GB open football squad named for Euro Games

The Team Maccabi GB open football squad for this summer’s European Maccabi Games in Berlin has been announced

Overseeing the side will be seasoned manager, Jonny Rose, who has the experienced team of Phil Peters, Adam Fegan and Jason Dale working with him. The Management will be looking to ensure GB sees a repeat of the EMG’s 2011 in Vienna, when Team MGB famously blew away the competition to return home with the coveted gold medal. Rose’s squad has a real mix of players from the Maccabi GB Southern Football League (MGBSFL), Maccabi London Lions and the Manchester Jewish Soccer League (MJSL).

Speaking about his side, Rose, said, “The Team Maccabi GB Open Football Squad is well-underway with our preparations for the European Maccabi Games in Berlin. The squad has a nice balance to it with two thirds of the boys under 23-years-old as well as a nice mix of players from the North and South of England. It was always about building a team ethos for myself and the management team, where the sum of the parts was greater than the whole and I think we have achieved that. The team spirit and atmosphere the boys have already created is a great basis from where the hard work starts at our intensive training sessions. There is a lot of talent and quality in the squad with the experience and calmness of Matt Stock to the youthful exuberance of Joe Sharpe and Louie Basso.

“My assistant, Phil Peters and I have an excellent coaching team to support us in Jason Dale and Adam Fegan and the players will be well looked after medically with Bryan Weintraub and Sammy Horne. Many of the boys have previous Maccabiah experience but are particularly excited about representing Team MGB at the European Maccabi Games in Berlin. To represent Great Britain at the largest Jewish sporting event in Germany since the end of the war makes these Games something special. But don’t get me wrong, whilst we want to savour the atmosphere of Berlin, we will be preparing our players to win the Gold Medal!”

The team continued their preparations for Berlin by playing their second friendly fixture – against Wingate & Finchley FC U21’s, who fielded a particularly strong side. The two sides drew 1-1, with the GB team conceding in the last minute. Matt Stock scored for Team MGB, showing great strength and experience to hold off his marker and coolly slot the ball past the oncoming keeper. Both managers agreed that the community’s top international football team controlled the tie but, as with their last fixture [also a 1-1 draw], fatigue caused errors in the latter stages of the match.

SQUAD:

Chair: Darryl Lee
Manager: Jonny Rose
Assistant Manager: Phil Peters
Coaches: Adam Fegan, Jason Dale

Louie Basso
Mark Bell
Joe Cohen
Rob Cohen
Alex Davis
Ricky Engleman
Adam Gilman
Josh Goldstein
Yoav Kestenbaum
Ashley Loofe
Alex Moss
Jordan Nathan
Jake Rinsler
Max Rose
Joe Sharpe
Rocky Spitzer
Matthew Stock
Ross Weinrabe