Maccabi returns to league action after the international break as they host Hapoel Be’ersheva at Bloomfield stadium on Saturday. Dor Peretz who featured for Israel in the Nations League defeats to Belgium (3-1) and Italy (2-1) returned to Kiryat to meet several new faces who joined during the international break.

“The competition is legitimate and healthy for sport” Peretz said: “It pushes everyone of us to take one step forward and maximize our ability. The dynamics in the dressing room is built together with the staff and the players who have been here for several years. We must keep on pushing each other.

Maccabi won the only league match they played this season beating Maccabi Petah Tikva 3-0, Be’ersheva played the same number of games as their match against Bnei Sakhnin was called off due to riots on the pitch.

Ahead of Be’ersheva, the 29-year-old midfielder said: “We expect a tough match at the highest level against an excellent opponent with very good players. We will prepare with the utmost seriousness. We arrive at Bloomfield stadium for our first league match of the season and would like to show our strength.”

Ahead of an extremely busy fixtures list which will have 7 matches before the next international break on October 7th, Peretz added: “We expect a mad month with seven matches which we will start against Be’ersheva”

Matan Baltaxa will leave Maccabi Tel Aviv FC and join Hapoel Be’ersheva. 

Baltaxa, initially joined Maccabi in 2017 and won between 2019-2021 four trophies: the State Cup (20/21), Toto Cup (20/21) and 2 Super Cups (19/20 and 20/21).

 After a move to Austria, Baltaxa returned to Maccabi in January 2024 and played a part in the side that won the Championship (23/24), Toto Cup (23/24) and reached the Conference League Round of 16.

This season Baltaxa added another trophy to his cabinet with the 2024/25 Super Cup, and helped Maccabi reach the Toto Cup Final and the Europa League phase.

Thank you Matan and all t

he best.

Stav Lemkin will join Maccabi Tel Aviv FC on a season-long-loan from Shakhtar Donetsk after both clubs reached an agreement with an option of making the move permanent.  

The 21-year-old central defender (190cm) who was part of Maccabi’s Youth Academy between 2011-2018 joined Shakhtar in the summer of 2023 from Hapoel Tel Aviv. He then won the Ukrainian League title last season and was a member of Shakhtar’s Champions League campaign.

Lemkin, successfully completed his medical at the club and will wear the number 4 shirt. Shortly after signing his contract Lemkin told the club’s official website: “I am delighted to return to Maccabi Tel Aviv, a club I grew up at.  I can’t wait to meet my new teammates and start working hard to justify the faith shown in me. My aim is to help the team achieve all our targets for the coming season by winning as many domestic titles as possible and having a successful Europa League campaign”.

Lemkin has 3 international appearances for the Israel national team, making his debut against Romania before featuring this summer for Israel’s Olympic Team in France.

Last summer Lemkin was a member of the Israel side that reached the Semi Final and finished third in the U20 World Cup Finals. Later that summer, he was part of Israel’s U21’s that reached the Semi Finals of the European U21 Championship Final.

In the summer of 2022, Lemkin was part of Israel’s youth team that reached the final match of the European U19 Championship finals.

Lemkin scored 2 goals and has a total of 40 international appearances for the young Israel national teams at U16, U17, U19, U20, U21 and U23 levels.

Nadav Niddam, signed a contract extension at Maccabi Tel Aviv until the end of the 2025/26 season and was loaned to Ironi Kiryat Shmona after an agreement was reached between the two clubs.

The 23-year-old midfielder signed a one year extension on his contract before joining Kiryat Shmona where he spent a loan spell in the 2021/22 season.

Good luck Nadav!