Category: News

Matchday 1-36

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Matchday 1: It's Yellow at the Moshava! Maccabi opens the year on a high note as they defeat Ran Ben Shimon's club Maccabi Petach Tikva

Matchday 2: Bloomfield is Yellow too! Maccabi picks up their 2nd straight victory, this time defeating Hapoel Raanana at the friendly confines of their home stadium

Matchday 3: Problems down south! For the third time in three years Maccabi loses in Beer Sheva against Elisha Levy's squad

 

Dor Micha

Matchday 4: Classico! Maccabi continues its good run against the top sides in the country with a victory over Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield Stadium

Matchday 5: Napoleon? Zahavi! For the tenth straight match Maccabi super star Eran Zahavi scores a goal, this time against Hapoel Akko

Matchday 6: Seven goal game! Zahavi continues to score, Ben Chaim with a gorgeous goal, Nosa's first as a member of Maccabi and a 5-2 win over Ashdod

Matchday 7: BOOM! Crazness at the derby as a Hapoel Tel Aviv supporter goes onto the pitch and attacks Eran Zahavi

Matchday 8: Back to Football! Maccabi defeats Netanya as Sheran Yeini finishes the match off as the 'keeper

Yeini

Matchday 9: It's raining, it's pouring! Maccabi suffers its second defeat of the season at rain soaked Kiryat Shemona

Matchday 10: Starting over! Maccabi begins another winning streak with a "home" win at the Netanya Stadium over Hapoel Haifa

Matchday 11: Sakhnin comeback! Playing Sakhnin in Akko, Maccabi overcomes a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1

Matchday 12: Fireman Sam! Eran Zahavi scores a beautiful scissors kick goal at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, but Omer Atzili's late strike helps Beitar Jerusalem split the points with Maccabi 

Matchday 13: First round ends with win! Eran Zahavi with a brace and a Mahran Radi goal gives Maccabi a 3-1 win away at Hapoel Petach Tikva

 

Celebrations

Matchday 14: Deja vu! Maccabi begins the second round just as they did the first, with a 3-0 win over Maccabi Petach Tikva on a brace by Tal Ben Chaim and yet another goal by none other than Eran Zahavi

Matchday 15: Deja vu all over again! Maccabi defeats Hapoel Raanana by the same 2-0 score line as they did in the first round as Eran Zahavi's goal scoring streak comes to an end

Matchday 16: Stymied! Maccabi & Beer Sheva play to a scoreless draw

Matchday 17: Haifa's Yellow-and-Blue! Maccabi wins against Maccabi Haifa on a Zahavi penalty just two weeks after defeating the Greens in the Toto Cup Final

Matchday 18: We are Maccabi! Another victory for Maccabi at Bloomfield this time against Hapoel Akko on an end-to-end goal by Tal Ben Chaim, and penalties by Zahavi & Ben Bassat

Matchday 19: Breaking the Stigma! Nikola Mitrovic scores in Ashdod as Maccabi wins there for the first time since September 2010

Matchday 20: Tel Aviv is Yellow again! Maccabi wins the derby as Radi & Mitrovic score to beat Hapoel 2-0

 

Micha

Matchday 21: Three's wild! Playing away at Netanya the sides end a wild match in a 3-3 draw as Zahavi scores another highlight reel goal

Matchday 22: Badash, from the heart! Maccabi again have a tough time against Kiryat Shemona as Barak Badash scores off of his heart with five minutes to spare and Maccabi welcomes Gili Vermouth

Matchday 23: Red Alert! Maccabi loses its third league match this time against Hapoel Haifa

Matchday 24: Back on the wining track! After going winless in three matches Maccabi defeats Bnei Sakhnin 2:0 on goals by Micha and yes, Zahavi

Matchday 25: O Jerusalem! Maccabi suffers its first loss to Beitar Jerusalem since 2011

Matchday 26: Closing another round! Maccabi finishes off Hapoel Petach Tikva in 19 minutes as Dor Micha and Eran Zahavi score to complete the second round of matches

Matchday 27: Money Time! Eran Zahavi scores the goal of the year in the 90th minute to win their fourth straight match over Maccabi Haifa

Matchday 28: Money Time part 2! Beer Sheva succumbs to Maccabi 3-1 at Bloomfield Stadium

Matchday 29: Northern silence! Maccabi and Kiryat Shemona finish their match knotted up at 0:0

Matchday 30: Golazo! Dor Micha scores a Golazo as Maccabi pummels Beitar Jerusalem at Bloomfield

Matchday 31: Penalties! Maccabi and Petach Tikva split the points as each side score from the penalty spot

Matchday 32: Four out of Five! In the fifth match between Tel Aviv and Haifa the clubs draw ending a streak of four straight wins for the Yellow-and-Blue

Matchday 33: Three in a row! Maccabi draw 1-1 for the third match in a row as they effectively end Beer Sheva's title hopes

Matchday 34: CHAMPS! 3PEAT

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Matchday 35: Treble Trouble! Maccabi takes a trip to Jerusalem and suffer a Treble hangover to Beitar

Matchday 36: The Party goes on and on and on! The season ending loss to Maccabi Petach Tikva didn't put a damper on the party as Maccabi finish the year with a historic Treble!

How Maccabi influences the Israel National Team

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The Israel National Football Team plays Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday night in a crucial UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matchup which may determine Israel's fortunes going forward in the 2nd most prestigious football tournament in the world just behind the FIFA World Cup

 By: Joshua Halickman

After taking nine out of a maximum 15 points in the first five matches, but none over their last two games it will be imperative for Israel to get a result in Zenica. However this will be a tall task playing at Bilino Polje Stadium that holds approximately 15K supporters who will be on top of the action, nothing like their away matches in Cyprus and Andorra. The atmosphere and pressure Israel will be facing against Bosnia under new coach Mehmed Bazdarevic could be the make it or break it point for the side.

 

Eran Zahavi

 

For the first time the Euro tourney will consist of 24 teams, 8 more than in past competitions allowing for third place teams in the group stages to advance to a playoff or directly to the event being held in France. With the addition of more teams, hopes are high for Israel to make an impression on the grand stage and Maccabi Tel Aviv's players will be central for this to happen.

 The Yellow-and-Blue will have six representatives wearing the Blue-and-White at the end of the week. This includes Israel captain and central defender Tal Ben Haim who just signed with the club, Omri Ben Harush, Eitan Tibi, winger Tal Ben Chaim, first-timer Dor Micha & superstar Eran Zahavi who just extended his contract. If we count outgoing Maccabi captain Sheran Yeini there will be seven reps playing for Israel! WOW!

 Ben Haim has been a rock on defense for the National team and his leadership will be tested against some of the most lethal strikers in the game today, Edin Dzeko. He'll have to not only cover his position to ensure that Bosnia can't get off high percentage shots but will also have to keep his side focussed throughout the full 90 minutes of action. Yeini will have to mark and cut off some of the Bosnia attacks coming down the flanks as he has done many times before while on National Team duty. A couple of years ago his terrific work on Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal was the difference in Israel taking home a point or going home empty handed.

 

TAL BEN HAIM

 

Ben Harush could see action as either a central defender should National Team coach Eli Gutman decide to go with 5 in the back or we may see him in his traditional position opposite Yeini. His long passes and ability to get up and down the pitch in a jiffy will prove to be most important should Israel want to send its attack down the sides. Tibi may see action off of the bench for Israel and could be an important contributor should the National Team take a lead.

 Gutman may have to really think about who he will need to play on offense for Israel as youngster Micha will be making his first appearance for the full National Team and could provide a much needed spark. After two scoreless efforts in losses to Wales and Belgium, Gutman may be forced to change it up a bit and find a way to put the ball into the back of the goal. This may also play in favor of Tal Ben Chaim getting a chance to strut his stuff as he was able to provide Israel a number of chances against Belgium when he came on in the second half.

 Last but definitely not least is Eran Zahavi. Coming off a 27 goal year this past season, Zahavi is head and shoulders above all of the other domestic based Israeli players almost scoring at will and dominating matches in only the way he can. He pinpoint accuracy and "nose for the goal" make him a linchpin in the Israel offense. However, even Zahavi was stymied the last two matches and will have to regain his form in order to help his side triumph over a struggling Bosnia thus far in the tournament.

 

בן הרוש

 

This match will not only be a make it or potentially break it game for Israel, but it will definitely be a break it match for Bosnia should they not collect 3-points. Israel, knowing this fact will have to be ready for wave after wave of attacks by the home side and will need to be responsible on defense like never before. This may be why Gutman will end up playing 5 in the back to make sure they can use an organized defensive scheme to make sure no balls get through for a high percentage chance.

 And this leads us to yet another area of concern, the goalkeeper position. Ofir Marchiano has played solidly for Israel, however his domestic club, Ashdod has been relegated with the young 'keeper giving up many goals. The other candidate that has been bandied about to start has been Ariel Harush who just side for rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv. Harush had been the National Team 'keeper in the past until he lost the starting job to Marchiano at the beginning of this campaign. The outsider of the goalkeeping corps is former Maccabi Tel Aviv property Guy Haimov who has yet to start a game for Israel.

 The other key players will be CSKA Moscow midfielder Bibras Natcho and Celtic's Nir Bitton who performed admirably in the last two matches for Israel and celebrated the Scottish League Championship last month. Along with strongman central defender Rami Geshon of Belgium title holders Gent, Israel seem to be in decent shape to pull a surprise out of the hat this coming Friday.

TIBI

Coach Gutman will have the unenviable task of finding the winning combination and try to piece together players that don't play with each other on a regular basis. This is ultimately the greatest challenge that our National Team has.

 At the end of the day it would be only fitting for the Treble winning players of Maccabi Tel Aviv to lead the way for Israel, positively impact the team and send them to the promised land, a berth in a major tournament since the 1970 World Cup.

 

3X3: best goals from each of the competitions

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After finishing the season with a historic Treble, summer is here and it's time to head to the beach for sun and fun! It's also time to look back at some of the great moments in 3's from the past 3 championships and the 3 titles won this past year!

The fourth and last part in this series focuses on the 3 best goals from each of the competitions from the Treble victory! The Ligat Ha'Al, the Israel State Cup and Toto Cup!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3s2bUhQ9Ak

For mobile view click here

Ben Harush: “Going from Maccabi to Israel is easy”

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As the Israel National Team is about to play a crucial Euro 2016 qualifying match, Omri Ben Harush tells us about the current training camp.

This Friday, the Israel National team will be playing Bosnia in a crucial UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match in Zenica, Bosnia. Prior to the game the team went to Austria for a short training camp to properly prepare for this important contest.

Maccabi Tel Aviv will have six representatives on the National Team including defender Omri Ben Harush. "We arrived in Austria on Sunday for short but intense training camp. Before we left Israel we had a number of practice sessions but now it's good to be together with some of my Maccabi and Israel teammates away from home in order to concentrate on the upcoming match."

בן הרוש

Ben Harush also talked about the ability to go from Maccabi right into the National team: "Switching from Maccabi to representing Israel is pretty easy. What was this past season, was, and now we have to prepared for the next challenge. Sure, we are tired from a long year, and coach Eli Gutman understands that, so he knows when to take off some of the pressure during training. We also all know how our bodies are and how it will react in different situations."

Back in November Israel faced Bosnia at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa and defeated the visitors 3:0. However, Ben Harush knows that this coming Friday night is a whole other story: "Because this is Bosnia's home game, we know that this match will be totally different than the first. We know this will be a very hard game and that we must get the best result possible."

Dor Micha, the Maccabi youngster was called up to the senior side for the first time after representing Israel for the Under-21's over the last few years. Ben Harush sees that he's a perfect addition to the team: "Dor Micha was an integral part of the Under-21 squad and we all hope that he'll do the same here with us and fit in nicely. We're all happy for him and wish him only the best of luck!"

Ben Harush also commented about Maccabi's new addition, veteran central defender Tal Ben Haim who came up with Maccabi before heading off to play in Europe: "With the National Team we have already been playing with two Tal Ben Haim's (winger Tal Ben Chaim also plays for Maccabi) so it's something we are already used to. We know Tal for many years and we're all excited that he will be joining us back at Maccabi Tel Aviv."

3X3: best saves from the Treble season

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After finishing the season with a historic Treble, summer is here and it's time to head to the beach for sun and fun! It's also time to look back at some of the great moments in 3's from the past 3 championships and the 3 titles won this past year!

The fourth of four parts in this series will focus on the 3 best saves from the Treble season!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rsOlz9iKFs

To watch from a mobile phone

The day the F-15 met Liverpool

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In honor of Benny Tabak's 58th birthday and the Israel National Team's crucial match against Bosnia this coming Friday evening, it was only fitting to reminisce about the F-15's 4-goal performance for the Blue-and-White when they played Liverpool.

Tabak who played 17-years for Maccabi Tel Aviv FC, was one of the club's most prolific scorers of all-time, notching 118 goals over the course of his illustrious career.

In 1983, Tabak along with the Israel National team played a friendly against one of the most well-known football club's in the world, Liverpool from England. The match at Ramat Gan Stadium turned out to be one of the greatest performances for any player as Tabak proved to be a one man wrecking crew!

בני טבק

The first goal was headed in by Tabak off a beautiful cross by the Beitar Jerusalem great Ori Malmillian and his second of the match came off a deep ball by Gili Landau that Tabak slotted in right off of left post to make it 2:0 Israel.

The second half against Liverpool began just as the first half had as Tabak scored his third goal of the match! Zahi Armeli gave Tabak another deep ball as he pounced on the pass and pounded the ball into the left corner of the goal behind Liverpool 'keeper Bruce Grobbelaar.

If anyone thought that Tabak would be finished with a hat-trick, well they were just wrong as the F-15 made sure to save the best for last heading the ball into the right side of the goal for his 4th of the day giving the National Team a 4:3 victory. Tabak's 4-goal performance back in 1983 will be celebrated in the annals of history just as his hat-trick against Portugal was in 1982 during World Cup qualifying.        

Bonni Ginzburg’s last match with Maccabi Tel Aviv

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Back in 1986/87, Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Maccabi Haifa for the yellow-and-blue's 16th State Cup victory. The match, played at Ramat Gan Stadium in front of 12,000 supporters, was one of the most dramatic finals of all-time.

Maccabi's squad included the likes of Eli Drikes, Avi Cohen zt"l, Moshe Gariani, Alon Natan as well as Benny Tabak who came off of the bench and of course the goalkeeper, Bonni Ginzburg. The first half produced few chances by both sides but the second half will go down in the history books as one of the greatest ever played in finals history!

The action began in the 54th minute when Moshe Gariani opened the scoring. Alon Natan led the attack as Eli Drikes crossed the ball to an oncoming Gariani, who finished off the play by heading the ball into the back of the goal for a 1:0 lead. However, the advantage only lasted 7-minutes as Zahi Armeli beat Ginzburg to even up the score at 1:1.

Avi Cohen

The Yellow-and-Blue didn't fade after the tying goal as striker Eli Drikes scored, beating the Greens 'keeper Avi Ran zt"l to take a 2:1 advantage in the 72nd minute. But with only five minutes left in regulation time, Haifa evened the score again as Moshe Selecter went high into the air to get Zion Merili's pass and put it into the goal sending the match into extra time.

In extra time it was Haifa who struck first as Armeli put his second goal of the game past Ginzburg, but Drikes made sure that the lead was short lived as his gorgeous scissors kick off of the crossbar went right into the goal. As time ran down in the extra frame the sides began preparing for penalties.

The first two Haifa penalty kicks were pushed aside by Giznburg, who was playing in his last match for Maccabi Tel Aviv. The first was kicked out of the way while the second penalty taken by Armeli was smartly saved as Ginzburg stood his ground.

Finally, the winning kick was taken by veteran striker Benny Tabak who made sure to slot the ball home and bring the State Cup trophy back to Tel Aviv in a decade!

This was not only the last game of Ginzburg's colorful career at Maccabi, but it was also the send off match for Avi Cohen zt"l who left the club and plied his trade with Glasgow Rangers for a short period time before returning home.

3X3: greatest moments from the past 3 championships

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After finishing the season with a historic Treble, summer is here and it's time to head to the beach for sun and fun! It's also time to look back at some of the great moments in 3's from the past 3 championships and the 3 titles won this past year!

The first of four parts in this series focuses on the best 3 goals from the past three championships!

Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi-tIThFRlU

The Treble Season from A to Z

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Let’s go through the alphabet and summarize Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Historic Year!

 

A-ASHDOD! Suffered the biggest defeat against Maccabi in the first round of matches, 5:2.

B- BLOOMFIELD STADIUM! Maccabi went more than two years without a home loss. The team's last home loss prior to the match against Maccabi Petach Tikva on June 1, 2015 was on the final day of the 2012/13 championship season to Bnei Yehuda 3:0 on May 20, 2013.

C- 23 CHAMPIONSHIPS! Amount of league titles Maccabi has accumulated!

D- DERBY! Maccabi Tel Aviv defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv in the only Derby that went the full 90 minutes, ending 2:0.

E- ERAN ZAHAVI! Scored in 17 straight matches and broke the record for most goals in a calendar year with 35!

F- FIXTURES! Maccabi played 58 fixtures in all competitions including friendlies and European qualification matches!

G- GAL ALBERMAN! The veteran midfielder was a rock and consistent in his hard nosed play all year long.

alberman

H- HISTORIC TREBLE! Need we say more?

I- IDAN RAICHEL! The song Rov Hasha’ot from the Idan Raichel Project is now one of the songs being sung by the supporters.

J- JUAN PABLO! The oldest player on Maccabi's squad this past season.

K- KOLOKOTRONIS! The stadium where Maccabi played Greek side Asteras Tripolis in UEFA Europa League qualifying.

L- LIGAT HA'AL! Maccabi's youth team, Maccabi 'Shachar' Tel Aviv won the Ligat Ha'Al youth title this season under the direction of coach Ziv Arie.

M- MACCABI HAIFA! Eran Zahavi’s 90th minute strike against Macabi Haifa gave the yellow-and-blue a fantastic win!

N- NOSA IGIEBOR! Came to Maccabi during the summer of 2014 and was a solid contributor all season long!

O- OMRI BEN HARUSH! The defender scored a goal of the year candidate against Hapoel Akko at the Netanya Stadium!

Ben Harush

P- PRICA! Striker Rade Prica had an unforgettable performance in the Israel State Cup Final notching a hat-trick!

Q- QUESTION! There’s absolutely no question who the best team in Israel was this year!

R-RADI! Mahran Radi scored a brilliant goal against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the derby match!

S- SAMMY OFER! Maccabi played 6 matches in Haifa's new stadium this year where they won, lost & drew 2 matches a piece. Of course the biggest win of the season in the facility was the Israel State Cup victory over Beer Sheva!

S-SHERAN YEINI! The Yellow-and-Blue captain hoisted the Israel State Cup trophy just before leaving the club for Holland.

YEINI

T- TROPHIES! After a decade, the club won the Israel State Cup trophy and the Toto Cup trophy for the first time in 6 years.

U- UEFA! Maccabi played their UEFA Champions & Europa League qualifying matches in Cyprus due to the security situation.

V-VICTORIES! We couldn't go through the alphabet without sharing the 5 biggest wins of the year!

W- WASSERMIL! Maccabi gave up their first goal of the season in their third Ligat Ha’Al match which took place in Beer Sheva.

X- X MARKS THE SPOT! Superstar Eran Zahavi scored 8 of his 27 goals from the penalty spot!

Y- YERUSHALAYIM! Beitar Yerushalayim is the only team to defeat Maccabi twice this past season.

Z- ZUK EITAN! Because of the war Maccabi had to play its UEFA Champions League qualifying matches away from home.

 

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR TERRIFIC SUPPORTERS!

WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU NEXT SEASON!