Match 1: Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion

Match 2: Red Star Paris – Beitar Jerusalem

Match 3: Bayer leverkusen – Maccabi Haifa

The Club’s Under-19 team opened up the Maccabi Tel Aviv International Youth Tournament against Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati’s attack included Mufleh Shalata, Eylon Almog and William Agada.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT CLICK HERE
The full Starting XI included: Daniel Peretz, Noam Cohen, Alon Shtrozberg, Amit Glezer, Tomer Mahluf, Tamir Glazer, Netanel Peretz, Prince Thomas, Mufleh Shalata, Eylon Almog and William Agada.

The young Yellow & Blue had a number of quality chances in the first half, however, they couldn’t find the back of the goal. Rishon took a 1:0 lead early on in the second half but were able to draw even thanks to a William Agada strike. Maccabi tried to find the winner but the match ended in a 1:1 draw.

On Saturday, Maccabi will face Red Star Paris at 11:00 and will then play Beitar Jerusalem later on that same day at 13:30.

Results Friday January 19, 2018
Beitar Jerusalem 1:0 Red Star Paris
Jerusalem Goal Scorer: Niv Badash

Bayer Leverkusen 2:2 Maccabi Haifa
Leverkusen Goal Scorers: Sam Sarchak, Atakan Akenek
Haifa Goal Scorers: Gil Hadad, Guy Dahan

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s International Youth Tournament is underway until Sunday January 21 and we spoke with representatives of the two foreign clubs that are taking part in the competition; Patrice Haddad the owner of Red Star Paris and Slawomir Czarniecki, Bayer Leverkusen’s Sports Coordinator. The pair discussed their expectations for the tournament as well as the importance of the 6 team competition in the middle of January.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT CLICK HERE
Slawomir Czarniecki began working at Bayer Leverkusen in the year 2000 and served as the club’s youth coach. In 2006 he moved into a management role as the assistant to the sports director (responsible for all first team matters), and is currently the sports coordinator, a position that combines youth coaching and management in one role.

“We are combining this year’s tournament with our annual training camp, and arrived in Israel one week before the beginning of the tournament. The tournament offers us the perfect opportunity to combine our long-planned winter training camp with the opportunity to play against the best Israeli teams. We decided on Israel as the location, due to our long-standing good relationship with football federation.”

Thoughts about taking part in the International Tournament taking place in Israel:
“As a club, we regularly play in international tournaments and friendly matches as we believe these are valuable for personal player development. We are looking forward to being in Israel this winter and to take on the challenges that await us. Furthermore, the exchange of ideas between coaches and clubs provides an opportunity for to grow and improve. Additionally, the cultural and historic aspects of Israel offers our players a further opportunity to broaden their horizons and develop further off of the pitch.”

Relationship with Maccabi Tel Aviv:
“Our first contact with Maccabi Tel Aviv occurred last summer, during the Bundesliga Football School where Bayer 04 Leverkusen and myself were involved. Since then we have enjoyed a friendly and professional exchange, especially with Patrick van Leeuwen and hope to continue to do so in the future.”

Expectations for the tournament:
“According to our own experience and that of DFB (German Football Association), we expect to enjoy a comfortable and well-organized trip and tournament.”

Other activities that the club will do while in Israel:
“We will encourage our players to see and experience as much of Israel’s culture and history as possible, in their free time from the camp and the tournament. We are definitely planning a trip to Leverkusen’s sister city Nazareth Illit and are planning to visit other places of interest.

Patrice Haddad, the owner of Red Star Paris also commented on the opportunity to take part in the Maccabi Tel Aviv International Tournament:

“Our objective is to win the tournament as well as allowing the young players the chance to experience a competition of this magnitude which they normally don’t have the chance to do.”

Feelings about the importance of taking part in the tournament:
“There are no borders in sport.”

Relationship between Maccabi and Red Star:
“The relationship between the clubs began due to a contact that put the two sides in touch which eventually led to taking part in the International Tournament in Israel.”

Expectations of the trip as a whole:
“As a club, we want to play at the highest level possible thanks to the Maccabi Tel Aviv organizing committee. Israel is a beautiful country and there is much to see.”

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv (U19)
For the first time in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv will host an international tournament. The Under-19 club will take part in the competition and will face Bayer Leverkusen, Red Star Paris in addition to Maccabi Haifa, Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion that will run between January 19-21 at Kiryat Shalom.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT CLICK HERE
Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv (U17)
The Under-17 club will be on a two week break after defeating Hapoel Ramat Gam 4:0 as the side sits in 1st place with a 9-point gap to the 2nd place team.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – SC Ashdod “Morris”, 08:30 Kiryat Shalom synthetic (U16)
With a 9 match undefeated streak in league play, the Under-16’s will host Ashdod on Matchday 16. The young Yellow & Blue are in 5th place while Ashdod find themselves in 2nd as a Maccabi win will move them into 2nd place in a very tight top of the table.

Hapoel Beer Sheva – Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv, 13:00 Racer 5 Beer Sheva Synthetic (U15 South)
After defeating Ramat Gan 2:1 in midweek action, the U16’s will head south to Beer Sheva on Matchday 14. The Yellow & Blue are in 1st place and are undefeated in league action while the host’s are in 5th place with a match in hand and only 2 defeats all season long.

Hapoel Kfar Saba – Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv, 09:00 Kfar Saba Lower Training Facility Synthetic (U15 North)
In a top of the table battle, the Under-15 North squad will play at Kfar Saba on Matchday 14 of league action. Maccabi is in 3rd place just 3 points off of 1st place while the host’s are in 4th place with a match in hand.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv International Youth Tournament will begin this coming Friday at Kiryat Shalom and will run until Sunday. Bayer Leverkusen, Red Star Paris and other youth teams will participate in the competition which will be the first of its kind in Israel. Just before the opening whistle, the club’s Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen discussed the importance of the competition and more:

“Maccabi Tel Aviv is starting to create a culture of tournaments in Israel. We are always aiming to be the best. This is the first edition of the tournament with the purpose of hosting and encouraging more foreign teams to come to Israel for these types of competitions in the future.”

For more information about the tournament and match schedule click here

van Leeuwen continued: “Being the first team in Israel to organize an international tournament, we hope that everything will go smoothly. All of the Academy employees will assist in making this tournament possible while hopefully enjoying good football matches. The Maccabi Youth Academy is doing everything to make our guests and all of the other teams feel welcome while approaching everything as professional as possible. We have to thank the club for making it possible for us to organize it.”

Opportunities the competition affords to the participants and beyond:
“We hope that this will give an opportunity for young Israeli boys to play against top foreign teams while also playing Israeli clubs in a different competition other than the official league. We are very happy with the teams that are participating in the tournament. Bayer Leverkusen will be in Israel for their training camp and we offered them an opportunity to participate in our tournament and therefore this competition will be part of their training camp. Red Star Paris is the second club in Paris, France. The owner of the club has a Jewish background and it’s nice to give these people the opportunity to share their experiences with us. The Israeli teams that will participate played quality football last season and it will be nice to share this experience with those other clubs.”

Leading by example:
“One of our purposes in having this competition is to raise the level of enthusiasm and encourage others in organizing tournaments in Israel. This will be not only an experience here at Maccabi Tel Aviv, but also for other clubs who may follow this initiative in trying to create something international themselves as well.”

Expectations from Maccabi:
“We have to perform well. It’s a different format that we are taking the European U19 format, not like the Israeli youth league where 6 players above 19 can play. We have a lot of talented players that will receive a quality experience by playing in these matches. These kinds of tournaments are different and you need to perform well with the goal of getting a good result in every match and advance. This is also the goal for Maccabi at this tournament.”

For the first time in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv FC will host an International Youth Tournament. The Club’s Youth Department will hold a competition that will include clubs from aboard including Bayer Leverkusen and Red Star Paris. In addition, Maccabi Haifa, Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion and Maccabi Tel Aviv’s youth clubs will also take part in the tournament between January 19-21 at Kiryat Shalom.

The competition will feature a single group consisting of all 6 teams. The matches will be held in a league format with two 30 minute halves while every club will play each other once. After each side has faced each other, the team in first place will be crowned the tournament champion. All matches will be played according to the rules and regulations of FIFA and the IFA.

Match Schedule

Friday January 19, 2018
10:00 Opening of the Tournament
Pitch 1:
11:00 Maccabi Tel Aviv – Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion
12:15 Bayer Leverkusen – Maccabi Haifa

Pitch 2:
11:00 Red Star Paris – Beitar Jerusalem

Saturday January 20, 2018
Pitch 1:
11:00 Maccabi Tel Aviv – Red Star Paris
12:15 Maccabi Haifa – Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion
13:30 Maccabi Tel Aviv – Beitar Jerusalem
14:45 Bayer Leverkusen – Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion

Pitch 2:
11:00 Beitar Jerusalem – Bayer Leverkusen
14:45 Maccabi Haifa – Red Star Paris

Sunday January 21, 2018
Pitch 1:
10:00 Maccabi Tel Aviv – Bayer Leverkusen
11:15 Beitar Jerusalem – Maccabi Haifa
12:30 Bayer Leverkusen – Red Star Paris
13:45 Maccabi Tel Aviv – Maccabi Haifa
15:00 Award Ceremony
15:45 End of Tournament

Pitch 2:
10:00 Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion – Red Star Paris
13:45 Hapoel Rishon Le’Zion – Beitar Jerusalem

Maccabi Tel Aviv will hold the tournament at the Kiryat Shalom Training Complex and the matches will be held on the synthetic pitch and the central pitch.
For Directions to the Training Complex via WAZE Click Here

Kiryat Shemona 1:3 Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv
The Under-19 club ended the first round of matches in style with an away win at Kiryat Shemona on Matchday 15 of the Israel Premier League Ligat Ha’Al as they moved into 3rd place, 4 points off of the top of the table. The goal scorers included Eylon Almog, William Agada and Mufleh Shalata. Head Coach Guy Tzarfati summed up the match: “We played an excellent team game and we created plenty of chances to score. I am happy with the way the players have been playing and their attitude. It took some time, but now we can begin to see how some of the players are improving. I expect that the current form will continue into the 2nd round of play.”
For the full Match Report CLICK HERE

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv 3:1 Maccabi “Kalfo” Petah Tikva
The Under-17 squad’s fine form continued after defeating Petah Tikva at home on Matchday 14. Maccabi is in first place and with the win, they opened up a 9 point gap atop the table. Goal scorers included: Bar Cohen with a brace and Asaf Hershko. Head Coach Eliezer Ben Aharon spoke about his side’s victory: “At the beginning of the season we hoped that the team would look like a side that played together, advanced, learnt and executed. Today the staff can say that we have seen this already in the first half of the season. Prior to the match, we watched the game we played against Petah Tikva in the preseason. I told the players that we were in a totally different place, that we had improved and that we were a much better club, smarter, more intelligent and mentally stronger. The match was proof that we had improved and the players have adapted to the club’s system of play. There is no better feeling for a staff to have than that as we work with one goal in mind, helping create better players. To the players I say that they can be very content and can feel very good about themselves. But, we are only halfway through and the best horses will always come through at the end of the marathon. That’s what we expect the rest of the way, we want to be the best. We have another match on Tuesday, a different story, a different club and a new challenge.”

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv 3:1 Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
The young Yellow & Blue Under-16 team continued their quality play as they won the Little Derby on Matchday 15 and they are now undefeated in their last 8 matches as they sit in 4th place, 6 points off the top of the table with one match in hand. Or Roizman, Tal Torgman and Afek Sapir Navot were the goal scorers. Head Coach Raymond Atteveld summed up the match: “We made the game difficult for ourselves by not playing fast enough. Our opponent tried everything to slow the game down and after we scored 3 times they tried to wrestle us out of the game. But we kept playing and created many chances, but we didn’t take advantage of them. Bnei Yehuda was so hyped up that they made many unacceptable fouls which resulted in one player, Itay Rada going to hospital where he still is at the moment. I won’t say too much about the behavior of the opponent, just, that the coaches are responsible for their team’s behavior. We’re happy with the win, which was hard fought, but very worried about our player’s situation. What is much more important than the win is Itay’s health!”

Beitar “Gady” Jerusalem 2:1 Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv
The Under-15 South side visited the capital city and returned home with 3 points thanks to goal scorers Ohad Mizrahi and Elad Kalpan. Head Coach Ori David spoke about the contest: “The players showed a lot of desire other than playing good football and by scoring some fantastic goals. I’m proud of the guys.”

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv 3:1 Hapoel Tel Aviv North
The Under-15 North squad won their 6th match in a row on Matchday 13 with a victory in the Tel Aviv Derby. The three points moves Maccabi closer to the top of table with a gap of only 3 points and a match in hand. Omer Senior with a brace and Ben Lineker scored for Maccabi. Head Caoch Asaf Heber spoke about his side’s performance: “We weren’t aggressive enough. Despite coming back from an early deficit in the Derby, the guys have to know that they can’t come into a match the way they did and I’m sure that on Tuesday we will see a completely different approach when we face Tubruk.”

Matchday 15 of the Israel Youth Premier League saw Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv visit Kiryat Shemona as the young Yellow & Blue began the day in 4th place with 5 wins out of their last 6 matches, while Kiryat Shemona entered the contest in 11th place. Guy Tzarfati’s attack included Eylon Almog, Or Dasa and William Agada.

Starting XI: Daniel Peretz, Noam Cohen, Alon Shtrozberg, Fadi Najar, Yoav Hofmayster, Tamir Glazer, Tomer Altman (C), Prince Thomas, Or Dasa, Eylon Almog, William Agada.

First Half
Maccabi opened the match up well and had their first chance in the 3’ when Almog lifted a cross into the box to Agada, but his header went out while 4 minutes later Thomas was all alone in the area but his attempt went over the bar.

In the 18’ the young Yellow & Blue had two more quality chances when Almog sent a magnificent through ball to Altman but the midfielder put the ball over the goal while Glazer’s opportunity was parried away by the Kiryat Shemona keeper as the match remained goalless early on. However, it didn’t stay goalless for much longer as the host’s took a 1:0 lead after they took advantage of a Maccabi defensive error in the midfield.

But in the 43’ the Yellow & Blue drew even thanks to Almog’s scorcher from just outside of the box as the contest went into the break at 1:1.

Second Half
Mufleh Shalata who came on as a second half substitute had a wonderful chance to start the half when he went one on one with the Kiryat Shemona keeper, but the midfielder couldn’t find the back of the goal in the 46’. Four minutes later, the host’s almost took advantage of a defensive lapse by Maccabi but the were unable to beat Peretz as the score remained as is.

Altman found Agada with a neat through ball in the 52’ but he couldn’t find the goal, however, three minutes later the striker took a throw in off of his chest, dropped it down and blasted the ball behind the Kiryat Shemona keeper for a 2:1 lead. In the 60’ Glazer tried his luck from 25 meters but couldn’t find the target, but nine minutes later Shalata did just that from 20 meters out to take a 3:1 advantage.

As the contest hit the 73’ Almog sent a cross to Dasa but his header from the middle of the box was caught by the opposing keeper while in the 82’ Glazer’s long distance attempt went out. Just before the final whistle, Eyal Hen, who entered the match as a substitute was alone in the box but is 92’ chance went over the bar as the young Yellow & Blue took home the 3:1 win and the 3 points back to Kiryat Shalom.

Hapoel Kiryat Shemona – Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv, 11:30 Kiryat Shemona Synthetic (U19)
The Under-19 side travels to Kiryat Shemona on Matchday 15 of the Israel Youth Premier League Ligat Ha’Al. The young Yellow & Blue currently find themselves in 4th place with 5 wins in 6 matches while the host’s sit in 11th spot with only 1 win in their last 6 contests.

Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv – Maccabi “Kalfo” Petah Tikva, 10:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U17)
Maccabi “Oded” welcome Maccabi Petah Tikva on Matchday 14 at Kiryat Shalom as Eliezer Ben Aharon’s squad is still undefeated in league play with 12 wins and 1 draw and are in 1st place. The visitors are in 2nd, 6 points off the top of the table.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, 12:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U16)
The Under-16 club are undefeated in 7 straight matches as Bnei Yehuda stops by Kiryat Shalom for the Little Derby on Matchday 15. The Yellow & Blue sit in 5th place with a match in hand while the visitors are in 9th position with 6 league losses.

Beitar “Gadi” Jerusalem – Maccabi “Eldad” Tel Aviv, 8:45 Bayit Vegan 2 Upper Synthetic pitch (U15 South)
The capital city side will welcome Maccabi “Eldad” for a Matchday 13 clash in Jerusalem. With one match in hand, the U15’s are in 1st place and are undefeated while Beitar is in 7th with only one league loss this season.

Maccabi “Ilan” Tel Aviv – Hapoel Tel Aviv North, 008:30 Kiryat Shalom Synthetic (U15 North)
With 5 straight league wins, the U15 North side will look to continue their fine play and gain more ground as they sit in 3rd place, just 3 points off the top of the table while Hapoel is currently in 15th, sporting one win.

Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv 2:1 Maccabi Petah Tikva
The Under-19 side continued their fine play with a win over Petah Tikva thanks to goals by William Agada and Prince Thomas for their 5th win in 6 matches on Matchday 14. Guy Tzarfati’s team is in 4th place just 4 points off the top of the table. For the full Match Report Click Here

Hapoel Kiryat Shemona 1:4 Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv
The Under-17’s visited Kiryat Shemona in wintery weather on Matchday 13. Eliezer Ben Aharon’s squad continued their positive momentum and remained undefeated in league play, good for first place. The goal scorers included Omri Ram, Dan Lugassi, and Gil Ben Shalosh. Ben Eliezer summed up his side’s performance: “We departed on Friday for the Kfar Giladi Hotel. The players rose to the occasion and the whole team and staff had a chance to come together as one unit. It’s great that the club allowed us to leave the evening before the match and took care of everything for us so we could come into the match ready to go. Next week we play against the 2nd place side and we have to bring the things we learned in this contest to that one as well. We believe in our players who are raising their level of play and have improved in every parameter that they have been working on.”