes into the contest against the outgoing champion in first place with a 31 point lead over Beer Sheva who are currently in second place. Last Matchday Maccabi drew at Maccabi Haifa 1:1 at Sammy Ofer Stadium.

* Beer Sheva is very close to securing an Europa League qualification spot after defeating Hapoel Hadera 1:0 last week. A loss of 4 goals or more and a minimal loss by Maccabi Haifa to Maccabi Netanya will deny Barak Bachar’s club of a ticket to Europe.

* The upcoming clash between the two sides will be the 4th meeting of the season. Two contests ended in a draw while one was a 3:0 Maccabi win which was one of the highlights of the Yellow & Blue’s season.

* Should Maccabi win they will end the season with a 82.4% success rate – which will be a new club record.

* If Maccabi wins they will reach 89 points which will be an all time club record.

* If the Yellow & Blue records their 21st clean sheet, they would equal a league record.

* A win over Hapoel Beer Sheva will create a gap of 34 points between the two clubs and set a record between the new champion and the outgoing titleholder.

Maccabi Tel Aviv has already won the Israeli League championship and will begin play in the Champions League second qualification round. However, once Ludogorets also secured the Bulgarian league title, the Yellow & Blue’s path to Europe changed slightly and they will not be ranked.

Maccabi will have 16.00 points in the UEFA coefficient and Ludogorets’s championship moved the Yellow & Blue out of the top ten at this stage of the competition. Due to this, Maccabi will have to face stronger opponents at least on paper.

Possible ranked opponents in the second qualification round:
*Celtic (Scotland), FC Copenhagen (Deenmark), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), *Bate Borisov (Belarus), Astana (Kazakhstan), APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus), *Maribor (Slovenia), *Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Ludogorets (Bulgaria), *Qarabag Agdam (Azerbaijan).

Teams that are starred * need to advance past the first round and should they not advance, the club that eliminated them will be ranked instead.

The first leg of second round matches will take place July 23-24 while the return leg will be played the following week. The draw itself will occur on June 18, 2019.

In order to advance to the Champions League, Maccabi will need to advance past the second, third and playoff rounds. Should the Yellow & Blue not advance past the second round they will enter the third round of Europa League qualifying.

After a long season that began last summer, Maccabi Tel Aviv will end the 2018/19 Israel Premier League Ligat Japanika campaign with a match on Saturday at Hapoel Beer Sheva (20:00). Vladimir Ivic’s squad had a phenomenal season, one of the best ever in Israeli football history and just ahead of the contest we decided to take a look at some of the records that the Yellow & Blue may break with the end of the campaign.

Biggest point gap of all time
We already know that Maccabi will set the biggest point gap between first and second place of all time as the curtain comes down on the season. The biggest gap to date had been 16 points set by Maccabi Haifa in 2005/06 and Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013/14.

The gap is currently at 31 points after Matchday 35. If Maccabi bests Beer Sheva and Maccabi Haifa doesn’t beat Maccabi Netanya the Yellow & Blue will also set the biggest gap of the season. Until this year, the gap had been 18 points by Maccabi Haifa in 2004/05 between Matchdays 22-24.

A victory over Beer Sheva will increase the gap to 34 points. The current record at the end of the season between champion from champion is 32 points which was set in 1986/87 when the new champ Beitar Jerusalem had 66 points while the outgoing titleholder Hapoel Tel Aviv had 34 points.

Highest success rate of all time
The 1995/96 Maccabi Tel Aviv squad holds the highest success rate since the league moved to 3 points earned per victory (1982/83) – 82.2% success rate. A win on Saturday would set a new record of 82.4%.

In addition, if Maccabi defeats Beer Sheva they will reach 89 points – the all time club record and second in league history (after Maccabi Haifa 1993/94 – 95 points, 39 Matchdays).

A victory on Saturday will be Maccabi’s 27th of the season and it will also match the club’s all time record which was set in 1993/94. If Maccabi doesn’t lose at Turner Stadium they will end the campaign with only one loss which will place them with three other teams who did the same (there are 3 more teams that went undefeated).

There hasn’t been a team in the 2000’s which has gone undefeated and only Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2009/10 finished the season with one loss.

A season without an away loss?
If the champion leaves Beer Sheva with a win or draw, the club will end the campaign without an away loss and will join 5 other teams which have done the same.

On the defensive side, if the Yellow & Blue record a clean sheet, that will be the 21st time this season that they would not concede a goal in a match and would equal the record set by Kiryat Shemona in 2011/12.

Eliran Atar has scored 12 goals this season, two less than Ben Sahar of Hapoel Beer Sheva who is the current goal scoring leader. To date, Atar has won the title twice: In 2012/13 and in 2008/09 (with Bnei Yehuda along with Shemona Abuhatzera and Barak Itzhaki).