Maccabi Tel Aviv FC has today appointed former player, Yoav Ziv, as first team manager as the replacement of Benny Tabak who will become the club’s new Loan Player Liaison Officer.

Maccabi’s Coach, Jordi Cruyff, told the club’s official website: “We would all like to thank Benny for his contribution and efforts to the first team over the past 4 years. We look   forward to working closely with Benny in his new role at the club and at the same time, we are delighted to welcome Yoav back to the club and wish him all the best in his role. We are confident Yoav will add from his personal touch to what is a very demanding job.”

Benny Tabak said: “After a period of four seasons in a highly demanding job as the team manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv’s first team, I am delighted to return to the professional side of the club. I would like to thank all of those I worked alongside and wish Yoav Ziv all the best in his new role”. 

Ziv, added: “Maccabi Tel Aviv is the most natural place for me to return to and considering the fact I worked last season with the Youth Department I feel that I never really left. Today I am ending a long career as a player but at the same time excited ahead of a new start at a new role and hope to contribute to the organization from the experience I gained”.

 Yoav Ziv, spent six seasons at Maccabi between 2010-2016 since joining as a player from Belgian outfit Lokeren and scored 7 goals in 198 appearances as a full-back. The 36-year-old who decided to end a successful playing career after spending the last season with Hapoel Petah Tikva, was a key member in the Maccabi team which won 3 successive league titles and reached the Champions’ League group stage once and the EUROPA League on two other occasions. His last goal for Maccabi was at the 6-2 Cup final victory in May 2015 in a match which ended the historic treble winning season.