Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Beitar Jerusalem, 12:00 (U19)
The Under-19 squad host’s Beitar Jerusalem on Matchday 15 of Israel Youth League action to end the first round of matches. The young Yellow & Blue are in second place and are just two points off of table leaders Maccabi Petah Tikva. The capital city side are in 9th place and are winless in their last 7 contests.

Bnei Yehuda – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv, 14:00 Tikva Neighborhood (U17)
Following a 6:2 win over Maccabi Haifa, the Under-17 side is back in action as they visit Bnei Yehuda to open the second round of games. Maccabi “Oded” are in first place with a 12 point lead while the host’s are in 9th place with 4 wins in their last five matches.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Maccabi Haifa, 10:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U16)
The Under-16 squad enters the contest after winning last week’s match 15:0. The Yellow & Blue are undefeated in ten straight games and find themselves in 4th place just 6 points of the top of the table. Haifa are in 2nd and are two points ahead of Eran Sassi’s charges.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Ashkelon, 8:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15)
The Under-15 team host’s Ashkelon on Matchday 14 and are undefeated as they begin the day in 2nd place while the visitor’s are in second to last place with a lone victory.

2018 was a very successful year for the Maccabi Tel Aviv Avi Cohen Youth Academy as it continues to imbue the philosophy of Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen. Over the past 12 months, the Youth Academy both hosted and took part in International Tournaments, won championships in their respective leagues, played in the UEFA Youth Champions League and also continued to advance the Girls Team project. Here are five of the accomplishments from the past calendar year.

1. Maccabi Tel Aviv’s International Youth Tournament

The calendar year began with the Youth Academy hosting an International Youth Tournament. Maccabi “Shachar” under the direction of Guy Tzarfati won the competition as his side played against the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Red Star Paris, Maccabi Haifa, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion. Over the course of 3 days the PenguinPickUp Training Ground at Kiryat Shalom hosted the teams and their players for a first rate tournament. For a summary of the competition click here.

2. Championships
The 2017/18 Season ended with a very sweet taste in everyone’s mouths. All of the Youth Academy squads playing in a competitive league through the Israel Football Association won their respective championship. The Under-19 squad won their 9th league title ending their campaign with an 8 point gap from second place after scoring 65 goals, the most in the league. For a full recap click here.

The Under-17 team also celebrated their championship, wrapping up their league title 5 Matcndays before the end of the season. Eliezer Ben Aharon’s squad won 25 games, drew 4 matches and lost only once as they finished the campaign up 19 points. For the full recap click here.

The Under-16 side picked up their championship in photo finishes fashion. Thanks to 9 straight wins to end the campaign, the young Yellow & Blue were able to take home the title on the last day of the season and then won the Champions Cup as well. For the full recap click here.

The Under-15 squad also won their respective league on the second to last Matchday of the season by defeating the #1 rival for the crown, Hapoel Beer Sheva. The team scored 126 goals and recorded 17 clean sheets. For the full recap click here.

3. Prestigious Under-15 Tournament in Vienna, Austria
At the end of the season, the Under-15 squad played in a prestigious tournament in Vienna, Austria. The goal of the competition was to give the players a chance to experience an international tournament with clubs of the highest level.

Participating teams included Maccabi Tel Aviv, Rapid Wien, Admira Wacker, Lokomotiv Moscow, Schalke 04, Ferencvárosi, AIK Stockholm and Red Star Belgrade. The young Yellow & Blue ended the competition in 4th place. For a recap click here.

4. Academy Girls Project
The Girls Project at Maccabi Tel Aviv is continuing to expand. There is a team training at the PenguinPickup Training Ground at Kiryat Shalom and are playing in a competitive league while there is a new girls team at the Hadar Yosef Athletic Facility as well. The competitive team advanced to the quarterfinals of the State Cup and the Club is also continuing to expand its programs for girls with the recruitment of girls between the ages of 5-15. The goal is to create a number of teams at different age groups with each squad limited to 25 girls and the teams will use the club’s football philosophy. For further information click here.

5. Youth Champions League

The Under-19 club took part in the Youth Champions League and advanced to the second round of the tournament by winning a two legged tie over Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala on aggregate 5:3. Guy Tzarfati’s squad then played Sigma Olomouc from the Czech Republic who took the 3:3 tie on away goals. The team gained invaluable experience in Europe by taking part in this experience. For the recap click here.

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv 1:1 Maccabi Haifa (U19)
The Club’s Under-19 side faces Maccabi Haifa on Matchday 14 of the Israel Youth League and drew 1:1 with the Carmel squad. Tamir Glezer scored in the 11’ but Guy Dahan found the equalizer in the 50’. For the Full Match Report Click Here.

Maccabi Haifa 2:6 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv
Eliezer Ben Aharon’s team visited Haifa and took home a 6:2 victory and opened up a 12 point lead over the same Greens on the table thanks to goals by, Tal Torgman (x3), Nir Berkovic (x2) and Rotem Itzkar. Ben Aharon summed up the win: “This was the match of the season and we saw it on the last Matchday of the first round. This contest was played at a very fast pace and it led to many goals. There are games that are money time ones and the players are always super motivated for plus they have really shown a marked improvement since the start of the season so the result doesn’t really surprise the staff. We are content and proud as to how the team has played as well as on an individual level. We ended the first round with a 12 point lead over second place Haifa which is something terrific. I must tell the players that this is just the first half and that we have a long season to go with many challenges and goals ahead. As a staff we will try to reach all of those goals and not take our foot off the gas.”

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 15:0 Bnei Sakhnin
The Under-16 squad handily defeated Bnei Sakhnin 15:0 in league play as they battle it out for one of the top spots. Head Coach Eran Sassi summed up the win: “We played a great team game and we are continuing our fine play of late. The team is playing simple and proper football as per our philosophy. I’m happy that we were able to take advantage of our opportunities and the players were accurate in the 15:0 win.”

Hapoel Tel Aviv 0:0 Maccabi Tel Aviv
The Derby was tight and even throughout but Maccabi’s late pressure wasn’t enough to take home the three points. Head Coach Ori David spoke about the match: “The match of the season ended in a goalless draw and it was a very emotional game just as Derbies usually are. We didn’t play enough quality football and we didn’t take care of our clear advantages on the attack. We turned up the pressure near the end of the match and we had some chances near the goal but unfortunately we couldn’t put the ball into the back of the goal. All in all I’m not satisfied with the match and I’ll have to put more emphasis on certain areas during training in order to correct some issues for the next match. I’m proud of the players for their effort.”