Three matches short of his 100th appearance in a Maccabi shirt, Idan Nachmias faced the media ahead of Sunday’s WINNER League MD22 away to Kiryat Shmona in Netanya (20:15).
Nachmias, who joined Maccabi from Kiryat Shmona in the summer of 2021, said ahead of the match against his former club that inflicted Maccabi a defeat when both teams met in November “A lot of time has passed since we played Kiryat Shmona in the first round. We made a lot of progress in many aspects of our game and are a different team from what we were then” Nachmias said. “We will always give a 100%, strive to win every match as we are working hard to do that and will do exactly that this time.”
Nachmias, who made 27 appearances for Maccabi in all competitions this season and is on track to equal his best season (21/22) where he featured 38 times, added: “I am feeling good both physically and mentally. I feel as if I am doing a very good preparation and delighted the coach shows faith in me and lets me continue. The competition for places at Maccabi is intense and one must be prepared to take your chances which is what I have been trying to do every time I get it.”
The tall central defender who scored the equalizer in Monday’s 1-1 draw against Beitar Jerusalem said: “Against Beitar from what I had seen, we played very good defensively but also created plenty of chances to win the match. On the other hand, with the penalty they were awarded in the 90th minute, one can say that a draw was an OK result. The ratio in which we are collecting points is less consistent, as we drop points where we shouldn’t be doing so. I hope that from now on we will have more time to work and fix things with preparation s on the training ground. The coach will have more time and hopefully we would become more consistent.”
After the European campaign came to an end, and with only the league to focus on, Nachmias, remained adamant: “The overload will not simply end but would certainly be less significant than it was until now. I think this is something which should happen naturally – everyone being more fresh and mentally ready. We hosted all our European matches abroad, as only these flights would remove a massive overload off our shoulders.”
When asked about his contractual situation, Nachmias, whose four-year-deal at the club runs out at the end of the season, said: “We began initial talks and if there will be something new to update I am sure we will.”
