Eitan Tibi, the Yellow & Blue central defender spoke about the upcoming match against Bnei Sakhnin on Matchday 19 of the Ligat Ha’Al at the Netanya Stadium on Sunday January 22nd at 21:00. Number 18 reviewed the Derby, getting playing time and the club’s current status:

“I think that we aren’t in a position to look at Hapoel Beer Sheva and only at ourselves, not up and not down. We are beginning to collect points again and hopefully this run will continue.”

Expectations for the match against Sakhnin:

“We have a coach here who has prepared us as best as possible. You know that there is never an easy match against Bnei Sakhnin. Hopefully we will do what we need to and win.”

Stopping the streaking Yuval Abidor:

“Yuval Abidor is hot but I’ll keep my secrets to myself as to how I’ll stop him when we play on Sunday.”

The rough run of matches:

“There’s no question that it certainly bothered us but we are bad in the right track and the fans are behind us again.”

Getting playing time:

“Even under Shota I didn’t always play but I trained hard and prepared to play and that’s the same with everyone else.”

Derby roughness:

“We felt that there were stages of the game that shouldn’t have gotten so rough, but we made it through and we didn’t do anything that put us into a bad situation. There’s no question that it was hard to witness some of those things, especially when Eyal Golasa took a hard hit but he’s back and he should be ok.”

Jordi Cruyff, the Yellow & Blue Sports Director addressed the assembled media prior to his club’s Matchday 19 encounter versus Bnei Sakhnin at the Netanya Stadium on Sunday January 22nd at 21:00. Cruyff spoke about the search for a new coach:

“At the moment I’m still here and when we have something to announce we will. It’s a process and we know who we want as the new coach and we are working on it. I hope that an announcement will come soon. No matter what, for the first few days and weeks there will be some sort of collaboration.”

Still on the sidelines for the upcoming matches:

“I don’t think in all of them, at least I hope not to be. But I’ll be there to help the new coach and tell him what each player can give. There is an adaptation period.”

Changes in Starting XI:

“I think yes. The normal thing to do in a regular squad is to change players. Perhaps the old philosophy was that you have to keep the same players in the lineup, but in modern football you make changes to meet the needs of the opponent.”

Tal Ben Chaim not being available to the media:

“I don’t have a deal like I had with Eliran. But since I’ve come here, I’ve tried to keep the relationship between the players and the media at a distance. From a professional standpoint it needs to be done. If I had a choice of players who talk too much or too little, I’d prefer that he doesn’t speak too much. He should have a bit more responsibility because he is a captain.”

Responsibility to stop the game last season:

“We’ve always said that the referee has the responsibility to stop the play and not ours. If something is really clear like we had a few days ago when there was a clash of heads the players are intelligent enough to stop. But this is all in the past and they’ve already taken revenge as they drew against us and we didn’t win the league. Last year’s situation is behind us”

Status of Gal Alberman and Eyal Golasa for the Sakhnin match:

“Gal has no problems and Eyal we will have to see how his head injury will recover, it’s not easy.”

Was the Derby too tough:

“I’m not complaining, a Derby is a game of passion and they are always tough. It’s sometimes decided how the referee reacts and it could get tougher and tougher.”

Coaching decisions:

“Everyone makes decisions, when you win it’s the right and when you lose it may be wrong. Some matches you need one thing and another match you may need another. This has nothing to do with me or Shota.

Eden Ben Basat leaving Maccabi:

“The player had 4-6 more months left on his contract and he was a bit unlucky. I’m convinced he will be very good at his new club, score many goals and we will think about what we did. Eden was always willing to stay here and fight even if he had offers during other windows. He was a good worker and a hard worker.”

The 30-year-old forward scored 6 goals in 26 appearances in all competitions this season and a total of 21 goals from 101 appearances since joining Maccabi Tel Aviv in July 2014.

Sports Director Jordi Cruyff said: “We would like to thank Eden for his contribution to Maccabi Tel Aviv. Eden showed professionalism from the first day he joined us and was a very likeable player in the dressing room. We wish Eden all the best in the future.”
 
Ben Basat added: “After two and a half years at Maccabi Tel Aviv packed with experiences some good and some better, I would like to thank everyone connected with the Maccabi Tel Aviv family: the players, the staff and the clubs’ employees. Despite not reaching the personal targets I expected from myself, in the dressing room I always felt that I had a warm home. Today, I am coming full circle by joining Hapoel Haifa and would like to wish everyone at Maccabi Tel Aviv the best of luck for the future.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv continues their Israel State Cup with Round of 16 contest away at Hapoel Raanana on Wednesday January 25th at 19:00. The match will take place at the Netanya Stadium and tickets are available via the Leaan Ticket Agency at their Ticket Office located at 101 Dizengoff Street Tel Aviv, Telephone *8780, the Leaan Website and at the Stadium on Matchday.

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans will be in the Lower East Side Sections 501-509 (unreserved)

Please note:
Home Printing is available

Ticket Prices
Matchday at the stadium – 50 NIS
Leaan Ticket Office – 55 NIS
Telephone/Website – 60 NIS

VIP Tickets including light refreshments
Matchday at the stadium – 600 NIS
Leaan Ticket Office – 660 NIS
Telephone/Website – 665 NIS

Ticket Collection:
Tickets may be collected at the Leaan Ticket Office located at 101 Dizengoff Street between Sunday-Thursday 09:00-19:00, Friday 09:00-13:30.
Tickets may be collected on Matchday at the Stadium ticket windows beginning 3 hours prior to the match until 45 minutes after the start of the match.