Category: News

ID Card: Youth Academy Staff – Ben Kaplan

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One of the goals of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Avi Cohen Youth Academy is to help the young players improve and advance to the first team. Behind the scenes are many coaches, assistants and staff that are there to provide the next education along the way. One of those people is Ben Kaplan, the Under-16 Assistant Coach who tells us about his time to date in the world of football and the work he does at the Youth Academy.

Ben Kaplan, 32 – Assistant Coach Under-16

Love of the game
“It began just like every other child who loved playing with a ball and then expanded in the 2000’s with my love of Ronaldo, the original Ronaldo. But it was my true love for Guardiola’s Barcelona.”

Entering the world of football
“I had a restaurant, I studied law, managed bars but as time passed by I knew what my dream was and that was to be a football coach of the highest level.”

Investment
“I put a tremendous amount of time into football including reading coaching manuals and books including those of Cruyff and Guradiola who is my role model. I have learnt a tremendous amount from them. It’s amazing to see how the small details make a huge difference.

In addition, I watch a lot of football and not just matches but also tactics on video and YouTube or on other websites that deal with the subject matter. You can learn a lot and in my opinion the world of football continues to change all the time and there is an endless amount to learn. There’s also an unlimited amount of people from who you can learn from.”

Role model
“I really respect and am a fan of Guardiola’s football who takes chances all over the pitch. I also like Maurizio Sarri’s style of play and I have begun really enjoying Klopp’s tactics as well although there seems to be chaotic and tough for me to totally understand his methodology.”

Working at Maccabi Tel Aviv
“Things are different at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen’s philosophy is very clear and the whole department plays the same style which is terrific and helps the coaches out a lot. If you get a new team, they are already prepared to play and that makes things move faster along. I work with Eran Sassi who is an excellent coach and we get along really well. I have the freedom to offer my thoughts and opinions but ultimately he has the final word.”

His role
“As an assistant I get the pitch ready for training, work with Eran to prepare the content of the sessions, review match videos, work with the players during the practice and do almost everything that a head coach does. We have a lot of responsibility as we help develop the best players in the country.”

Being part of the Yellow & Blue family
“Maccabi is like a home and that’s how I have felt over the past two years. There’s nothing more than I’d like to do than to be on the pitch, I can’t describe the love I have for my job. I can’t wait for every training session to begin and I never want them to end.

We are group of coaches who work with the youngsters and invest a tremendous amount of time into every single training session. We are all working towards the same goal and I hope that each and every player can go as far as possible and reach for their dreams. We have a terrific connection with them and we talk about all different types of things not just football. They know that I am here for their every need and they are no different than my family.”

Yellow & Blue Youth Academy Results – Saturday February 16, 2019

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Hapoel Ramat Gan 0:0 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv (U19)
After defeating Maccabi Petah Tikva, the club’s Under-19 side drew 0:0 with Ramat Gan on Matchday 21 of league play. The young Yellow & Blue controlled the pace of play but couldn’t find the back of the goal as the teams split the points. The gap to the top of the table is 3 points. For the Full Match Report Click Here.

משחקי השבת באקדמיית הנוער 16.02.19


Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 3:1 Beitar Jerusalem (U15)
The Under-15 squad hosted Beitar Jerusalem on Matchday 20. The young Yellow & Blue were able to mount a comeback to record the win and stay atop the table. Oscar Gluch and Oral Bahia with a brace scored in the win. Head Coach Ori David summed up the victory: “This was a good team game from a quality football play point of view. We had many clear chances near the goal and the club knew how to come back from a 1:0 deficit to take the 3:1 win. The players showed terrific character.”

Atar draws even with Zohar, Micha closes in on Nimni

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Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Kiryat Shemona 3:0 on Saturday night and added another record in a season of many broken records. Since the beginning of the league season, this was the 23rd match that the Yellow & Blue have gone undefeated – the most in club history. The prior record was in 1953/54 and 1957/58 when Maccabi also went undefeated in a season of 22 matches.

The Maccabi defenders and keeper Predrag Rajkovic kept a clean sheet for the 11th time this season in league play. In 23 Matchdays the Yellow & Blue have given up only 11 goals.

This was the second match in a row that Maccabi didn’t concede a goal after last week’s 0:0 draw at Bnei Sakhnin.

How about another great stat: This is the 6th straight match that there were 3 goals scored in a match between Maccabi and Kiryat Shemona (6 Maccabi 2:1 wins, two 3:0 victories).

The MAC Trio
Three players were involved in the Maccabi goals. Eliran Atar scored a brace, Dor Micha scored a lone marker and assisted on another while Chico Ofoedu assisted on Micha’s goal and one of Atar’s.

Atar draws even with Itzik Zohar
After Atar entered the top 10 all-time Maccabi scorers in league play, Atar moved into 8th place with 70 league goals. The striker drew even with Itzik Zohar who also has 70 goals and will now set his sights on Dror Bar Nur who has 83.

Atar’s brace gave him 10 league goals on the season and is now tied with Mavis Tchibota who is at the top of the Ligat Japanika leader list.

This was also Atar’s 4th brace of the season and has done it 3 times at home and once away. Just one day before his birthday which is today, #16 scored his 18th goal across all competitions.

Micha closes in on history
In terms of assists, Dor Micha now has 9 league helpers and has also made it to the top of the league leaders drawing even with Valon Ahmedi from Kiryat Shemona.

Micha has 65 league assists over the course of his career and he’s closing in on the Maccabi leader Avi Nimni who has 81.

In Micha’s last 9 matches across all competitions the midfielder has recorded 5 goals and 4 assists.

Chico Ofoedu’s pair of assists now brings his league total to 3 and 4 overall.

Speed demons
According to league stats, it’s no surprise that Chico was the fastest Maccabi player hitting 33.8kph. Yonatan Cohen was second with 33.5kph.

Maccabi’s midfielders didn’t stop running as Dan Glezer and Dor Peretz ran 11.8km and 11km respectively.

Saturday football fun for the whole family

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How does combining some great family fun with a Maccabi Tel Aviv match sound? The Yellow & Blue face Maccabi Petah Tikva at 16:00 on Matchday 24 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Japanika and we’ve got a great Happening scheduled for you and the whole family at the Netanya Stadium.

Beginning at 14:00 there will be different children’s activities around the stadium from shooting contests to football-tennis, and snooker-football as well. We recommend that you get to the stadium early and enjoy these great activities beginning at 14:00, 2 hours prior to the opening whistle.

Tickets are on sale now via the Leaan Website, the Leaan Ticket Office located at 42 Frishman Street, Tel Aviv and by Telephone *8780.

Home printing is available

Ticket Prices
Leaan Ticket Office
Youth/Soldier/Women – (Sections 101-102, 108-109, 208-209 only) – 50 NIS
Lower East Stand – 100 NIS
West Stand (103-109, 203-209) – 100 NIS
E+ – 225 NIS
Silver Section – 350 NIS

Phone/Leaan Website
Youth/Soldier/Women – (Sections 101-102, 108-109, 208-209 only) – 55 NIS
Lower East Stand – 105 NIS
West Stand (103-109, 203-209) – 105 NIS
E+ – 230 NIS
Silver Section – 355 NIS

Youth/Soldier/Women tickets are available for purchase by telephone only after identification.

Ticket Collection
Tickets may be collected at the Leaan Ticket Office located at 42 Frishman Street, Tel Aviv between Sunday-Thursday 09:00-19:00, Friday 09:00-13:30.

Tickets may be collected on Matchday at the Stadium ticket windows beginning 3 hours prior to the match until 45 minutes after the start of the match.

Piven: “It’s great to play in front of this wonderful crowd”

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Shahar Piven, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s central defender looked back on his club’s 3:0 win over Kiryat Shemona on Matchday 23 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Japanika:

“We’re happy to get back onto the winning track. Even though we are leading the league by 20 points we still want to win every match and although we drew our last two matches came back with a victory and improved what we needed to work on. It’s great to play in front of this wonderful crowd and we’ll continue to move forward.”

Every match will be a battle:
“We want to advance in the Cup and we know that any match we play is a battle because the other teams need to take points as they want to avoid relegation or advance to the Championship Playoffs. We want to win and we are already focusing on the next match.”

Continuing undefeated:
“We dropped off a bit but we had a big Cup win along the way during this period and of course we would rather win than draw. But at this point in the season I’m sure we would all rather draw than lose as we continue undefeated.”

Goals ahead:
“We are winners and we will help each other if it’s to lead the league in scoring or assists but we really aren’t focusing on individual titles. Our goal is to bring back the league championship to Tel Aviv after three seasons.”

Sending long balls downfield:
“We spoke about me sending long balls downfield especially with Chico’s speed and we did just that. We also kept another clean sheet and we’ll continue on.”

National Team:
“The national team is a month away and I hope and pray that I get called up as it’s a childhood dream that I want to realize, to be able to represent Israel. I hope I can continue to be healthy and in good shape like I am now and what will be, will be.”

Micha: “At a team like Maccabi you can never lift your foot off of the gas”

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Dor Micha, the Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder spoke about his side’s 3:0 win over Kiryat Shemona at the Netanya Stadium:

“We feel good after winning as we didn’t play well the past few matches and this past month. I’m happy that we got back to our good play right from the start of the match and we had some good chances.”

About Eliran Atar:
“Even the first time Atar was here we played well together and now all of us want to see him be the goal scoring leader and he’s having a great season.”

Records:
“It’s always good to break records whether it’s to concede the fewest goals or score the most. It’s important at the end of the season but it’s not something we looked at before the match.”

Never lifting your foot off of the gas:
“As professionals this is our job. At a team like Maccabi anyone can lose their place in the squad so you can never lift your foot off of the gas.”

Ivic: “After a win like this you’re happy”

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Vladimir Ivic, the Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach looked back at his side’s 3:0 win on Matchday 23 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Japanika:

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“Normally after a win like this you’re satisfied and you are happy. We took the 3 points and we did our job well.”

Every game’s important:
“Every game is important to win just like the last one and they are all the same for 3 points. Sometimes you play good football in the first half like last game and you don’t win. Thsiis the most interesting sport in the world. Today we played from the first second, we played serious and we deserved the win.”

Opening up the game:
“Kiryat Shemona came to the game without 2-3 regular players. We started well with a goal at the start of the game and it opened it and we had more space. We always want to score early but sometimes it’s not possible. We still have to improve some things from the game.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv defeats Kiryat Shemona 3:0

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Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Kiryat Shemona 3:0 on Matchday 23 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Japanika. Eliran Atar scored a brace while Dor Micha found the back of the goal as well in the clean sheet victory. The Yellow & Blue will now began preparing for next Saturday’s league clash against Maccabi Petah Tikva.

Head Coach Vladimir Ivic’s Starting XI included keeper Predrag Rajkovic, Eli Dasa, Jair Amador, Shahar Piven, Enric Saborit, Dor Peretz, Dan Glezer, Dor Micha, Omer Atzili, Eliran Atar, Chico Ofoedu.

Available on the bench: Daniel Tenenbaum, Itay Shechter, Avi Rikan, Yonatan Cohen, Aron Schoenfeld, Maor Kandil, Ruslan Barsky.

First Half
Maccabi came out on fire as Glezer almost opened up the scoring in the 4’ but his blast from 20 meters went over the bar and two minutes later Saborit got the ball to Atzili, but his chance missed the target.

However, in the 7’ Atar made no mistake and put the ball behind a helpless Džiugas Bartkus for a 1:0 Maccabi lead. Micha sent a gorgeous through ball to Ofoedu on the left side of the box who made a perfect cross to an oncoming Atar in the middle of the area as the striker slotted the ball home for the advantage.

In the 22’ Atzli’s laser beam of a shot was parried by Bartkus while Micha’s rebound volley hit the bar. A minute later Micha’s opportunity was caught by an active Kiryat Shemona as Maccabi continued to pour on the offense.

The Yellow & Blue doubled their advantage in the 32’ when Piven sent a beauty of the ball to Ofoedu who tried to pass it to Micha but it glanced off of #15 and went into the goal for a 2:0 lead. Five minutes later, Ofoedu’s 20 meter chance went over the goal while Aztli’s 18 meter free kick just skipped by the post as Maccabi took a 2:0 lead into the break.

Second Half
Atar’s 48’ left footed volley was saved by Bartkus while Levi Garcia had a chance to put the visitor’s on the board four minutes later but his chance missed the target. Yonatan Cohen entered the match as Ivic’s first substitute when he replaced Atzili in the 58’.

Atar gave Maccabi a 3:0 lead in the 62’ after an amazing give and go with Micha as the striker sent the ball right into the goal in a beautiful strike. Cohen’s 68’ opportunity was blocked by Bartkus and a minute later Abuhatzira had a chance for Kiryat Shemona but his shot was stopped by Rajkovic.

In the 75’ Itay Shechter came on for Ofoedu and six minutes later Micha was subbed off for Avi Rikan. Maccabi almost added their 4th goal in the 88’ off a counter attack but the ball went into a defender as the Yellow & Blue wrapped up the 3:0 lead.

Maccabi “Shachar” and Ramat Gan draw 0:0

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Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv visited Hapoel Ramat Gan on Matchday 21 of the Israel Youth Premier League. Guy Tzarfati’s squad entered the match just one point off the top of the table while the last match between the two sides ended in a 0:0 draw.

Starting XI: Daniel Peretz, Michael Chilaka, Alon Shtrozberg, Amit Glezer, Tomer Mahluf, Tamir Glezer, Mufleh Shalata, Ido Shahar, Eduardo Guerrero, Bar Cohen, Eyal Hen.

First Half
The match began primarily in the midfield with Maccabi controlling the pace of play. In the 11’ Hen tried his luck from long distance but the ball went over the goal and five minutes later Shalata’s tough angled shot was parried away for a corner by keeper Yuval Sade.

The Yellow & Blue continued to control the play but Ramat Gan played a very defensive style that Maccabi had a tough time breaking down. In the 41’ Hen crossed the ball into the box that was smothered by the keeper but Cohen was able to get to the rebound which he put right by the post and out.

A minute later Tamir Glezer sent a brilliant through ball to Hen but Sade was in place once again and Guerrero’s attempt right before the break was saved by the keeper as the sides went into halftime goalless.

Second Half
Shahar’s 48’ chance went over the goal and Ramat Gan’s opportunity 9 minutes later by Ben Amsalem was went into a Maccabi defender to quell the threat. In the 65’ Shalata’s long distance attempt went by the post and in the 78’ Guerrero took the ball on the right, sent it to Omri Ram but his shot went off a Ramat Gan defender.

Maccabi had a few more chances but the host’s took care of each one of them as the squad’s split the points in a goalless draw, 0:0.