Maccabi Tel Aviv will end the regular season on February 29 in an away fixture against Maccabi Netanya and moments before leap day descends upon us we have found some interesting statistics and have uncovered part of the rich rivalry between the two clubs.

Maccabi have played a total of 2,091 league matches over the years but only three have ever been played on leap day. These have been against Maccabi Petah Tikva, who won 2-1 in 1964, a goalless draw with Hapoel Beersheba in 1992 and a 3-0 win over Hapoel Petah Tikva in 2004.

In contrast to February 29, December 17 and April 13 are dates on which Maccabi have played the most league fixtures but a date on which Maccabi have never played a league game is September 7.

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Netanya have played a total of 140 times in the league over the years and only two sides have been more common opponents, Maccabi Haifa at 161, and Hapoel Tel Aviv with 155. Despite this, Netanya are the opponents that Maccabi have beaten the most, with 69 victories.

Netanya and Maccabi have a rich history and a healthy rivalry and in the 1970s the two clubs shared seven out of the ten championships in that decade.

Last season, Maccabi beat Netanya — and Hapoel Hadera — four times in league action but this season, Netanya are the only team who have still not lost to Maccabi.

Last season, Maccabi faced Netanya in the 17th round, when Omer Atzili scored the fastest league goal of the season and the one that preceded it. It was Maccabi’s third fastest-ever goal.

The first meeting between the two sides this season ended in a goalless draw and it ended a run of 25 matches between the two sides (since 2008-09) in which goals were scored.

The upcoming game will end the regular season prior to the start of the playoff phase that was introduced in the 2012-13 season. Maccabi are the only team ever to have won all seven games leading up to that phase.

Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Vladimir Ivic told reporters at the weekly pre-match news conference that Saturday’s fixture against Maccabi Netanya will certainly be a tougher test than the Tel Aviv Derby and the clash against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona. He also discussed preparations for the match and the situation in attack in view of recent injuries.

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv goalkeeper Daniel Tenenbaum spoke at the weekly pre-match news conference on Thursday and praised his colleagues for helping him keep his goal tightly shut during the season. He foresaw a tough clash against Netanya on Saturday, just like all Maccabi’s other matches. 

When asked about the final game of the regular season, Tenenbaum replied: “No game is easy for us. We have been working hard and we think it will be a hard game.”

Tenenbaum is set to secure the record for conceding the least number of goals in the regular season, but he said modestly that the achievement was not only his and credited his colleagues.

“The record belongs to the entire team. If the defence wasn’t playing well, I would not be able to be good either,” Tenenbaum said.

He said also that his relations with fellow goalkeeping colleague Andreas Gianniotis was very good and that the atmosphere in the team was great.

Monday’s Tel Aviv Derby was the second this season to have finished in a 3-0 win for Maccabi and it’s only one of a number of interesting stats as yellow has become the predominant colour in Tel Aviv.

The latest win against Hapoel has equalled the 10-Derby unbeaten run set in April 1994, and the 3-0 result is only the second time that Maccabi have won both derbies in the same regular season phases by at least a three-goal margin. Previously, this was achieved in 1955-56.

The result was yet another clean sheet for the club and with 20 so far this season, Maccabi are one of six clubs to have achieved the mark in a season and are the fastest to reach it. The last time Maccabi managed 20 clean sheets in a season, they reached the 20th fixture without conceding in the 30th round of the season. 

Maccabi have increased the Derby win-loss mark to 53-46 and the seven-match gap is the greatest since 2000. The biggest-ever gap, set in the 1990s, was 10 in favour of Maccabi when they had 32 wins compared to Hapoel’s 22.

Omer Atzili is in sparkling form and on Monday he scored one and set up another goal for the second game running. His season numbers are eight goals and eight assists. This is all the more noteworthy, considering that he only returned from injury in October.

Another player continuing his fine form is Chico Ofoedu, who scored for the second game in a row. He has now amassed nine goals and is fourth in the season’s scorers’ list. 

Eyal Golasa’s superb strike was his third in the league this season, his best for Maccabi and second overall, having previously hit five in one season.

Enric Saborit set up one goal on Monday, equalling his assists mark from last season in all competitions.

Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder spoke to reporters after the 3-0 Derby win over Hapoel on Monday and said that he and his teammates showed their ambition for success and that every game until the end of the season and when the playoff phase begins after the next round of fixtures, would be crucial to ensure winning the league title.

“Hapoel Tel Aviv are very tough opponents and and are strong defensively, but we prepared well for them. When they had a man sent off at an early stage it upset their balance and their plans. We were already in the lead and they had to change their approach and attack in order to score, and doing that with only 10 men is even harder.

“I’m pleased we played well. All the games from now and until the end of the season will be like a cup final and we showed that we are capable of bringing our A game when we need to. When I looked around the dressing room today, I saw that we were ready for the challenge. We showed today that we wanted the win more than our opponents and we delivered.”