For the third year running, the Maccabi Youth Division held the goalkeeping tournament in honour of Avraham Bendori
Today the recently refurbished artificial pitch at the Kiryat Shalom training ground played host to thirty-two goalkeepers from four of the leading youth academies in Israel. The young goalkeepers participated in a special tournament in honour of former Maccabi Tel Aviv and Israel goalkeeper of the successful 1950's, Avraham Bendori. As was the case last year, eight U15 to 19 goalkeepers from Bnei Yehuda, Beitar Jerusalem and Beitar Tubruk joined their Maccabi Tel Aviv counterparts in the tournament initiated and organised by Maccabi's Youth Division head goalkeeping coach Chen Abdu together with his assistants Guy Nahshon and Eitan Chamiel. Maccabi senior squad goalkeeping coach Alexander "Shura" Uvarov was also on hand to watch the future goalkeepers perform, along with other great goalkeepers of the past: Haim Levine, one of Maccabi's greatest goalkeepers of the 1960's; Moshe Marcus, who came up through the Maccabi academy and booked 250 appearances for the team; and Ya'akov Asayag, a veteran goalkeeper at Bnei Yehuda. Uvarov and Asayag also gave a lecture to the young keepers about the importance of their role in the team squad and shared with the youngsters some handy tips for the future.
