Maccabi's Swedish striker Rade Prica has returned to full training after a long absence due to injury, but he's already excited about tomorrow night's tie against Hapoel Beer Sheva: "I feel like a new player now"

After a nearly three month's absence, Maccabi Tel Aviv's Swedish striker Rade Prica has returned to full training. This morning he took his place next to head coach Pako Ayestaran at the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow's 8.55pm kick-off against Hapoel Beer Sheva. "We know it's going to be a very difficult game. Beer Sheva are a very good team. From now on it's us or them competing for the championship. We have the advantage with a home game and I think we're strong enough to win tomorrow. I think we are in the advantage and I think they have more pressure than we. We have the five points' difference right now and a draw for us tomorrow is a good result. Beer Sheva have to go forward and we don't have to feel the pressure".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh5ZuECS1Zo

"I feel good now", Prica added, "It's been a tough time for me. I feel like a new player now. It's been difficult. I've been training by myself for six weeks and I've not been allowed to run, even touch the ball. But I've been working very hard. Now the last two weeks I've been training with the team and I feel I've been improving a lot".

The Swedish striker was also asked to compare this year's squad with those that took the title in the previous two seasons: "It's difficult to compare. I think we have a very good team this year and I think we showed also that we are number one. We can make history this year and to take the championship is difficult every year. But we're in a good run and we have a very good chance".

 

The run-in to Maccabi's 2014/15 Israeli Premier League season got off to a sizzling start, and by the looks of it the temperature is only set to rise. Here's what's in store

Maccabi Tel Aviv's play-off campaign got off to a good start with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa, but in April the team will be playing four more highly contested play-off matches, not to speak of a State Cup semi -final.

Maccabi Tel Aviv – Hapoel Beer Sheva

Monday April 6^th at 8.55pm. Live broadcast on Israeli channel 11

What could be a more fitting opening to a fateful month than this crucial encounter? Top of table versus number two, the game everyone loves to call "the match of the season". With just five points separating the two teams, the stakes for the title race couldn't be higher and the excitement is already in the air.

Ironi Kiryat Shmona – Maccabi Tel Aviv

Monday April 13^th at 8.55pm. Live broadcast on Israeli channel 11

Once Maccabi's closest rival at the top of the table, Kiryat Shmona are experiencing their roughest patch since the start of the season. They haven't won in their last six outings and now head coach Barak Bachar's team have dropped from second to third, a full ten points behind Maccabi. That being said, they've also been one of Maccabi's toughest opponents this year, one Maccabi have failed to beat in either of their two league encounters so far. But Maccabi's recent 3-0 triumph in the return leg of the State Cup quarter final is reason for optimism that a repeat of that kind of performance will bring the team ever closer to the promised land.

Maccabi Tel Aviv – Beitar Jerusalem

Monday April 20^th at 8.55pm. Live broadcast on Israeli channel 11

This is also a match Maccabi would dearly like to win, after having failed to beat Beitar in two earlier league encounters. The mission will be made even harder in light of the run of improving form Beitar have brought to the play-off campaign, having won their last four outings in the run-up to April. Looks hopeless? Far from it. This is Maccabi we're talking about, and Bloomfield Stadium to boot, and a home side that has performed so well in the crunch the last two seasons. So smile and be happy!

Maccabi Petach Tikva – Maccabi Tel Aviv

Weekend of April 25^th – exact day and time t.b.a.

This will be the first time Maccabi Tel Aviv, or for that matter any Israeli Premier League side, will be facing Maccabi Petach Tikva in the top-six playoffs. The last time Maccabi Tel Aviv lost to their namesakes from one of modern Israel's oldest cities, it was none other than current Maccabi Tel Aviv striker Tal Ben Chaim who did the damage, scoring the winner in his team's 2-1 victory in February 2012. This season Ben Chaim returned the favour in spades, netting a brace in Maccabi Tel Aviv's 3-0 triumph at the municipal stadium in Netanya.

Maccabi Tel Aviv – Maccabi Ahi Nazareth

Wednesday April 29^th at 8.30pm. Live broadcast on Israeli sports channel 55

How long has it been? Ten years have passed since Maccabi Tel Aviv have reached the semi-finals of the coveted State Cup competition. And now, one night, one stadium, two matches, four teams, all vying for a place in the finals and a chance to receive the Cup from the nation's president. Facing Maccabi Tel Aviv will be Maccabi Ahi Nazareth, one of two minnows from the second division who have defied the odds to reach this stage of the competition. So nothing will be taken for granted, but the right result will take Maccabi Tel Aviv to the finals for the first time in a decade.

Some more April occasions:

April 3^rd – birthdays for defender Yuval Shpungin and striker Gael Margulies

April 17^th – a birthday for midfielder Gal Alberman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autographs, hugs and "selfies": Yoav Ziv and Rade Prica visit the Maccabi Dizengoff shop

Dozens of enthusiastic Maccabi Tel Aviv fans flocked to the official merchandise shop on Tel Aviv's Dizengoff St. to see team stars Yoav Ziv and Rade Prica, who were there to chat with supporters, sign team shirts and of course pose for the ubiquitous "selfie". After having spent the whole afternoon at the shop, Maccabi's Swedish striker Rade Prica told the Maccabi website crew about similar experiences with other clubs he's played for: "You always had a couple of times a year that you went to the shops and sat for a while. I think it basically works the same around Europe everywhere. It's nice. It's enjoyable to see the kids happy. I like it".

Veteran defender Yoav Ziv also spent the afternoon at the shop and was happy to share some of his feelings, mingled as they were with his own childhood recollections as a young fan: "It's great to meet the fans face to face. I hope they get as much pleasure out of this as they do at the matches. It's also great to see them wearing their team shirts. Even my own kids are begging me to bring home the Maccabi duvet and the alarm clock. I remember when I was a kid, anybody who came to school wearing an official team shirt was the happiest kid at the school.

The official Maccabi Tel Aviv team shirt is now on sale at a 20% discount and available at the online store, at the Maccabi shop at 147 Dizengoff St. in Tel Aviv and at the mobile merchandise stands at all Maccabi games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-9XE_VF8ts

 

Time to own up, there never really was a Shay Sidi toaster among the items at the Maccabi online store, especially not if the offer starts on April 1st!

We all know that Maccabi Tel Aviv are a football club of great tradition, and what greater tradition could there be than April Fool's Day? No doubt many of you realised from the start that the launching on April 1^st of a special toaster with a picture of legendary Bloomfield Stadium announcer Shai Sidi on the side (which produces toast with his likeness on it no less!) was no more than a good-spirited nod to this long-standing tradition. Others may have sat for a moment thinking that bringing a bit of Maccabi loyalty into the kitchen might not be such a bad idea after all. One splendid fan actually clicked on the "Add to cart" button and relished the thought of sharing morning coffee with one of the great symbols of the Maccabi family.

Alas! It was all in fun, but just to show that at Maccabi loyalty is no laughing matter, that one supporter will be receiving the (imagined) cost of the toaster as credit (and we mean real credit) for use in the Maccabi shop. And if any of you are thinking that Maccabi Tel Aviv are the only football club in the world to have joined in the April Fool's Day fun, check this out. Italian giants AC Milan reported on their website that "Hello Kitty" had become the club's major sponsor! Come to think of it . . .

 

Tonight the Israeli national team will face a star-studded Belgian side in the Euro 2016 qualifiers. As the moment approaches, let's look back to when three of Maccabi's current stars faced the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Dries Mertens and Thomas Vermaelen

Almost eight years have passed since a Maccabi Tel Aviv squad member faced Belgium in an official match, to be exact June 13^th 2007, in Holland. A few months prior to the match, head coach Guy Levi's young Israel team had, in particularly impressive fashion, assured themselves of a place in the finals of the 2007 European Championships for Under-21s and were drawn in the same group as the Dutch hosts, Portugal and Belgium. In that team were two young Maccabi stars: Current senior squad captain Sheran Yeini and defender Yuval Shpungin. They were joined by a third current Maccabi player, then on the books of Beitar Jerusalem, Barak Itzhaki. After losing their first match to Holland, the young Israel team, with Yeini, Shpungin and Baraki in their ranks, took to the pitch to face Belgium. The whole squad knew that only a victory would leave them with any hope of making history for the second time in the competition.

For the match itself, Shpungin and Itzhaki were in the first eleven. Yeini opened on the bench, but still had the opportunity to make acquaintance with quite a few players that have now become the stars of the current Belgian national team, some of them for leading clubs in Europe as well. Among the names of what in Belgium is regarded as the "second golden generation" are Marouane Fellaini of Manchester United, Jan Vertonghen of Tottenham Hotspurs, Kevin Mirallas of Everton, Dries Mertens of Napoli, Thomas Vermaelen of FC Barcelona and from Zenit St. Petersburg Nicolas Lombaerts and a young Axel Witsel, who was also a part of the 2007 young Belgium squad.

Seventeen minutes after kick-off the Belgians were already down to ten men after Marouane Fellaini was sent off for a second bookable offence. Guy Levi's lads pressed hard and had their share of chances but neither side got on the scoreboard in the first half. After the break, Israel continued to play well but as the old saying goes, if you're not winning you're losing. And indeed, eight minutes from time a young Kevin Mirallas exploited an error in the Israel back four, raced toward the goal and shot past the keeper. And that's how the match finished, 1-0 to the Belgians, with Shpungin, Yeini, Itzhaki and the rest of the young Israel side left with the disappointment they all found so difficult to hide.

Barak Itzhaki would have a further opportunity to rub shoulders with members of the Belgian national team when he spent part of the 2008 season playing for Belgian side Racing Genk, alongside current Aston Villa star Christian Benteke, who scored in Belgium's last outing, a side which also featured Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois and Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne. All three are expected to be in Belgium's first eleven when they take on Israel tonight at "Teddy" Stadium in Jerusalem, and facing them once again will be Maccabi Tel Aviv's Sheran Yeini, Barak Itzhaki and Yuval Shpungin. And who knows, perhaps once again we'll see a single match-winning goal eight minutes from time, but this time in favour of Israel. Keep your fingers crossed!

photo credit – Dani Meron

   

 

 

Ever dreamt of coming out on the pitch at Bloomfield Stadium in team kit to display your own special football moves to the cheers of thousands of adoring Maccabi fans? Here's your chance to make it happen!

Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club and NIVEA MEN, the world's leading cosmetics brand for men, are proud to invite two of the club's loyal season ticket holders to join them for a challenge – the NIVEA MEN CHALLENGE. At half time of the team's next home game against Hapoel Beer Sheva at Bloomfield Stadium on April 6^th, these two lucky participants will first be given a full Maccabi kit to wear, with their names and chosen numbers printed on the back. Then they'll receive a short training before taking their place on the pitch to face their challenge, with the entire Maccabi home crowd looking on in envy.

At the team's last home game against Maccabi Haifa, the two contestants tried their luck kicking a ball from the half-way line into an open net. What will be the challenge this time? Wait and see. One thing is for certain: The winner will receive a handsome reward – a season's worth of NIVEA MEN products in a special gift package. And both contestants will be invited to have their photographs taken to save the moment for posterity.

So if you're a season ticket holder over the age of 18, and have at least some basic footballing skills, just fill in this online form and submit it by Wednesday April 1st at 5pm.

Are you ready for the challenge?

 

 

At a "happening" held at Maccabi's Kiryat Shalom training ground, senior team members met children from various charities on "Good Deeds Day"

"Good Deeds Day" is the annual flagship project of the organisation "Ruach Tova", who have taken upon themselves the task of developing volunteerism in Israel. For that purpose, and to promote the spirit of mutuality in Israeli society, the "Good Deeds Day" project was started in 2007 and continues up to this day. This year Maccabi Tel Aviv commemorated "Good Deeds Day" with a "happening" at their Kiryat Shalom training complex, where first-team players met with children from a variety of charities, played football and had their photographs taken with them, and at the end presented the children with gifts coutesy of Israel's national sports betting authority, "Winner". Among the Maccabi players who spent the afternoon with the children was Dor Micha, who said of the experience: "Putting smiles on these kids' faces is the very least we can do. These are charities who are carrying out this important work on a daily basis. So far I'm concerned our bonds with the community should be strengthened everywhere. These are things that go beyond the scope of football and it's part of the vision of the owner of the club to contribute as much as possible to the community, and that's the path we try to follow".

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

Another Maccabi stalwart to spend the afternoon with the children was Carlos Garcia and he too was keen to share his thoughts: "I understand that this is a special day that the club wants to be part of. One of the objects of the club is not only the sport, it's to be close to the people, to the Tel Aviv people, to the Israeli people, and I think it's very important, days like today, to these people who are suffering to have this nice day that they can enjoy and forget about their problems. When you speak about the club it's not only what happens in the games, it's a lot of things around, and I think that days like today show what kind of club Maccabi Tel Aviv is. And it's a lot of feelings here. First you are sad because of how they are, but you are happy because you see that they are happy and enjoying and this is very important. You are happy about your job. You can make people happy and this is very, very important".

Among the organisations represented were "Educating for Excellence", an organisation established for the purpose of promoting equal opportunity in education, with a view to narrowing the enormous social and economic gaps that exist within Israeli society. Every other week the children involved in the project attend training sessions at Kiryat Shalom with team members of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division. The "Larger than Life" organisation was founded in the year 2000 by parents of cancer-stricken children with a view to supporting them in dealing with the disease. "Kav Lachayim" is a social movement founded in 1989 for the purpose of helping thousands of children and others suffering from serious illnesses, complex disabilities, and rare symptoms. The "Lachan" youth village was established to provide a continuity of care for teenagers at risk.