Marked for Eitan Abada
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Apr 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Maccabi Tel Aviv may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maccabi Tel Aviv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Issouf Sissokho and Maccabi Tel Aviv agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Mar 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Maccabi Tel Aviv may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Mohamed Camara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Loan watch26 Mar 2029
“I did not go to Shakhter to sit and watch. I want to come back to Maccabi Tel Aviv and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match12 Feb 2029
Position 1 and 60 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad12 Feb 2029
9 goals and a season average of 8.07. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Mohamed Camara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match10 Feb 2029
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.37, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
A performance of 8.72 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match10 Feb 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Osher Davida. 1‑0 against Hapoel Kfar Saba, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Market12 Feb 2029
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Maccabi Tel Aviv have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match25 Nov 2028
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Maccabi Tel Aviv have 7 straight wins of it.
Squad27 Nov 2028
A season average of 7.76 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad27 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maccabi Tel Aviv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match25 Nov 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mohamed Camara. 2‑1 against Maccabi Haifa, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad27 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Niv Eliasi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
A performance of 8.85 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
A performance of 8.51 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch27 Nov 2028
“I did not go to Shakhter to sit and watch. I want to come back to Maccabi Tel Aviv and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 12 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad30 Oct 2028
A one-man rearguard from Niv Eliasi
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad30 Oct 2028
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match28 Oct 2028
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad30 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maccabi Tel Aviv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Oct 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.53. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match28 Oct 2028
A 4‑2 win over Hapoel Acre, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.27, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Marked 8.52 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
A performance of 8.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.