In the 2012/13 season, the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Division once again substantiated their claim to being Israel's best as they harvested the highest number of titles of any youth division anywhere in the country. Along with the Division's flagship Under-19 squad, a number of other youth teams won their league championships or prestigious State Cups, from the Under-17s all the way down to the Under-10s.
To begin with the Under-17s, who surpassed the standards set last year by not only winning their second consecutive league title but adding the State Cup trophy to a double-winning season. Wins in both competitions were decisive, with Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oded" finishing the league season twelve points ahead of their nearest opponent and, with the exception of the semi-final, winning the State Cup at a canter.
Maccabi's Under-16s also won their second straight championship, but unlike their older counterparts their title rivals, municipal opponents Hapoel Tel Aviv, stayed close at their heels throughout the season. With Maccabi five points out in front, the two clubs met at the Kiryat Shalom training ground and until the final moments the visitors looked like holding on to a one-goal lead that would close the gap to two points. But deep into injury time Eden Hershkowitz scored an equaliser and Maccabi maintained their five-point cushion. The match by no means guaranteed them the title, but in retrospect a relatively easy run-in at season's end gave the draw added significance in Maccabi Tel Aviv Eli Fuchs' title run. The championship match came in a 3-1 victory over Ashdod FC and head coach Ziv Arie's talented squad were finally able to hoist the championship trophy of the nationwide U16 League Central District.
The Maccabi Youth Division boasted yet another league and Cup double, this time for the Under-15 Team South. In the league their domination was complete throughout most of the season, especially in the second half, finishing a full eight points ahead of their nearest rival, municipal neighbours Bnei Yehuda, with 63 points from 20 wins, 3 losses and 3 draws. But winning the State Cup required a bit of luck as well, with the same Bnei Yehuda waiting in the wings to deprive them of the coveted double in the final. It came down to a penalty shoot-out but Maccabi's Under-15s withstood the pressure and triumphed 5-4 from the spot to win the first of their two 2012/13 season trophies.
Maccabi's Under-12 Team South are the third in the Youth Division's list of double winners, but like their Under-16 club-mates, the road to success was not an easy one. The entire nationwide U12 Central District season came down to one crucial moment, the season's final week which saw Maccabi Tel Aviv "Oz" face the other league leader Hapoel Rishon Lezion. In the end Maccabi prevailed and, after having won the State Cup a month earlier, were able to celebrate an impressive league and Cup double.
Last but by no means least come Maccabi's Under-10 Team South, who secured the Youth Division's final league and Cup double for their age group. The State Cup was won in style with a 7-2 rout of Maccabi Netanya in the final. Like the Under-12s, the Under-10s landed the league title only on the last day of the season, but in their case the circumstances were even more exotic. Both sides led the league, but both sides also came from the same club! In the end Maccabi's U10 Team South beat Maccabi's U10 Team North in an intra-club derby, a victory that handed the league and Cup double to the South.
