Maccabi Tel Aviv’s U17 side have been crowned league champions for the 2019-20 season following a decision by the Israel Football Association to curtail the league 
because of the coronavirus lockdown.
The under-17 side were in first place after 21 fixtures played in which they won 15, drew three and lost three matches. They finished with 48 points, two ahead of second-placed Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Maccabi’s boys scored 50 goals and conceded 16. The team’s leading goalscorer was Dor Turgeman, who netted 19 times.
In his first season as head coach of the U17 team, Ori David won the championship.
“It’s a bit strange to have to summarise the season already in April, but the situation has
brought this upon us and we have been declared under-17 champions,” David said.
“Unquestionably, the players have made dramatic progress and we have improved as a team too. We played some excellent football in line with the Academy’s ethos. The entire squad were party to this success and it is an extraordinary achievement for players of this age group. We are deserving champions,” he said.
David added that Academy performance director Patrick Van Leeuwen’s choice of the coaching team had made all the difference and he credited his colleagues for the success.
“My assistant, Jeffrey Ishai, did wonderful work and it was the game changer in developing the players, and for the Academy in general.”
David also credited Yair Iluz, responsible for bodybuilding, goalkeeping coach Yisrael Eini, analyst Shlomi Tubul, physio Or Panda and mental trainer Meirav Levi.
