At their annual sporting week event, the pupils at the Yitschak Rabin School in Hod Hasharon were joined by special guests, Maccabi Tel Aviv stars Sheran Yeini, Eytan Tibi, Tal Ben Haim and Dor Micha
Despite the intensity of the Israeli Premier League play-offs, now in full swing, Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club took time out today (Wednesday) for something that is also very close to the club's heart – Israeli youth's involvement in sport. Every year the Yitschak Rabin School in Hod Hasharon hold an annual sports week and this year's special guests were none other than Maccabi team captain Sheran Yeini, defender Eytan Tibi, winger Tal Ben Haim and young midfielder Dor Micha. During their visit, they met with the pupils in the sports class and also participated in showcase matches with the school teams in both football and basketball. After losing honourably, the Maccabi stars were invited to a forum with the entire student body, where they answered pupils' questions about their footballing careers, about the support they received from their families during that career, about the sportsman's lifestyle and about what it's like to be a professional athlete. The players stressed the importance of devoting and investing time and energy in their trade in order to be a success, but not, of course, at the expense of their studies. At the end of the visit the four Maccabi squad members presented gifts to all the pupils in the school's sports class and wished them the best of luck in both their sporting and educational endeavours.
Eytan Tibi, speaking about the game with the pupils, said: "It's great fun to play with those kids, they ran us ragged. And playing on tarmac, wow, I haven't done that since I was 14 or 15. It was a treat". And what did he want the pupils to get out of it? "Maccabi's a big club and when you think Maccabi you always think about the desire to win and about never giving up whatever happens. We always have great respect for our opponents and we're never complacent or arrogant". Looking back at Monday night's goalless draw in the derby against Hapoel Tel Aviv, Tibi said: "The moral of the story is never lose a game, even when you're not playing your best. We were disappointed because we wanted to win anyway, but I don't think it's a question of a dip in our form. You get games like that, when you're not at your best, but you have to know how to stick to your game plan and philosophy and take the points anyway". As for next week's "match of the season" against second-placed Hapoel Beer Sheva, Tibi added: "For us it's like any other match, it's a home tie against another team at the top so we'll have to make sure we're in top gear".
