Israel Loses First Milk Cup Game

Israel U-18 team lost its first game in the Milk Cup to the USA by the score of 2-0. The team will play its next game against Denmark on Wednesday and will hopefully get a better result.

Israel Calls Up Squad For Milk Cup

Israel is sending its U-18 national team to participate in the internationally known Milk Cup. Israel has already won the competition once before and will be looking to do so again. Israel will face the USA in its first game on Monday July 25th, and Denmark on Wednesday the 27th. The results of these games will determine if Israel will advance further on in the tournament. Both teams should provide a stern test for Israel, and will give the team an opportunity to measure its progress. Here is the squad below.

Keepers: (Yoav Grafi, Hapoel Kfar Saba) (Ron Shushan, Maccabi Haifa)

Defenders: (Shmulik Malul, Beitar Nes Tubruk) (Omer Zalisher, Beitar Nes Tubruk) (Amri Zyed, Maccabi Haifa) (Tomer Yeruham, Beitar Jerusalem) (Shaked Goldshtein, Beitar Jerusalem) (Din Afki, Maccabi Tel-Aviv)

Midfielders: (Tzach Barbi, Hapoel Be’ersheva) (Gidi Kaniuk, Maccabi Petah Tikva) (Haitham Halabi, Maccabi Haifa) (Bar Avitan, Maccabi Haifa) (Ido Achiel, Maccabi Tel-Aviv) (Osher Abo, Maccabi Tel-Aviv)

Forwards: (Omer Nachmani, Beitar Jerusalem) (Michael Veksler, Maccabi Petah Tikva) (Kenny Saif, 1860 Munich) (Omri Altman, Fulham)

Transfer News and Rumors

• Ahmed Barusso of Roma is being linked with a move to Maccabi Haifa
• Moshe Ohayon has been invited to trials at Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev

Maccabi Tel-Aviv And Bnei Yehuda Advance In The Europa League

Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Bnei Yehuda both advanced into the third round of UEFA Europa League Qualifying with a tie and a win respectively. Maccabi Tel-Aviv visited Azeri side Khazar Lankaran after beating them in their first encounter in Tel-Aviv hoping to make it two wins in a row.  However it wasn’t to be as Maccabi looked anemic playing against their hosts and were content to grind out a sloppy game in the midfield. Neither team had many chances, but the best of them went to the Azeris. The game ended 0-0, but not without some loss for Maccabi after Mounes Dabour twisted his leg and possibly injuring himself for an extended period of time. Maccabi will begin preparing for their opponents Zeljeznicar of Bosnia for next week. Meanwhile Bnei Yehuda put in workman-like effort against Andorran side with goals from Nenad Marinkovic and Pedro Galvan.  Bnei Yehuda will face Swedish side Helsingborg in the next round, which will be a very tough task, considering the Swedes are in league play right now. So far Israel has 4 teams left for qualifying in European competitions but the task will only get tougher as they advance. Highlights of Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Khazar Lankaran are below.

Maccabi Haifa Advances With A Loss

Maccabi Haifa advanced into the third round of UEFA Champions League qualifying with a loss to Bosnian side Borac Banja Luka away after winning convincingly at home. Haifa looked like they were already looking ahead to the next fixture with Slovenian side Maribor, and it showed after they gave up a goal in the 9th minute. Nir Davidovic flopped at the in-swinging corner and Branislav Krunic headed in from close range giving the Bosnian’s a 1-0 lead. However the lead didn’t last very long when Haifa capitalized on an error from their hosts, Idan Vered squared the ball across the box allowing Vladimir Dvalishvili to tap the ball in at the far post and equalize for the visistors to 1-1. The Bosnians still didn’t give up and the 34th minute goalkeeper Nir Davidovic made an error after a scrum in the 18 yard box resulted in a shot from Branislav Krunic, but Davidovic couldn’t handle the shot and the ball went through his legs and into the goal. 2-1 to Banja Luka. Haifa appeared to settle down after half-time and in the 55th minute Haifa tied the game again, this time with Wiam Amasha squaring the ball for Vladimir Dvalishvili who coolly finished into an empty net to make it 2-2. Haifa sat back for the rest of the game, apparently settling for a draw, but the Bosnian’s were not to be deterred and they had their third goal after Haifa Defender Andriy Pylavskiy didn’t mark his man, allowing the Bosnian’s to have any easy goal. The game finished 3-2 to the hosts and Haifa will have many questions going into their next fixture especially their goal-keeping and the ability of the back four to effectively communicate.

Transfer News and Rumors

• Belgian fullback Landry Mulemo is reportedly going to sign with Maccabi Tel-Aviv per the Belgian publication Footnet
• Maor Buzaglo is still in negotiations with Standard Liege over his transfer
• Eliran Atar is closed to signing with FC Porto for a fee of 4 million Euros from Maccabi Tel-Aviv. The Portuguese are anxious to close the deal after Spanish club Valencia showed some interest in the player

Transfer News/Rumors

• MLS club Toronto FC have offered to swap midfielder Julian de Guzman to Maccabi Tel-Aviv for striker Roberto Colautti. However the move seems unlikely at this point
• Villarreal want goal keeper Dudu Aouate from RCD Mallorca to replace the outgoing Diego Lopez.
• Maor Buzaglo is wanting to sue Maccabi Tel-Aviv for refusing to release him from his contract after they told him he would not be in their plans for this upcoming season
• Eli Tabib has been declared the sole owner of Hapoel Tel-Aviv by a district court in Israel

FC Porto Wants Eliran Atar

• According to The Israeli website ONE, FC Porto has made a 3 million dollar bid for Maccabi Tel-Aviv striker Eliran Atar. Atar scored 18 goals last season, many of which are spectacular. Even though he is only 1.74 meters tall  Atar can play up front alone. He can also play on the wing or as a second striker.  Atar’s only weakness is a tendency to showboat too much which causes him to give the ball away. Atar isn’t extremely good in the air which is mainly due to his height.  Here are a couple videos of the striker.

Israeli Teams Receive Draws For Qualifying

Maccabi Haifa knows who they will face in the next round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League. They will play either Slovenian club NK Maribor or Luxembourg club Dudelange should they advance from their current draw. Meanwhile Hapoel Tel-Aviv will play the winners of the tie between Vojvodina and Vaduz, with Vojvodina being the side likely to come through. Maccabi Tel-Aviv, if they advance, will face the winner of the tie between Zeljeznicar and FC Sheriff.  Bnei Yehuda assuming they beat San Julia at home next week will face Swedish side Helsingborgs IF. Nearly all the draws are manageable except Helsinborgs for Bnei Yehuda, but I think they still have a good chance of beating the Swedish side. This is an opportunity for Israeli sides to improve their coefficients and boost  Israel’s UEFA coefficents at the same time. Best of luck to all the Israeli sides!

Transfer News and Rumors

• Maor Buzaglo is in negotiations with Belgian club Standard Liege. Buzaglo already passed a physical with the team and is negotiating personal terms. The attacking midfielder was told he was no longer in the plans at Maccabi Tel-Aviv even though he was one of their best players last season.
• Belgian midfielder Karel Geraerts in on trial with Hapoel Tel-Aviv. Geraerts has made 20 appearances for Belgium’s national team and is 29 years old.
• Striker Ido Exbard is being linked with a move to Hapoel Be’er Sheva after going on trial at Mons Bergen in Belgium