Maccabi Tel Aviv will face Ferencvaros from Budapest, Hungary in the second leg of Europa League First Round qualifying on Thursday night at 20:00 at the Netanya Stadium. Veteran midfielder Dor Micha looked ahead to the match and spoke about its importance:

“We are all aware of the importance of tomorrow’s match. We all know how critical it is for the Club that we continue to succeed in Europe this season. I’m happy that we returned with a good result and together with our supporters the second leg will be a totally different story. We need the fans together with us and they have proved in the past that they can create an amazing atmosphere in Netanya and we need that in every match.”

The quality of Maccabi’s squad:
“Expectations are always good to have. There are many players at Maccabi that can perform and I am part of that puzzle. I am here to do what I can to help the Club.

Relationship with the new coaching staff:
“Every coach has their own methodology and their own differences. After a number of years we have moved on and we have a good relationship with the new coaches. We understand the demands of the new coach and we always change formations depending on the opponent.”

Optimism about the new campaign:
“I really believe in this squad and last year we did as well. The new players who have arrived have made me very optimistic about this coming campaign.”

The addition of Itay Shechter, Enric Saborit and Jair Amador:
“We all know what Shechter can do and how he has become part of the team. The two Spanish players are also acclimating well and we can see how they will be an important part of this club,

About the first leg against Ferencvaros:
“I think that the match was pretty even and they are a good team. They had the home crowd advantage and I believe that our supporters will be behind us for the return leg.”

Belief in being able to win:
“I believe that every season and I thought that we would be able to win last year. We have a good squad here and I believe that we have the tools to go all the way this season. Over the past few years there have been times when we played well and then there were also times when we didn’t play well and lost points. The goal is to make sure we get to the money time in the best shape possible.”

Fighting for a place in the squad:
“The players know that this is Maccabi Tel Aviv and that everyone has to fight for a place in the squad. There are plenty of good players who can come off of the bench at any time.”

Goal of reaching the group stages:
“Getting to the group stages is one of our goals and I hope that we will reach that once again as it has become a tradition.”

Vladimir Ivic, the Yellow & Blue Head Coach will make his home debut on the sidelines at the Netanya Stadium tomorrow evening at 20:00 for the second leg of Europa League First Round qualifying and opened up by looking ahead to the challenge at hand against Ferencvaros:

“Tomorrow is one of the tough games and for me every game is a tough game. We prepare 100% to be ready to win every game. This is the second game of the season and against the same team. Our target is to win the game and make it to the next round.”

Foreigners in the squad:
“We have 6 foreigners and if we make some future moves we will let you know. We will continue to work with who we have.”

Concentrating and working hard to win:
“Our target was to win the first game. We went to Hungary to win and the game finished 1:1. We can be satisfied with the score, but we worked hard this week and we now know our opponent better and have more information. We have to concentrate from the first to last minute of the game and fight from the start to the end in order to win the game.

The Maccabi supporters:
“I know that the Maccabi fans will be the 12th man and those who will come to stadium will give 100% support to the team. They will be a positive and help the team win the game. We have another 24 hours and training today in order to get ready for this match.”

Choosing the players who will play in the match:
“I have 26 players right now and they are all working hard. I see them everyday and then I make a decision as to who will play. If they show me that they deserve to play, then they will play.”

Performances by Eliran Atar, Jair Amador and Enric Saborit last week and the signing of Chico Ofoedu:
“I don’t want to discuss any single player as my vision is to speak about the team. Our decision was to bring Ofoedu and sign him. We will wait for him to play in the upcoming matches.”

Itay Shechter’s availability for the match:
“All of the players are ready.”

Belief in winning:
“If I don’t believe this I wouldn’t have come here. I believe that we can do this and that’s why we are here. I believe in this squad and in these players. We have a long road ahead and we have to concentrate and work at 100% and then we will have success.

Thoughts about the World Cup:
“I saw that the level of football has continued to improve and has gotten better. This World Cup was more interesting than the last one and the next one will be even more interesting than this one. That is how football evolves.”

Advancing to the Europa League Group Stages:
“This is our target. We will fight to be one of the teams who will play in the group stages of the competition.”

Chikeluba ‘Chico’ Ofoedu joined Maccabi Tel Aviv FC on a free transfer after the 25-year-old Nigerian forward successfully underwent a medical and signed a 2-year-deal at the Club.

Maccabi’s CEO, Ben Mansford, told the club’s official website: “I am delighted to welcome ‘Chico’ to Maccabi as we continue to finalize the squad for this season. Chico had many options across Europe and it is a superb achievement from everyone at the Club, from Mitch to Vladamir, that we got this one closed out. We truly believe that Ofoedu will excite the fans as he is the type of player that has you on the edge of your seat. Chico is a player that is capable of scoring and providing opportunities for his team mates. Welcome to Maccabi”.

Ofoedu made his first footballing steps at Nigerian outfit Enugu Rangers IFC where he made his senior debut at the age of 18. In 2012 and at the age of 20, Ofeodu, moved to Turkey and joined Trabzonspor on loan for which he scored 8 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions. A switch to Karsiyaka the following season saw Ofoedu score 11 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions which led to a January switch to Samsunspor.

The Nigerian forward enjoyed a successful 18-month long spell at Samsuspor where he scored 21 goals in 49 appearances which earned himself another move to his fourth Turkish club. Ofoedu began the 2016/17 campaign at Eskisehirspor and in two seasons notched 19 goals in 58 appearances in all competitions.

The summer vacation is here and hundreds of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans took advantage of the opportunity to see the Yellow & Blue stars up close and personal. Eliran Atar and new recruit Enric Saborit came to the Official Club Store at Cinema City Rishon Le’Zion to take pictures, Selfies and signed autographs for the supporters while they also had the chance to purchase the brand new kit that was revealed just last week.

Here’s what it looked like from The Camera’s Lens:

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC and Hapoel Ra’anana reached an agreement on a season long loan deal for Or Dasa.

The 19-year-old midfielder who made his senior debut appearance for Maccabi last season, returns to Ra’anana where he scored 2 goals in 13 appearances during a six-month-loan spell. 

Maccabi’s CEO, Ben Mansford, told the club’s official website: “Or burst on to the first team scene last year and after his run in the first team continued his progress on loan at Ra’anana. Or has impressed again this pre-season. We discussed things with Or and it was agreed that he would spend a further period on loan. Ra’anana were delighted to be able to have him back and I look forward to seeing Or continue to develop this season”.