Maccabi Tel Aviv U-17’s Academy side completed a three-day tournament in Nuremberg in memory of Walther Bensemann in the respectable 3rd place. Zion Cohen’s side, were drawn into Group A’ together with Bayern Munich, Chelsea and hosts Nuremberg.
Yoav Fleishman and Ido Awali led Maccabi to a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich on the opening day, before suffering a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea. A 1-0 victory over hosts Nuremberg thanks to a Yahel Atias goal secured Maccabi’s place in the Semi Final. Italian outfit Bologna proved to be a tough opponents as no goals were scored in regular and extra time before the Italians won 7-6 in a penalty shoot-out to reach the final. On the third and final day of the tournament Maccabi played Polish side Cracovia Krakow with Atias scoring a late winner to help the U-17’s secure 3rd place while Chelsea beat Bologna 3-1 to win the pre-season tournament.
Tournament final ranking:
1. Chelsea FC
2. FC Bologna
3. Maccabi Tel Aviv FC
4. MKS Cracovia Krakow
5. Eintracht Frankfurt
6. FC Nuremberg
7. Karlsruhe SC
8. FC Bayern Munich
