Serbian Ibice Elayev is an offensive midfielder with vast European experience. He arrived in Maccabi in summer 2009 after playing for Energie Cottbus of the German Bundesliga. Elayev went through quite a few European teams; starting out in Partizan Belgrade, going on to Italian Messina and Genoa and, before going to Cottbus, he also played for Greek P.A.O.K Saloniki. In his only season on the yellow and blue, the technical and diverse midfielder scored three league goals and two Toto Cup goals. Elayev left a good impression on the team, although he only played for half a season before he was injured in late January 2010. He did not play until the end of the season so he returned to his homeland and to Partizan Belgrade.