Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar" celebrated their second consecutive U19 Premier League title at an event held at the club's Youth Division complex
Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar", the flagship side of the Youth Division, have always been a source of pride at the club, and the 2011/12 season was no exception. Tonight at the Kiryat Shalom Youth Division training complex, the players and the entire professional staff – from coaches and management to the masseur and the coach driver – all celebrated a well-deserved second consecutive U19 Premier League title and marked the end of yet another successful season. In addition to the players and the professional staff, key personalities from the club, and from the Youth Division in particular, all attended the celebrations. As in years past, the festivities were honoured by the presence of the Brickman family, whose late son Shachar was chosen to have his name enshrined by the Youth Division's Under-19 squad, Maccabi Tel Aviv "Shachar". They were joined by two veteran and highly dedicated members of the Youth Division staff, Baruch Azarti and Yehuda Livni. "Shachar" head coach Amir Turjeman was in charge of presenting the 2012/13 summary display, which briefly told the story of the season from the league opener to the moment the championship trophy was lifted and the champagne corks started popping. The display was augmented by a video clip prepared by members of the squad themselves.
After all the members of the professional staff had spoken a word, each player received his own individual championship trophy. This year the annual event took on a particularly joyous character due to the wonderful memories it recalled, as each player also received a number of photographs of some of the more memorable moments of this most memorable championship season. This was a championship that was won almost "against all odds", due to the significant changes that had taken place at the beginning of the season from the title and Cup double winning squad of the previous year. But even by the high standards set by the 2010/11 season squad, a number of whom went on to the senior team in 2011/12, the current squad remained undaunted. Though the U19 State Cup may have escaped them, they remained unrivalled by any other team in the U19 Premier League, winning the title nine points ahead of their nearest opponent, Maccabi Haifa. Reason enough to celebrate.
