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

“If I wouldn’t have been a footballer I would probably do a different military service at a combat unit and obviously learn for an academic degree”.

Where will we find you on your free time?

“You would probably find me with my wife, mostly at home watching a movie or a TV series”.

What do you like watching on TV?

“To continue my previous answer, my wife and I love watch TV series and I don’t think there is a series left we hadn’t seen”.

Who or what makes you laugh?

“Several weeks ago I attended a stand-up comedy show with Shahar Hasson and he cracked me up. I would have added Assi Cohen to that list especially on his role in “The Parliament”.

What was the prettiest place you had even been at?

“I love the North of Israel so when I travel up North, just to see the scenery and the streams amazes me every time”.

What was your first position on the pitch?

“I started playing as an attacking midfielder and at some stage was moved back for a short while into a central defender’s role. I later returned to my natural role in midfield”.

Who is the best player you played alongside?

“During my time at Standard Liege I played alongside Mehdi Carcela- Gonzalez. He is an amazing player who previously played for Benfica Lisbon and Granada as well as other major leagues. Carcela is a phenomenal player who could have easily reached the top of Europe”.     

Who is the best player you played against?

“Earlier on this season I played in a friendly match with Liege against French outfit Rennes. They had a young midfielder who has since joined Real Madrid by the name of Eduardo Camavinga. He was truly amazing”

What was your best game so far?

“Three years ago whilst at Kiryat Shmona we played against Hapoel Haifa. I scored two goals and set up one. I felt that everything I did worked to perfection”.

 

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv return to league action on Monday (20:15) on the back of the 5-0 Conference League victory over HJK in Helsinki as they host Ashdod SC on MD7 at Bloomfield. Today (Sunday) Maccabi’s coach Patrik van Leeuwen and central defender Idan Nachmias spoke at the pre-match Press Conference.

“As soon as we landed in Israel we focused on the next game” Van Leeuwen said before relating to the opponent, “They are a team that wants to play football and showed it in the past against us. This is something we must pay attention to and ensure that we start the game from the first minute with the right tempo and motivation”.

Nachmias, who was an unused substitute on Thursday, related first to the feelings after the victory in Finland: “We had a good game in Europe and would like to continue the form by doing more and talking less. Everyone is hoping that we will ride a positive wave now after the performance we had away from home, which is not a result that should be taken for granted. Everyone would like to embrace it and use it to push forward”.

The central defender who joined Maccabi in the summer, added: “Ashdod is a side that likes to initiate and move the ball around. They are a quality side. We played a friendly game against them not that long ago an one could see that their results so far this season do not reflect on their real ability. We are preparing very hard for this game”.

The 24-year-old who scored twice this season at Bloomfield, summed up: “I am certain the fans will turn up and would like to see attacking, free flowing, positive, happy football like Maccabi Tel Aviv should be playing and hopefully this is what we will do”.

“I think that everyone played very well” Kanichowsky said, “I was delighted to score the two goals and would like to thank all the fans who turned up to support us in these cold weather conditions. They deserve a lot of respect”.

On his performance on the night, Kanichowsky added: “I am used to playing in the middle but I am here for Maccabi and will play and do my best in every position I am asked to play”.

Eden Shamir, who scored Maccabi’s fifth goal said: “We made our lives easy but knew that it was not going to be easy on an artificial pitch and with these weather conditions that we are not used to. From the first moment however we showed that we are here to take the three points” Shamir said. “We played good football, created loads of chances and I am delighted we ended the game with 5 goals but even happier we didn’t concede. That was important for us”.

Pregame

Maccabi arrived in Finland for the Conference League group stage match against HJK at Helsinki’s Bolt Arena aiming to continue the form which saw them record four point from the opening two matches.

Maccabi’s coach Patrick van Leeuwen made two changes to the side that suffered a 4-2 defeat against Maccabi Netanya in the league. Shahar Piven stepped into the starting line-up to partner Luis Hernandez as the two central defenders in front of Daniel Peretz. Andre Geraldes and Enric Saborit completed the back-four on the right and left respectively. Sheran Yeini pushed into a defensive midfield role alongside Dan Glazer while Eyal Golasa was at the top of the triangle of Van Leeuwen’s midfield trio. Gabi Kanichowsky and Brandley Kuwas were named as the two wingers with Croatian striker Stipe Perica lead the line upfront.

First Half

Seven minutes from the start Maccabi reached the first chance as a Brandley Kuwas cross from the right was flicked by Stipe Perica into the path of Sheran Yeini. The veteran captain who ghosted into the area behind HJK’s defence, found himself in a glorious position to score but opted to cross before the danger was cleared. Perica had the first shot on goal after being teed-up by Kuwas on the edge of the area, but the Croat’s shot was easily collected by HJK’s keeper Hugo Keto. 

The deadlock was finally broken in the 27th minute as Dan Glazer and Golasa won the ball on the edge of the HJK are before Gabi Kanichowsky latched on the lose ball and sent a powerful low drive that found Keto’s bottom corner. The hosts seemed to threaten only from set pieces but with no further goals before the halftime whistle was sounded by the referee, both teams left the field to try and catch their breaths and warm up in the dressing rooms.

Second Half

Two minutes after the restart Maccabi were awarded a penalty after Perica was brought down inside the area. The tall Croatian striker picked himself up and fired the penalty beyond the reach of Keto to double Maccabi’s lead. Maccabi came close to increase their lead even further on 54 as Golasa found himself inside the HJK area, but his shot was blocked by a defender. Four minutes later Perica carved himself an opening as he skipped past three HJK defenders only to blast his shot over the crossbar.

In the 59th minute an Andre Geraldes cross from the right sailed across the penalty box and reached Kanichowsky who sent a low drive that beat Keto to make it 3-0. Van Leeuwen made his first substitution in the 63rd minute as Eden Shamir replaced Golasa in midfield. HJK came close in the 67th minute as a dangerous cross saw Luis Hernandez attempt to clear the ball but instead was deflected off his boot onto the crossbar.

Daniel Peretz was drawn into action as he made his first serious save to keep out the free kick of Lucas Lingman on 75. Two minutes later, Van Leeuwen made a double change as Eduardo Guerrero and Osama Khalaila replaced both Perica and Kuwas.

In the 84th minute Khalaila released Guerrero who spotted Keto off his line but the Panamanian forward missed the target with his attempt of a chip. Two minutes later Guerrero was fouled inside the area and Maccabi were awarded penalty allowing Enric Saborit to make it 4-0 with a successful spot kick. 

Sheran Yeini and Gabi Kanichowsky bowed out to a standing ovation by the traveling Maccabi fans as they were replaced by Matan Hozez and Ido Shahar on 87. Inside injury time Shamir headed in a Gerlades cross to make it 5-0 and round up a successful night overall.

It was a game which is impossible to forget. It was in the qualifying rounds on the way to the group stages and after a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Helsinki. Before we entered extra time, we needed to win” Liran Cohen recalls the previous meeting Maccabi Tel Aviv had with HJK Helsinki in the summer of 2004.

Late that summer Maccabi reached a historic landmark by reaching the Champions League group stage for the first time in the club’s history. After a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Finland, the tie was set to be settled in the return leg at Bloomfield stadium. The hero on the night was the young midfielder who grew up at the Youth Department and was promoted to the first team at the age of 21 before scoring an 88^th minute winner that beat the Finnish side.

“There was pressure of a game that looked like going wither way, like 50:50” recalls 38-year-old Cohen on the eve of the Conference League match against HJK in Finland. “I was introduced in the second half and felt that I am capable of doing it as I reached one or two chances beforehand and knew I needed one more time to score the goa and finish the tie. I felt that something good was going to happen”.

“The opponent were a physical side, a European team by all means. They were not a great footballing side but it was a tough match. Each team was trying to breach each other’s defence in order to advance through to the next stage. Neither team wanted to make a mistake that was of cost us dearly. Towards the end of the match we created chances and looked dangerous” he adds before reaching his glorious moment in the 88^th minute. “After scoring there was total madness, it was insane. This was a goal that took us up a stage and there is no better feeling than that. No one could know what would have happened in extra time or a penalty shoot-out”.

“This goal together with the goal against PAOK in the next round are probably the two most important goals of my career. I think they were also arguably the most significant goals in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s history” Cohen said.

This is how it happened: Watch the victory over Helsinki

As opposed to the goal scored by Liran Cohen, a move that didn’t capture the headlines as much was the injury time goalmouth clearance of Ghanaian defender John Panstil. Cohen however, recalls the incident vividly: ”One can’t forget that. After taking a late lead, every goal we would have conceded would have knocked us out thanks to the away goal rule, not even led to extra time. They had an attack and I remember goalkeeper Liran Strauber coming off his line, before their player (Jukka Santala) blasted a shot which didn’t just hit Pantsil but he headed off the line and saved it”.

“I remember after the game but were quick to land on our feet and stand firmly on the ground. We knew we have yet to reach the group stage and that there is still another round as we were just hoping for a comfortable draw”. PAOK Thessaloniki were the next opponents as Maccabi won the first leg in Greece by 2-1 with Erez Messika and Ishmael Ado getting their names on the scoresheet. In hindsight it emerged that the Greeks fielded an ineligible player as Maccabi won the match 3-0 by default which didn’t leave any doubt ahead of the return leg. Cohen scored the only goal of the game as Maccabi reached the Champions league group stage for the first time.

“It was a season where many young players who were not used for such levels, were the backbone of the squad. It was difficult to combine between the Champions League and the domestic league but ultimately we had a successful European campaign and won the State Cup so it was a good season” Cohen summed up.