With the Israel Youth League coming to an end, the Under-19 striker Eduardo Guerrero will take part in the Under-20 World Championship in Poland. The Panama native will represent his country in a group with France, Mali and Saudi Arabia. The tournament itself will feature 24 countries including Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, Portugal, Mexico and many others from around the globe.

Panama entered the competition from the Central America section where the first 4 teams earned a ticket to the tourney. Panama finished in 3rd along with Honduras. The Yellow & Blue striker didn’t take part in the qualification portion as he was with Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv in Champions League action. Guerrero appeared in 33 matches across all competitions and scored 19 goals (13 league, 1 State Cup, 5 Champions League).

Panama Fixtures:
25.5 – Mali
28.5 – France
31.5 – Saudi Arabia

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club will launch a special project this summer in the United States. The Youth Academy is joining forces with the Jewish Communities is Washington, Virginia and will hold a training camp for the children of the area under the Maccabi Tel Aviv banner. The Youth Academy will be sending three coaches who will take part in ten professional program and work in conjunction with the local staff. The children will wear Maccabi Tel Aviv uniforms and will train under the philosophy of the club.

Many clubs hold training camps in the United States including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and many more as they look to expand their reach into North America just like the top European clubs.

The Youth Academy Manager Guy Zukerman will be leading the project under the auspices of Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen.

Zukerman explained the pilot program that will be held this coming summer in Washington: “This summer we’ll be holding our first camp in the United States in Washington in conjunction with the local JCC, the Jewish Community Center. We are sending three coaches from the academy that will work on professional aspects at the camp together with the local staff. The players will wear official Maccabi Tel Aviv uniforms and will train under the club’s philosophy.”

The future:
“We are looking towards to a fruitful future with this program and we’ve had a number of meetings over the past month with the JCC’s on the east coast of the United States, these organizations are looking for a connection to Israel especially with Maccabi Tel Aviv. I believe that this project has a bright future.”

“This project can contribute to the club in many ways. Firstly it puts us in line with the other big clubs in the world and we want the name Maccabi Tel Aviv to be known more and more around the world. It’s a huge market and a wonderful one for the club. In addition this may also give us the opportunity to find a talent that will eventually come to Israel.”

Beitar Jerusalem 0:0 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv (U19)
The Under-19 squad ended their season with a 0:0 draw as they finished in 2nd place on the table. For the Full Match Report Click Here.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv 0:2 Maccabi Haifa (U17)
The Under-17 side hosted the Carmel Greens and fell 2:0 on the final Matchday of the season after having already captured the league championship.

Bnei Sakhin 0:7 Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv (U16)
The Under-16 team visited Sakhin and took home a 7:0 win to end the season in second place on the table. Ener Oshmandi, Dor Turgeman, Rotem Grama, Zin Shalata, Sean Edri and Ori Halevy x2 scored for the Yellow & Blue. On Tuesday at 19:30 the squad will look to win the State Cup when they face Ahi Nazareth at Ramat Gan Stadium.

The Under-19 pulled the curtains down on the 2018/19 season at Beitar Jerusalem as Head Coach Guy Tzarfati made some changes to usual starting lineup: Roy Mann, Michael Chilaka, Alon Shtrozberg, Amit Glezer, Bar Netanel, Tamir Glezer, Omri Ram, Yoav Hoffmayster, Rave Assayag, Bar Cohen, Tal Yugadaev

First Half
Both sides had few chances in the opening half as Beitar’s first opportunity took place in the 13’ off a counter but Mann was in place to make the stop. Two minutes later Assayag’s attempt was stopped just before he found the back of the goal.

In the 23’ Hofmayster found Ram but his cross was stymied by the Jerusalem defense while Ram attempted a number of more crosses into the box but came up empty.

Second Half
In the 70’ Maccabi almost took the lead when Assayag handed the ball off to Omer Berami who came on as a substitute who in turn sent it to Yagudaev but his shot went off of the bar.

Mufleh Shalata was introduced as a substitute as he was active in trying to find the winning goal but came up short as the match ended in a 0:0 goalless draw.

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv 3:4 Maccabi Haifa (U19)
The club’s Under-19 squad kicked off against Haifa on Matchday 29 of the Israel Youth Premier League and fell to the Carmel Greens. Tal Yagudaev, Omri Ram And Mufleh Shalata scored for the Yellow & Blue but it wasn’t enough to win the contest. For the Full Match Report Click Here.

Maccabi Netanya 2:1 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv (U17)
After winning the championship, the Under-17 side fell to Netanya as Michael Moore scored the Yellow & Blue’s lone goal.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 5:1 Bnei Yehuda (U16)
The Under-16 team recorded the win on Matchday 29 of league action thanks to goals by Ori HaLevy x2, Dor Turgeman x2, Aviv Pelles.

Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv 4:1 Maccabi Petah Tikva (U15)
The Under-15 squad recorded a victory on the final Matchday of the season after wrapping up the league title last week. Liad Ramot scored a hat trick while Oskar Glock also found the back of the goal. Head Coach Ori David summed up the sweet end of the campaign: “We played a good first half and after 20 minutes we were winning 3:0. We took the title in style and this was a good performance by the team. There’s no doubt they are ready for the Under-16 level. I’m very proud of the guys.”

The annual tournament in memory of Shachar Brickman z”l was held Tuesday evening at the PenguinPickUp Training Ground at Kiryat Shalom. Shachar’s parents Gideon and Shosh attend the match as well as their family.

The Unde-19 team, Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv defeated Ramat Hasharon on penalties after the match ended 1:1 in regulation time to win the Trophy named for Shachar.

The club’s Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen was present at the contest as well as members of management and Ramat Hasharon mayor Avi Gruber.

Following the match a ceremony took place where Gideon Brickman spoke: “We have the honor to be a part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv family and we are proud to be associated with the Under-19 team every year. Thank you to all.”

Shachar was a fan of Maccabi Tel Aviv and went to every game. He battled cancer for three years but succumbed to the illness at tiger age of 38 leaving behind Roni, his daughter.

The Under-19 squad hosted Maccabi Haifa on Matchday 29 of the Israel Premier League. Maccabi “Shachar” began the contest in 2nd place, four points off the top of the table leaders Maccabi Petah Tikva while the Greens sat in 10th place.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI: Or Itzhak, Michael Chilaka, Amit Glezer, Yoav Hofmayster, Dan Lugassi, Tamir Glezer, Omri Ram, Ido Shahar, Eduardo Guerrero, Omer Barami, Tal Yagudayev.

First Half
After a quiet first quarter hour, Haifa took a 1:0 lead in the 18’ as Stav Nachmani slotted the ball home from in close. However, just 4 minutes later Ram sent a cross to Yagudayev who found the back of the goal to even up the match at 1:1.

In the 25’ Maccabi grabbed a 2:1 advantage when Lugassi located Ram who put the ball into the left corner of the Haifa goal. Two minutes later the Greens went on the attack but Itzhak was the timely save and in the 31’ Barami sent Guerrero the ball but Sherif Koif made the stop.

Just before the squads went into the break Haifa found the equalizer as Nachmani beat Itzhak on a one on one situation to make the score 2:2 after 45 minutes of action.

Second Half
Maccabi pressed right out of the gate and in the 48’ Tamir Glezer tried his luck from long distance but the Greens keeper made the save and one minutes later Lugassi sent a cross to Guerrero but his header missed the target.

In the 67’ Maccabi regained the lead when Yagudayev found Mufleh Shalata who had come on just minutes earlier to go ahead 3:2. However, in the 75’ Haifa almost drew even once again but Itzhak sent the ball off of the bar to safety. Ten minutes later Haifa just missed the target but a minute later Guerrero was issued a red card due to a foul leaving Maccabi with only ten men.

The Greens took full advantage of the situation and found the equalizer in the 88’ via Ilay Hagag from in close while Guy Dahan scored the winner for Haifa in the 90’ on a counter to hand the visitors a 4:3 win.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Academy hosted Liran Baruch a former member of the Israel Defense Forces as he spoke to the Under-19 squad about his service and injury during the second Intifada.

Baruch described serving the country and the recovery and rehabilitation he had to go through following his injury. The U19’s were very moved by the story and discussion that they had with Baruch as some are already serving in the IDF and others will be joining them soon.

Ashdod 1:2 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv (U19)
The Under-19 club headed to Ashdod on Matchday 28 of the Israel Youth Premier League in a match that was originally supposed to take place in Saturday but was postponed due to the security situation. Ashdod took a 1:0 lead via a penalty but a Rave Assayag 77’ goal and an Eduardo Guerrero 90’ spot kick gave Maccabi the 3 points and the win. For the Full Match Report Click Here.

Hapoel Raanana 1:4 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv (U17)
The Under-17 team officially wrapped up the league title on Matchday 28 of league play. A Yali Lazar hat-trick and a single strike by Tal Torjman gave Maccabi the 3 points. Eliezer Ben Aharon spoke about the win: “We came into the match with a different approach about how we were going to play on the pitch. The players learned the basis over a very short period of time and it was a success which led to a one-sided contest. Raanana barely touched the ball. All in all this was a good match in which we were aggressive and held the advantage in every parameter. Our goal this season was to be a dominant team. Now that the title is officially ours we will want to end the season as best as possible.”

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 4:0 Ironi Nesher (U16)
The Under-16 squad hosted Nesher on Matchday 28 of league play. The Yellow & Blue controlled the pace of play throughout the match as Ori halevi, Yonatan Paz and Dor Turgeman (2) scored. Head Coach Eran Sassi summed up the contest: “This was a match that we were in control of throughout. We played excellent on the defensive end and we played simple on the attack. I’m happy we scored some goals because we were missing that over the last few matches as we had missed a lot. The second half saw the pace slow up a bit and I made a number of substitutes who were able to come off of the bench and reignite the energy levels. I’m proud of the players and I hope that we can continue to score in the upcoming matches.”

Hapoel Ashkelon 1:5 Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv (U15)
The Under-15 squad secured the League Championship thanks to goals by Bar Lin, Oral Bahia, Oscar Gluch, Amit Tzur and Adir Cordoba. For the Full Match Report Click Here.

The Under-19 club headed to Ashdod on Matchday 28 of the Israel Youth Premier League in a match that was originally supposed to take place in Saturday but was postponed due to the security situation.

Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s Starting XI included Or Itzhak, Michael Chilaka, Amit Glezer, Yoav Hofmayster, Dan Lugassi, Tamir Glezer, Mufleh Shalata, Nadav Nidam, Eduardo Guerrero, Bar Cohen and Tal Yagudaev.

First Half
Maccabi controlled the pace of play throughout the half but couldn’t create quality chances near the goal as the host’s played a tight defensive line. Ashdod took a 1:0 lead near the end of the half thanks to a Ori Zohar penalty.

Second Half
Maccabi pressed from the get go and in the 77th minute it paid off as Rave Assayag scored and then in the 90th minuted Eduardo Guerrero slammed home a penalty that was called due to a hand ball to grab the 2:1 win.

Tzarfati summed up the match: “The first half was tough and one defensive mistake led to an Ashdod goal. In the second half we really attacked and moved forward looking to score. The substitutes made all of the difference and we recorded a win on a very tough pitch via a comeback. I’m happy as to how the players performed and the desire they showed.”