If you think that there were a lot of scouts at the recent European Under 21 Championships in Sweden, you ain’t seen nothing yet. With the Maccabiah Games just days away, players from all nations should remember that four years ago, two silver-medal winning American players were spotted and signed up by two leading clubs.
After starring in Israel in 2005, midfielder Benny Feilhaber was snapped up by Hamburg. He made the step up to the Premier League two years later and has just been involved in the Confederations Cup, coming on in the closing stages to set up a goal against European Champions Spain in the semi-final. Feilhaber has represented the national team 17 times.
Jonathan Bornstein is of mixed Jewish and Mexican heritage. The defender turned down the chance to join Maccabi Tel Aviv last year, fearing his chances of playing in the national team would be affected. Now playing for Chivas in the Major Soccer League, he lined up against David Beckham last season.
So anyone underestimating the scale of the Maccabiah should think again as footballers in the junior and open competitions have a chance to put themselves in the shop window.
Chigwell Athletic A will change its name to Redbridge United. A statement said: “The team will remain with its current status in the Premier Division and will have no link to Chigwell Athletic, it’s chairman or previous board.”
Greg Bookman will manage the team with Danny Berg Director of Football and coach.
“Greg and Danny see this as an exciting step. It will be business as usual for all the players who were previously with Chigwell Athletic A and they are also looking to strengthen the squad where needed.”
HMH are planning to enter a team in the JC MSFL for the first time. Manager Nick Sonenfield said: “We are looking for a few players to add experience to the squad, maybe boys returning from university.”
MAL raised more than £2,000 at their family fun day in aid of Camp Simcha. A seven-a-side football tournament comprised teams from Alei tzion, R cam, Oz V Hadar and MAL. Natan Weisenberg and Chaim Gothold scored in the final to earn Oz V Hadar victory.
This was followed by a Twenty20 contested between London, captained by Gav Lebens, and the Rest of the World. Aaron Djanogly hit the winning runs for London.
Flying to Israel next week to report on the Maccabiah Games. Look out for daily reviews on all the GB squads, updated results and regular blogs on thejc.com/sport - and follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/djcaro.
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