The Under-19 Club season is underway

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv opened up training camp for the 2017/18 season. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati conducted the first training session with his staff: “It’s always a good feeling to get back onto the pitch”

The Club’s Youth Department season has begun and the first team to begin training is the Under-19 squad, Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati conducted the first session along with his staff and next month the club will head to Kiev for an extended training camp in order to continue their preparations for the 2017/18 campaign.

Check out the BRAND NEW Youth Department section on the Official Website. All of the updates, photos, video clips and the latest news about all of the departments can be found RIGHT HERE

The Under-19 squad is composed of both veterans and newcomers that moved up from the Under-17 club that won the Double last season while last month five players from the Youth Club took part in the First Team’s training camp in Austria. Patrick van Leeuwen, Raymond Atteveld and Robin Verheul were also present at the opening training session of the campaign.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati, who is beginning his second season with the Under-19 led the session and commented: “It’s always a good feeling to get back onto the pitch and I always have the passion to be the first one to arrive at the facility and get to work. We are beginning the year from a good point due to the work that was done last season from an organizational point of view, squad, work plan and the quality of play. I believe that we can continue to improve this season and develop even more players and make the club into a winner. The training session went well and there was a good atmosphere. We will try to keep this up for the whole season.”

The Club’s Youth Department season has begun and the first team to ...

Van Leeuwen: “The results will be a natural effect of our work on and off of the field”

Patrick van Leeuwen, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Performance Director sat down to look back at the season that was across the Youth Department, the improvements that have been made along with the influence of the football philosophy which is permeating throughout Kiryat Shalom and beyond:

The first season ended with the Youth Department under a new professional team headed by Patrick Van Leven, the club’s Performance Director. In a special interview, Van Leeuwen concludes his first season in the department and shares details about his special philosophy.

Summing up the season from a professional point of view:

“It’s almost exactly one year that I’ve been at Maccabi and looking back at the things that I had planned for the Club, I believe that we have come a long way. We were able to change the football philosophy and implement a philosophy for all of the teams, one that is not determined by an individual coach. This is how I want all of teams to adapt to which will ensure that all of the coaches go in the same direction which also opens up discussions about exercises and the development of players.

At the beginning of the season there was a lot of explaining and correcting which wasn’t always pleasant for a coach if he was corrected on the field. But this is the process that we had to go through to make sure that we went in the right direction. You can now see that all of the teams including the Under-8s and Under-9s have a specific philosophy, one that is begins at a younger age and will continue from year to year both in football matches and in training sessions.

Of course, when you try to change the football philosophy within a club there are always ups and downs, but all in all we did very well with the coaches and with their cooperation in implementing a new philosophy.”

The staff’s attitude in adapting to the new philosophy:

“When I came in the staff was already prepared by Guy Zukerman and everyone was put in a position where they could prove themselves. I started to work with all of the coaches in the positions that they were placed in. Some of them worked out well and some had trouble. That’s all part of developing a new philosophy. It doesn’t always go in everyone’s direction and there had to be some changes at the beginning. At the end of the season there were also changes since some coaches still thought that they should have different opportunities that they can’t receive at Maccabi. Along the way we lost some coaches, but in general I am happy with all the coaches which stayed and with the new coaches that we are looking to add to the existing coaching staff.

It’s not always easy to implement a new football philosophy and there will always be coaches who are not willing to adapt because of their many years of experience as a coach. But after so many years of experience, I know which direction I want to go in and what results will be produced at the end. I am here to help make the coaches, players and scouting department happier and better.”

Changes that have been made that have contributed to the department’s progress:

“I believe in clarity. I brought in one philosophy for everybody and I feel that if you have everybody working and thinking in the same direction, especially when you are working on a long term project like the Academy you will succeed. Every year players will not only repeat what they have learned but will then get new information from the coaches that they will have in the second or third season. This is one of the major things that contributes to the progress of players and coaches and the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department as a whole.”

About the department’s philosophy:

“The philosophy is a combination of my basic development in Holland, experiences that I had in the Ukraine and Kazakhstan which also influences my Dutch football background and makes it more to the point for those types of countries where football has been learned in a different way. I like one philosophy where all of the coaches do the same thing in training and playing. The game of football consists of different key moments, whether it’s attacking, defending or switching from one to another or the way you take the set pieces. This is also for all the age groups so everyone is going in the same direction with the same football thoughts at all times.”

Important aspects and values that need to be assimilated in a player in order to advance:

“There are 3 things that are very important. We want a good football player, an educated person outside of football and a creative person. We want to educate a person not just in the field of football and education but to be a well rounded individual. If someone doesn’t give 100% in football then that will influence his education and vice versa. We are teaching the players to always give 100% and to give the maximum of their talent and to always be responsible in football, education and as a person.”

Mentality of the Israeli player compared to other places:

“I think that sometimes the Israeli player will be easy minded in way that if they show that they can do something once then that’s enough. I want to work with players who come to a session and want to improve everyday and that was something that didn’t exist at the beginning of the season. But I have seen lot of changes as the players know that we want to see them change and improve every single day. If you compare the Israeli, Ukrainian and Kazakstan player, you can see that the Eastern European player puts in a different amount of effort and aims higher. They have to travel a longer distance to get to the training facility and they know that their family background may not be the best so they want to succeed. The Israeli player lives closer by the football club, but they also have to show what they have to do to become a professional football player and what they are willing to do to become this professional football player. Together with my assistants Raymond and Robin I want to make sure that the coaches and players understand that becoming a professional footballer is a privileged job.”

Goals going forward:

“The goals for a youth department are always long term. Short term doesn’t work because when you institute a philosophy you are gaining the benefit of football development which occurs over a longer period of time. I know that in the near future the Maccabi teams will be more stable and will be able to deliver a higher performance training session by both the players and the coaches along with increasing the level of our training sessions and our matches. Further down the road we want to deliver candidates to the first team and this is an every year goal that recently started for us. We were lucky to have 5 boys training with the first team at the training camp. They left a positive impression on the head coach as well as the players who were training with them as they were eager, willing to listen and learn, while showing good technical qualities and tactically good choices in the training sessions and matches. This is something we want to happen every year, to have the Academy boys training with the first team, playing friendly matches with the first team and more.

We want to further develop the professionalism of our players. We want them to think about Maccabi Tel Aviv, why they spend so much time playing football and being educated outside of the football field, by using video analysis, by the use of a psychologist to help the team process and make them more aware that they are the ones that have to do it. If I look at direct team results of becoming champions then if the process is in the right direction and the coaches work well on the field and the players perform well on the field and listen well to their coaches, then the results will be a natural effect of our work on and off of the field.”

The first season ended with the Youth Department under ...

WATCH: Maccabi defeats Spartak 3:0; Atzily scores his first

Maccabi Tel Aviv played their second preseason friendly at their Austrian Training Camp in the city of Laa and defeated Spartak Trnava thanks to goals by Kjartansson, Atzily and Schoenfeld

Head Coach Jordi Cruyff had a full squad at his disposal including the new signings, Omer Atzily and Ofir Davidzada along with the National Team players who arrived at camp this week. Atzily made his Yellow & Blue debut in the Starting XI.

Maccabi put pressure on Spartak from the get go as Sagiv Yehezkel, Shlomi Azulay and Vidar Kjartansson had numerous chances early on. Azulay hit the post twice as Kjartansson pounced on the rebound of the second one to score in the 38th minute.

Ofir Davidzada made his Tel Aviv debut in the second half and in the 56th minute Atzily scored his first goal as he put away a rebound from 5 meters out to give the Yellow & Blue a 2:0 advantage. In the 90th minute, Aaron Schoenfeld joined the goal parade after he took a beautiful header pass by Yonatan Cohen and buried the ball behind the Slovakian side’s keeper for a 3:0 victory.

Head Coach Jordi Cruyff had a full squad at his disposal including ...

Youth Department Roundup 2016/17 Season

The 2016/17 Youth Department season was led by a new professional staff headed by the Club's Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen who brought a brand new modern philosophy. The various squad's coaches summed up their campaigns

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.”

The Maccabi Tel Aviv ...

End of Season Youth Department Event

Coaches and employees of the Youth Department along with the professional staff took part in a celebratory end of season event. The Under-17's also held a special training session to mark the end of their Double season

Kiryat Shalom hosted an end to the season dinner for the Youth Department and was attended by the professional staff including Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen along with the the Professional Director if the Under-16 through Under-11 teams as well as the department’s manager Guy Zuckerman. In addition, many of the youth coaches were also prisoner as both van Leeuwen and Zuckerman offered a toast in recognition of everyone’s hard work.

Under-17’s mark the end of the Double Season

There was also another fun event taking place at the training facility as the Under-17’s celebrated in style. The players took part in a session where they had to wear body sized inflatable balls, a unique way to mark the end of their most successful campaign.

Kiryat Shalom hosted an end to the season dinner for the Youth ...

Maccabi’s Girls football project

Mor Shaked is a coach at the Maccabi Tel Aviv Football School and she is attempting to launch a pilot project for girls at the Club under the auspices of Patrick van Leeuwen, the Club's Performance Director and Director of the Youth Department. Should their be a demand going forward the Club will give them the opportunity to train and develop

Mor Shaked (25-years old) coaches two teams at Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Football School.  After a meeting with Patrick van Leeuwen where she presented the idea of launching a girls football project at Maccabi, she received the support and the opportunity to go forward with the initiative. Mor will be responsible for the pilot project with the hope that there will be demand and she will be able to move it forward.

Mor spoke about how she intended to promote the project and she said that the club will open registration for the program this summer, in an attempt to register girls born between the years 2007-2010 (4 years). If the project comes to fruition, it will be professional but non-competitive and the girls will train as part of the football school framework.  

To register for the Girls Project, please contact:
Mor Shaked – 052-444-8103
Lbenaharon@mtafc.com
Laharonov@mtafc.com

Mor Shaked (25-years old) coaches two teams at Maccabi ...

Juan Torrijo takes part in the training principles in modern football course

The Club’s Head Fitness Coach took part in the special course that the Sports Science Department and the Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports is conducting

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Sports Science Department and the Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports are continuing their successful Training Principles in Modern Football course. The course which includes 60 academic hours over 12 meetings takes place at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility. Lecturers include Dr. Antonio Dello Iacono, Course Coordinator, the Youth Department’s Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen, Raymond Atteveld and other coaches from the department.

Juan Torrijo, the Club’s Head Fitness Coach conducted one of the sessions that dealt with physical fitness training for a professional or amateur club in conjunction with the team’s coach. Over the course of the lecture, various different types of training and fitness sessions were presented that are used throughout the year. Torrijo began by discussing preseason training, which is most difficult and can vary due to the club’s needs and schedule. The participants were also exposed to, amongst other things, the training structure related to endurance along with how to deal properly with the most competitive period of the season while other activities are going on each and every day. Since the schedule can change week to week, fitness programs can also vary on a day to day basis.

The last part of the presentation focused on the end of the season and when players go on break. Torrijo described the important aspects of this time period along with how to keep in shape when on vacation. During the lecture, examples from specific situations he encountered while in Israel and abroad were analyzed and discussed. Torrijo also spoke about what it is like to work in different countries, clubs and coaches as each circumstance requires flexibility and varying demands.

When asked about what the participants took way from the lecture, Torrijo answered: “I believe that they leant that you can’t always go by the book since the situations may require flexibility and could change due to the needs of the Club. The goal is to have a structured fitness program that can be changed accordingly. It’s very important to be ready for different scenarios and situations in advance so that it will be easier to make the necessary adjustments and also to prevent future issues by planning correctly. Those are the main things that they took away from the presentation.”

Torrijo added that he hopes that the course continues and that there will be more lectures in the future. In addition, it’s also important to continuously share information with the Youth Department coaches. “That’s the key to success, to work with the players and help them improve so that they can be prepared when they move up to the first team.”

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Sports Science Department and the Wingate Institute for ...

Youth Department Bar Mitzvah Ceremony

Just as in past years the Youth Department held a Bar Mitzvah celebration in Jerusalem where the boys out on Tefillin at the Kotel, toured the Knesset and met Minister Tzachi Hanegbi

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department as in years past held a Bar Mitzvah celebration and trip to Jerusalem. The youngsters put Tefillin on at the Kotel, the Western Wall as well as toured the Old City while also visiting the Knesset and the office of Tzachi Hanegbi, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, in charge of National Security and Foreign Affairs. To end the day, a festive meal was held at a restaurant in the capital city.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department as in years past held a ...

Maccabi Under-15’s end Tournament with a win

The Under-15’s had a successful post season tournament and ended the international competition on a high note after defeating Lokomotiv Moscow 7:6 on penalties good for third place

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Under-15’s took part in an exclusive tournament in Austria that came to end on Sunday. The young Yellow & Blue finished the competition in 3rd place after defeating Lokomotiv Moscow in the final match of the tourney.

After recording two victories and one loss, the Under-15’s looked to take 3rd place overall in the tournament. After playing to a goalless draw in regulation time, the match against Moscow went down to penalties and the Yellow & Blue came out on top 7:6 thanks to keeper Ben Musayov’s brilliant save on the Russians final spot kick.

Maccabi began the competition on Friday with a win over Stockholm while Saturday the Yellow & Blue fell to Austria Wien 2:1 but ended the day with a 2:1 win over Ferencvaros Budapest to earn a spot in the 3rd place game. Other clubs that participated in the tournament included Gyori, Rapid Wien and Red Star Belgrade.

Raymond Atteveld, the Club’s Assistant Performance Director spoke to the Official Website following the tournament: “We finished the tournament with a great 3rd place showing after beating Lokomotiv Moscow on penalties. The tournament and this game has been the best learning process for our players to see if our philosophy works also against European teams. It did. But there are many lessons to learn from stronger opposition and better refereeing.”

Atteveld continued on about the experience: “Great facilities and good organisation of the tournament made it a pleasure to participate. The players thoroughly enjoyed it and found out that they have to keep learning and improving. A process we set out from the start of our arrival at Maccabi Tel Aviv. I’m proud of the way the team and staff handled itself and I think we showed everybody here what and who Maccabi Tel Aviv is. We surprised people with our dynamic playing style and will to win. We say in Europe…. We left our business card here!”

Watch the Full Match & Penalties

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Under-15’s took part in an exclusive tournament in ...

Maccabi Under-15’s continue along at Vienna Tournament

The Under-15's played a pair of matches on Saturday, falling in the first contest 2:1 to Austria Wien while coming back to defeat Hungarian side Ferencvaros Budapest in the nightcap

After picking up a 2:1 victory over AIK Stockholm on Friday, the young Yellow & Blue had mixed results on day two. The first encounter of today day pitted the Under-15’s against Austria Wien where they came up on the short end of a 2:1 result with Hadar Mor Yosef scoring the lone Maccabi goal. Later on during the day, the Yellow & Blue won their second match of the tournament beating Ferencvaros Budapest on goals by Nehorai Bitton and an injury time strike by Stav Nachmani. The Club currently sits in second place after the group stage and will battle Lokomotiv Moscow for third place overall in the exclusive international competition.

The first match of the day saw the young Yellow & Blue take on Austria Wien. After going down by a goal, Hadar Mor Yosef evened up the contest as the Under-15’s controlled the tempo of the game. However, a questionable penalty was called against Maccabi near the end of the contest and following a long debate with the Austrian referees, Austria Wien scored the spot kick to take the 2:1 victory.

Later on in the day an additional match took place against Ferencvaros Budapest as the Under-15’s controlled the pace of the match, however, a defensive error gave the Hungarians a 1:0 lead. Maccabi continued to attack down the wings as the midfielders joined the effort in search of a tying goal. Ferencvaros purposely slowed the match down with numerous fouls but a goal by Nehorai Bitton drew the young Yellow & Blue even. With momentum on their side, the Under-15’s scored the winning goal in injury time thanks to Stav Nachmani and handed Maccabi a 2:1 win.

The second day of the competition was again a learning experience for the Yellow & Blue and the results earned in the three matches handed them second place in their group which will give them the opportunity to finish the tournament in third place as they will face Lokomotiv Moscow on Sunday.

After picking up a 2:1 victory over AIK Stockholm on Friday, the ...