The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department underwent a makeover this past season as a new staff led by Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen brought a brand new type of professionalism to the Club. Along with an expanded staff which included Raymond Atteveld (Professional Director Under-11 through Under-16) and Guy Zuckerman (Youth Department Manager) together with the many coaches and staff instituted a new work methodology across the department and now’s the time to look back at the season that was and the accomplishments that were achieved.
Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv
The Under-19 team finished their campaign in 3rd place. The young Yellow & Blue recorded 17 victories over 30 matches where Eylon Almog was the squad’s top goal scorer with 15.
Head Coach Guy Tzarfati spoke about the season: “This was a good season and it was in essence my first as a head coach where I managed this amount of games. I learnt a lot from the professional staff and I was able to use what I learnt to help our coaches and players improve. By the middle of the campaign, my players understood my DNA, where we wouldn’t compromise on anything, to desire to win every match and not to give up on the path that we had set because the Maccabi Tel Aviv way is what is most important.”
Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv
The Under-17 squad took home the Double winning the League Championship along with the State Cup Title.
The team’s goal differential was a +40 as Sahar Barami led the way with 21 goals across all competitions. Head Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon summed up the team’s successful campaign: “It was a challenging season with a number of goals including implementing a new method of coaching together with the new professional staff. I learnt a tremendous amount about myself and football in general. It’s fun to learn and to immerse oneself at the highest of levels. I hope that I’ll continue to learn and reach even more goals from season to season.”
Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv
The Under-16’s ended their campaign in 3rd place, scoring 121 goals, while giving up only 19. Raveh Asayag was the leading scorer with 26 goals across all competitions. Alon Brumer, the squad’s Head Coach discussed the season that was: “The season was both interesting and challenging while working with a very talented team. We underwent a significant change in the way we trained and moved to a much more professional and intense methodology. We focused on the development and progress of the players both on a personal and professional level. This was my first season coaching at Maccabi after being away for 13 years. There were many changes and I learnt many new things. I hope that at the end of the process that the professional staff has outlined, we will be able to reach our goals and develop players who will go on to the First Team.
Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv
The Under-15 South team finished their campaign in 3rd place, scoring 110 goals while giving up 41. The leading scorer for not only the young Yellow & Blue but the league as well was Stav Nachmani who found the back of the goal 42 times.
Head Coach Ori David summed up the season: “There’s no question that this season was clearly a turning point in the development of both the coaches and players. The door was opened for both the players and coaches to the highest level of professionalism. The players worked hard in very physical training sessions, along with learning techniques and tactics over the course of the season as per the professional staff’s philosophy. We are happy as to how the players have improved and I hope that his process will continue next season.”
Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv
The Under-15 North team ended the season in 4th place after 26 matches. Yalli Lazar was the side’s leading scorer with 17 goals in all competitions. Head Coach Amir Sofer looked back on his side’s campaign: “This was the first season for the players under the Youth Department’s new philosophy and with everything being new, it took time to adjust. I’m very proud of my team for their desire to learn and how they continued to advance from training session to training session and from match to match. We worked very hard and we saw that with time the players were able to adjust to the new methodology.”
Maccabi “Shlomo” Tel Aviv
The Under-14 North team captured the State Cup in the only competitive framework for their age group.
Head Coach Alon Peleg spoke about his squad’s season: “This season we got to know the new method of play at Maccabi Tel Aviv just like every other team in the Youth Department. It wasn’t simple but we adopted and applied it the way we were required to do so. In terms of player development, the department encouraged having the players work with older teams in order for them to get used to more physical players at a higher level and with a higher work rate to help them develop as players.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv
The Under-14 South side participated in the State Cup tournament where they advanced to the quarterfinal stage. Head Coach Nissim Devash looked back on his team’s season: “The new professional staff changed the system that had been in place along with the style of play and slowly but surely the team learnt the new philosophy of the Youth Department. Over time, the team made great progress playing together as a team, but most importantly the personal aspects of the player as well from a technical, tactical and understanding of the game. This was a very talented group and over the course of the second half of the season some of our players went to the Under-15 teams where they were able to integrate respectfully with the older players.”
