Maccabi Tel Aviv have resolved the most important internal decision of their summer. Dor Peretz will remain captain and lead the team into Kenny Miller's first full season, the club's own record confirms, closing a period in which he and his family had weighed the professional and personal case for moving abroad.
That choice carries more weight than simply retaining an experienced midfielder. Peretz is the bridge between a dressing room accustomed to title expectations and a coach still installing his authority — he offers penalty-box running, leadership and a feel for the club's competitive temperature. Just as importantly, his decision spares Maccabi from replacing a captain while rebuilding other areas of the side at the same time.
Miller's influence formed part of the calculation. Appointed head coach for 2026/27 after helping stabilise the end of last season, he inherited a team that recovered enough to win the State Cup but still conceded too freely. Peretz believes the Scot restored standards and direction; the new campaign will test whether those standards can become a repeatable structure rather than an emotional late-season response.
The tactical demand is clearest without the ball. Miller wants fewer goals conceded and longer periods of controlled intensity, which requires more than centre-backs winning duels. The distance between midfield and defence must shrink the moment possession is lost, wide players must recover quickly enough to protect the full-backs, and Peretz must judge when his trademark forward runs are worth vacating central cover.
The Super Cup exposes the problem before the squad is complete. Kristijan Belic, Elad Madmon, Tyrese Asante and Kervin Andrade were reported suspended for the meeting with Hapoel Be'er Sheva, while Helio Varela had not returned from his post-World Cup break at the time of the pre-match briefing. Dan Glazer is the confirmed summer addition available to re-enter the side, but one familiar midfielder does not solve every structural absence.
Recruitment therefore matters in two different ways. Maccabi need quality, but Miller also needs players whose arrival dates leave enough time for tactical integration — a late signing can lift the squad's theoretical ceiling while offering little immediate help with pressing triggers, rest-defence positions or set-piece assignments. The coach expects additions, yet only a named and completed registration should alter the published squad picture.
The calendar removes any comfortable bedding-in period. Maccabi open with a trophy match at Turner and move into Europa League qualifying the following Thursday, fixtures that demand different forms of control: first surviving the emotional and physical pressure of an away domestic final, then managing a two-leg European tie in which a loose transition or a poorly defended restart can reshape the month.
Peretz's contract settles the leadership question, not the football argument. Maccabi now know who will carry Miller's message onto the pitch. Whether the team can defend with the discipline its coach demands will depend on the captain's positional choices, the readiness of the current group, and the speed with which the club turns its recruitment intentions into players Miller can actually use.
