Itzhaki whose side came back from an early goal said: “To concede an early goal is far from pleasant, but when I look at the game, it was a one sided match. On the one hand I am satisfied because I think we played well, but on the other hand I am disappointed because we didn’t win. When you play so well it is important to win but we didn’t do so which is a pity. A derby is a derby and the cliche says that it has its’ own rules. After many years Hapoel reached the derby above us in the table, I think they are playing good football, but we cancelled them in every part of the pitch” he added, “We dominated the game, Ernstas Setkus gave a man of the match performance and deserves the credit for it. If not for him, the result would have been totally different and we would be sitting here talking a little different”.

When asked what he told the players at halftime, Itzhaki added: “We went into the dressing room at halftime as I told my players in the dressing room: ‘I don;t have too much to tell you as you are playing well. We conceded that goal and if we will keep on playing this way we will score and also win the match’. At the end of the day we didn’t score the second goal but in comparison to previous matches there are plenty of good things to take out of this match”.

On the team’s form, Itzhaki said: “I said earlier that we didn’t start the season well, which is a fact. We did have good results in Europe which I am happy about, but we didn’t have a good start to the season. Some of the players’ didn’t have the best start to the season but we all remember that these are the same players who pulled an amazing comeback and had an amazing season. Last season they were good and I believe it will repeat itself. It is all a matter of confidence and hard work – it will repeat itself. Players don;t forget how to play football”.

When asked about the team’s defence that conceded the largest number of goals in the league (15), Itzhaki replied: “there is no doubt that this is the first thing we must improve”.

On the ongoing search for a new coach, Itzhaki answered: “We are not bringing a coach who knows only to defend. When one selects a coach you have to look at every aspect and I am certain that we will sit together on the matches we played up until now and improve several things. I think there are many good things to take from today’s game, I am very optimistic about the team – we had a very good game today”.

When asked if Maccabi didn’t speak with a potential replacement before the departure of the previous coach, Itzhaki explained: “I can’t recall in the past that the owner of Maccabi Tel Aviv ever spoke to other coaches while there was one still in charge. As soon as the coach was dismissed names were mentioned and we began playing. We are still waiting for the right coach”.

On the goals Maccabi still has this season, Itzhaki remained adamant: “We showed last season that we were capable to bounce back despite a poor start. It is not going to be easy, but I don’t want to look too far ahead, I want to just look at one step at a time, from game to game and start collecting points. In the current situation we are in it wouldn’t be right to look too far ahead”.

Pre Game

Maccabi arrived at Bloomfield stadium for the Tel Aviv derby on the back of two successive victories over Ironi Kiryat Shmona (3-1) in the league and HJK Helsinki (3-0) in the Conference League.

Maccabi were also aiming to build on those victories and record a second successive league win for the first time this season which would improve their position in the table. A lot more than local bragging rights were at stake, as Maccabi were aiming to extend the unbeaten run in derbies which has been stretched to a staggering 14 matches.

Interim coach Barak Itzhaki made only one change from the side that beat Helsinki in the Conference League on Thursday as Eyal Golasa replaced Tal Ben Chaim in the starting line-up. However, Sheran Yeini joined Luis Hernandez and Shahar Piven as a third central defender right in front of goalkeeper Daniel Peretz while Andre Geraldes and Enric Saborit completed the defensive line as the two wing backs. Dan Glazer and Eyal Golasa were the midfield engine room duo while Gabi Kanichowsky was handed slightly more central attacking role. Brandley Kuwas who scored goals in both matches against Kiryat Shmona and HJK kept his place in support of Croatian striker Stipe Perica as Itzhaki made changes to the formation.

Shortly before kick-off, veteran captain Sheran Yeini whose Thursday’s Conference League victory over HJK was his 500th appearance for the club – received a framed shirt with the number 500 to honour his impressive landmark.

First Half

Bloomfield stadium was packed for the second time this season as the electric atmosphere spilled onto the pitch with a barrage of flares thrown from the visitors’ end shortly after kick-off caused a delay. When the smoke had cleared and play resumed Hapoel took the lead within a minute as Dan Einbinder found a gap in Maccabi’s defence before sending Osher Davida with a through ball allowing him to fire a low drive past Daniel Peretz.

It took Maccabi until the 27th minute to create the first serious threat on goal as a Brandley Kuwas free kick from near the corner flag fell to Luis Hernandez whose flick on target forced Ernestas Setkus to push the ball beyond his post. Three minutes later, Kuwas’ pinpoint cross into the area saw Stipe Perica rise above Hapoel’s defence before the tall Croat sent a header which forced Setkus to punch the ball and clear the danger.

Ben Biton who was booked earlier by referee Roi Reinshreiber, avoided an early shower after a rough tackle on Saborit went unpunished.

Due to the long delay caused by the pyrotechnics after kick-off, Reinshreiber indicated eight minutes of added time to the first half. Perica must have thought he had scored as his powerful header following a Kuwas accurate cross resulted with a spectacular Setkus last gasp save.

Second Half

With no changes after the interval Maccabi began the second half where it left off as Perica kept on looking dangerous on crosses. In the 48th minute a Gabi Kanichowsky free kick was headed by Perica but the ball struck the base of the post and rolled across Setkus’ goal.

right on the hour mark, Hapoel were reduced to 10 men as Mohamed Kalil Traore struck the lively Kanichowsky in the head before being sent off for a second bookable offence

Maccabi came within a touch away from levelling the score as Saborit’s telling cross that eluded Hapoel’s defence saw Kuwas slide-in but agonisingly miss the ball that rolled wide. Barak Itzhaki reacted instantly as he made his first change with Matan Hozez replacing Shahar Piven to revert to a four-man defensive line.

Maccabi finally managed to level the score in the 75th minute as Kuwas scored his third goal in three matches. Kanichowsky curled a corner which was punched by Setkus into the path of Kuwas whose half volley flew past Hapoel’s entire defence to beat the Lithuanian keeper and make it 1-1 to send Maccabi’s fans into raptors. In the 78th minute Kanichowsky sent a powerful drive from inside the area that was making its’ way into the top corner before Setkus pulled another stunning save to deny the diminutive midfielder. Itzhaki made a double change on 79 as Dan Biton replaced the industrious Golasa while Ofir Davidzada came in for Saborit.

As the game reached its’ closing stages and the fourth official signalled that four minutes would be added on, Itzhaki made his final substitution as Eduardo Guerrero replaced Perica. But despite all their efforts to snatch a late winner Maccabi couldn’t find a breakthrough as the match ended in a draw.

Having confirmed the dates of the league fixtures until the end of the first round, the Israel Professional Football League announced today (Sunday) the confirmed dates and kick-off times of MD14 – MD16.

In addition, Maccabi’s State Cup round tie against Hapoel Marmorek at Bloomfield stadium has been scheduled for Sunday December 19^th at 20:00.

Maccabi’s fixtures:

MD14: Wednesday, December 22^nd Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Bnei Sachnin (Bloomfield, 20:00).

MD15: Monday, December 27^th Maccabi Petah Tikva vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (Petah Tikva, 20:30).

MD16: Monday, January 3^rd Maccabi Haifa vs Maccabi Tel Aviv (Sammy Ofer, 20:30).

 

 

If you weren’t a Footballer, what would you be?

“To be honest I never wanted to be anything but a footballer. My thought was always to work hard and see what will happen and develop from that. I didn’t study anything in particular, there is a treason behind it. I was 19-years-old and was handed my first professional contract as a footballer and from this stage onwards I decided that football is everything”.

Where will we find you on your free time?

“I spend most of my free time out with my daughter and family. This is something I normally do. Sometimes I play a bit on the Play Station and things like that”.

What do you like watching on TV?

“Now that I am playing outside Holland I love watching the Dutch league as most of the time I watch matches from Holland. Besides that, nothing in particular, mostly series on Netflix”.

Who or what makes you laugh?

“My daughter, when she pulls funny faces or things like that she just cracks me up”.

What was the prettiest place you had even been at?

“In my opinion – Dubai. It is a very nice place. Yes, definitely Dubai”.

Who is the best player you played alongside?

“Jamiro Monteiro, he plays these days for Philadelphia Union of the MLS – I used to play with him at Heracles in Holland. He is an excellent player and it was amazing to watch him play”.

Who is the best player you played against?

“It must be Hakim Ziyech who played at Ajax and is now at Chelsea. He is a phenomenal player with the ball and a deadly left foot that is so dangerous”.

What was your best game so far?

“The best game of my career so far was with Heracles Almelo against Ajax – we won 2-1 and I scored and assisted in another. In my opinion this was my best game ever”.

On his personal feelings of arriving to a derby as a coach, Itzhaki said: “It is a good feeling. A derby is always an interesting and important match for Israeli football in general, but we are preparing like we do for every game”.

The 37-year-old Head of Football Department who will guide the team for the third time as interim coach, added: “Over the past couple of matches I also guided the side against coaches who were more experienced than me. But the derby has its’ own rules and will have to prepare in the best possible way so that we arrive prepared for the game”.

On the current unbeaten record against Hapoel: “Hapoel are a good side which is something they had shown from the start of the season as they enjoyed a good start to the campaign. Yes, they are above us in the table and we respect every opponent we play against including Hapoel Tel Aviv but positioning in the table is not something which should have any effect. I believe we will arrive focused, alert, determined and show our ability on the pitch”.

Itzhaki, guided Maccabi as interim coach to two victories in the last two matches, over Kiryat Shmona in the league (3-1) and HJK Heksinki in the Conference League, spoke of the team’s change of momentum: “The most important thing, as I have said in the past, was to restore the player’s confidence. There are very good players here, our position in the table doesn’t reflect the ability those players have. We didn’t have a good start, but now is the time to correct things. In our previous two matches I was satisfied with several things we did and there were other things I was less satisfied with. We don’t have too much time between matches but my staff and I are trying to prepare the players and correct the mistakes we did in our previous matches”.

On how he feels as interim coach, Itzhaki said: “It is a new role for me, but I am gradually adapting. This is something different, team meetings is something new for me, training sessions on the pitch is something new for me – but I the Pro-License course we are doing is very helpful, but we have a very important match as the focus should be more on the match rather than on me”.

When asked whether he is receiving advise from other people, Itzhaki added: “In general I am a person who loves to hear many opinions. I speak with people who are related to football both in Israel and abroad. I maintained contact with coaches who worked here in the past and their staff. Eighty percent of the day I talk about football”.

On the preparations for the match, Glazer said: “We have a tight fixture list, with two or three matches a week over several weeks. We didn’t have too long to prepare for this match but derbies are not matches that require too much preparations. This is a match with plenty of emotions and we know how important it is for the club as we are hoping to continue our positive run of matches”.

On the current statistics in derbies, Glazer added: “Hapoel are a very good side this season and derbies are always difficult matches. Even we were ahead of them in the table it didn’t really mean anything. It might be a cliche but derbies really have their own rules. Yet you begin the match at a 0-0 draw and every team will do its’ best in order to win. I just hope we will have the upper hand in the end”

Sunday’s derby will the 160^th Tel Aviv derby played in the league of which Maccabi won 56, Hapoel won 46 and 57 matches were drawn. The goal tally in the Tel Aviv derbies is 191-151 in Maccabi’s favour.

Maccabi has a 10 victory gap over Hapoel (56-46) which equals the highest all-time record set between January 1994 and November 1995.

Maccabi has an unbeaten run in derbies which stretches for 14 matches.

The highest victory in derbies (5-0) was set twice in the 1969/70 and 2016/17 seasons.

368 players wore Maccabi’s Yellow and Blue colours over the years.

Miko Bello, who is Maccabi’s all-time appearance record holder with 599 matches for Maccabi is also the appearance record holder in derbies with 33. Of the current squad, Sheran Yeini played in 26 derbies and is 5^th in the all-time list of players who wore the Yellow and Blue strip in derbies.

Shiye Glazer is the leading goal-scorer in derbies with 11 goals, Avi Nimni is ranked second with 8 goals, while Eli Driks and Eran Zahavi scored 7 goals for Maccabi.

The fastest ever goal in a Tel Aviv derby was scored after 50 seconds by Yitzhak Nachmias in the 1956/57 season.

Erez Mesika scored from the longest distance in derbies finding the back of the net from 45 meters in the 2007/08 season.

Of the 9 goals Maccabi scored in a Tel Aviv derby inside injury time (90+), Eylon Almog scored the latest one in the 95^th minute of the 2019/20 season.

2,371,000 fans attended Tel Aviv derbies during 154 matches played in the league averaging 15,400 spectators per game. This figure doesn’t include four Tel Aviv derbies that were played behind closed doors, and the 2014/15 derby which was abandoned.

Such attendance figures turn the Tel Aviv derby to the highly attended league encounter.

The first official Tel Aviv derby was played 90 years ago next month as Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv ended the match on December 19^th 1931 in a 1-1 draw.