Maccabi Tel Aviv begins their Israel State Cup campaign this Saturday evening away at Bnei Lod, 18:30. The Yellow & Blue will visit the Leumit side in the Round of 32 of the tournament and the Captain Gal Alberman discussed the upcoming contest at the prematch press conference:

“We are going into the match on Saturday and we are not playing at our best. The Cup game is a winner take all or go home type of game. We’ve had some difficulties over the last few years with these types of matches. These contests aren’t simple regardless of the situation we are in.”

Players responsibility:

“I hope that we will play well. We all have to play well no matter who is in the sidelines. We have to play well for the Club and for the fans and we have to raise our level so we can advance to the next round. Our level of play over the last few weeks hasn’t been good enough.”

Jordi Cruyff, the Yellow & Blue Sports Director spoke to the media in preparation for Maccabi’s State Cup Round of 32 match away at Bnei Lod this Saturday night at 18:30:

Opening statement by Jordi Cruyff: “We will be discussing only the Cup game and nothing else at this press conference”

Who will be coaching the game this Saturday night:

“We will arrange the staff internally for the match and we will inform you when we have to. We had this issue a few years ago and we will let you know on the Official website.”

Addressing the players:

“I don’t think the players need to know everything. They need to know that there is a chance I will address them and if I have to say something I will.”

How will the players react on the pitch:

“I don’t know, I’ll be able to answer the question after the game on Saturday. Players usually react after these types of changes and we will see if it will be positive or negative.”

Hard times:

“The club has had many good years and now is a difficult time with changes. When you get used to winning you forget what losing is. Sometimes losing gives you a reality check.”

Style o play going forward:

“I think that the Shota Arveladze line has been the same over the past four years and I don’t think we will change that.”

Remaining as coach:

“There’s no option that I will stay as the coach of Maccabi. It’s really not about me but about the Club. We are going through a difficult year and we expected it. We probably didn’t expect the last 6-7 weeks when we lost points against teams that we should have taken points. I think that everybody who understands this will see we can rebuild. There is a direct line with the owner and a lot of mutual trust.”

Challenge for Saturday’s match against Bnei Lod:

“Saturday will be very interesting and we will focus on that.”

Making changes to the coaching staff and squad:

“It’s not something we need to hurry and it’s a change that we aren’t planning just for the next five months but also for the next season. We will look at what the team needs and it’s time to rebuild.”

Importance of the Bnei Lod match:

“For us at the moment the next game is always the most important. We had some disappointments as we haven’t made it further in the Toto Cup and we have had some unacceptable results in the league but the Cup is something we will fight for and it doesn’t matter how you are performing in the league it’s a a totally different competition.”

Media coverage and Patrick van Leeuwen coaching the team:

“Most things I read in the media is not close to the truth. We don’t react as a club to the type of media circus. To me it was never an option and for me it is irrelevant. I would encourage our fans not to react. I will say that some things are true but it’s best not to react. Together we will go out and execute. Mitch Goldhar is a man with a winning mentality and character and I have that same character.”

Responsibility:

“The responsibility always lies with the decision makers and it also lies with the players they can’t hide that fact and that is also true with the coach. Ultimately I am responsible. There are many games when a coach has a direct influence on the game and there have been some games that we had to win and we all have to take responsibility including the players. We have underperformed.”

Relation with Mitch Goldhar:

“My relation with the owner is a good one and a solid one. Things that are happening this season were not unexpected for me and for him. We were planning to go through a process over the summer and maybe we will begin in January.”

Expectations for easy matches:

“We have not had any easy matches and we can’t be arrogant. We don’t deserve to act this way.”

History in Short
Tal Banin was born in Kiryat Haim, March 1971 and arrived at Maccabi in August 2000. The defensive midfielder returned to Israel following a spell at European outfits Cannes from France and Italian side Brescia as he became the first Sabra to play in Serie A. The Hapoel Haifa product played for the Carmel Reds for a decade over three time periods and was also a National Team stalwart during the 1990’s. While serving as the Blue & White captain, Banin scored 12 goals in 78 appearances.

Banin can thank Shlomo Sharf for bringing him to Kiryat Shalom as the midfielder played under the veteran coach while with the National Team on four occasions. In his first year with the Yellow & Blue, Banin scored 10 goals and lifted the State Cup trophy together with captain Avi Nimni following a 3:0 win over Maccabi Petach Tikva. The following season, the midfielder found the back of the goal four times and again hoisted the trophy with Nimni after defeating Maccabi Haifa on penalties. In his first two season openers, Banin scored a goal in 1:0 wins against Bnei Yehuda and Maccabi Petach Tikva respectively.

In Banin’s third and final campaign with Maccabi, he captured his second league title and his first as a member of the Yellow & Blue. Overall, the midfielder scored 16 goals in 109 appearances as his tenure ended when owner Loni Hershkovitz and coach Nir Klinger decided that Banin along with Nimni would depart the team immediately in a move that shook the foundations of the club.

Awards and honors
Championships: 2002/03
State Cups: 2000/01, 2001/02
Appearances: 109
Goals: 16

Top Moment
One of Banin’s great skills as a footballer was his ability to unleash one of the hardest and most accurate shots. In the 2001/02 State Cup semifinals he scored one of those special goals. Down 1:0 to Hapoel Petach Tikva via Enes Demirović, Grzegorz Wędzyński drew the Yellow & Blue even and in the 27th minute Banin performed his magic launching a scorer from 30 meters to cleanly beat keeper Ohad Cohen. From that moment on, Maccabi made easy work of their opponent winning 5:1 advancing to the final. Watch the Goal

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC reached an agreement with coach Shota Arveladze to part company by mutual consent and would like to thank him for his contribution.

Sports Director Jordi Cruyff told the clubs’ official website: “We would like to thank Shota Arveladze for his contribution to Maccabi Tel Aviv FC and for guiding us to the Europa League Group stages during his period at the club. Sometimes, things do not work out the way you plan them whether that be the fault of myself, players or the coach. In situations like that in football it is better to part company and move forward. We would like at the same time, wish Shota all the best of success in the future”.

Shota Arveladze added: “I would like to thank everyone connected with Maccabi Tel Aviv FC – the staff, the players and fans for the time I spent here working at Maccabi and will always have the club and people at heart”.

The club will not be drawn to any further comment until an announcement is made.

Maccabi Tel Aviv enters the Round of 32 of the Israel State Cup with an away encounter at Bnei Lod on Saturday January 7th at 18:30. The match will be held at the Lod Municipal Stadium with priority to purchase tickets being given to Season Ticket Holders until Wednesday January 4th at 10:00. Should tickets remain, sales will be opened up to the general public.

Tickets may be purchased via the Leaan Ticket Agency at their Ticket Office located at 101 Dizengoff Street Tel Aviv, by telephone *8780 and via the Leaan Website.

Please note:

• Each Season Ticket Holder may purchase up to 2 tickets only
• Tickets may be collected upon presentation of their season ticket card, credit card and Tuesday Zehut ID card
• Home printing is not available
• Tickets may also be collected at the stadium, however, we recommend that you pick them up at the Leaan Ticket Office to avoid long lines

Ticket Prices

Leaan Ticket Office
Adult – 88 NIS
Youth/Soldier/Woman – 44 NIS

Website/Telephone
Adult – 93 NIS
Youth/Soldier/Woman – 49 NIS

Tickets may be collected at the Leaan Ticket Office located at 101 Dizengoff Street Tel Aviv on Sunday-Thursday between 09:00-19:00, Friday 09:00-12:30.

Tel Ben Haim, the Yellow & Blue veteran defender looked back at the 1:0 defeat suffered at the hands of Beitar Jerusalem on Matchday 16 of the Ligat Ha’Al:

Summing up the match:

“I agree we have to play better but we controlled the flow of the match and had some chances. We gave up a penalty that led to a goal and I don’t want to get into the issue of if it was offside or not, it’s part of the game. We’re very disappointed and I don’t think we should lose a match like this when we controlled the contest. Beitar only had couple of chances and I don’t think we should lose such a game. We have to get ready for Saturday’s match.”

Style of play:

“It’s never easy to play a team that is just defending, but we had some chances that we should have scored, however we didn’t and that’s part of the game.”

Concentrating on their own football:

“We have to play better football and we have to concentrate on our own play. We have to improve so we can play our football which we haven’t yet been able to do, so we can’t focus on anyone else.”

Practice:

“Of course we practice things that will happen in game play and sometimes things go better but today it didn’t go our way.”

Looking ahead:

“When you don’t win it’s disappointing and you go home upset as it sits with you all week. It’s not a great feeling and as an athlete it never sits well when you lose or don’t play the way you want to. We have a match on Saturday and hopefully we will win and bring that with us into league play.”

The Yellow & Blue couldn’t muster any offense as they lost 1:0 to Beitar Jerusalem at Teddy Stadium in the nation’s capital. A first half penalty by Itay Shechter gave the hosts the win as Maccabi will now prepare to face Bnei Lod on Saturday evening in the State Cup Round of 32.

Prematch
Head Coach Shota Arveladze’s Starting XI included Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic, along with defenders Eli Dasa, Tal Ben Haim, Egor Filipenka and Omri Ben Harush in front of him. Captain Gal Alberman was the defensive midfielder as Nosa Igiebor and Haris Medunjanin played alongside him while Dor Micha, Tal Ben Chaim and Barak Itzhaki provided the firepower up front.

Available on the bench for the Georgian boss were keeper Daniel Tenenbaum, Avi Rikan, Eitan Tibi, Sagiv Yehezkel, Yossi Benayoun, Vidar Kjartansson, Eden Ben Basat.

First Half
With rain falling on and off in Jerusalem, both sides had a tough time getting chances early on. Igiebor had Maccabi’s first two opportunities in the 10th and 15th minutes but both of his headers missed the mark after getting crosses from Dasa and Ben Chaim respectively.

Medunjanin’s 26th minute free kick just missed to the left of the goal while Idan Vered’s low shot three minutes later scooted by Rajikovic’s left post and out as the contest remained goalless. However, Filipenka pulled down Vered in the box good for a penalty that Itay Shechter slotted home to give the hosts a 1:0 lead in the 38th minute.

Ben Haim picked up a yellow card in the 44th minute for a reckless foul as the Yellow & Blue went into the break down 1:0.

Second Half
After 15 minutes of midfield play, Maccabi made their first substitution of the match introducing Eden Ben Basat for Medunjanin and the move almost paid off immediately. Number 9’s free kick went into the box bounced off of a couple of players and back to the striker who skied it over the goal.

In the 63rd minute, Dasa found Ben Basat in the area but his attempt was just tipped over the bar for a corner kick that was cleared by the Beitar defenders. Ten minutes later Vidar Kjartansson entered the contest in favor of Dasa and just one minute later Rajikovic stoped Vered’s attempt from right outside of the box.

As Maccabi looked for an equalizer, Yossi Benayoun came on for Gal Alberman in the 78th minute as Number 6 handed off the captain’s armband to Barak Itzhaki. Ben Basat had an 84th minute header opportunity but his effort just went wide of the goal as the Yellow & Blue pressed for a tying goal. However, it was not to be as the visitors fell to Beitar 1:0 and will now get ready for State Cup Round of 32 action on Saturday night at Bnei Lod.

Opening up 2017. Tonight, Maccabi Tel Aviv starts the new calendar year with away clash at Beitar Jerusalem and we decided to go back in time, 68 years to be exact since the State of Israel was founded to check out some of the fantastic Yellow & Blue statistics when playing the first match of the new year.

Since the founding of the State of Israel, Maccabi has played 61 league matches, 4 Toto Cup contests and 3 State Cup games.

Maccabi’s record stands at 42 wins, 14 draws and 12 losses for the fist game of the calendar year.

Yosele Merimovitch holds the Maccabi Tel Aviv goal scoring record in the first match of the year with 12 goals in the 1949, 1950 and 1951 openers.

Maccabi has played 10 matches on the first Monday of the month of January to begin the calendar year not including tonight’s clash against Beitar Jerusalem

21,000 fans attended the January 1977 3:2 Derby win that began the calendar year. This also happened to be the opening match with the most spectators.

Jerry Beit HaLevi coached the most matches to start the year, standing on the sidelines 11 times. Avram Grant managed 8 contests while Itzhak Shneor coached 5 games.
Maccabi Tel Aviv faced Beitar Jerusalem twice to open the calendar year, both times at Bloomfield Stadium. 1983’s match ended in a goalless draw and the 2001 game was a 2:0 Maccabi victory.

Maccabi has made 6 comebacks in the first contest of the year, one of which took place on January 7th 1992 in a game against Beitar Tel Aviv. Beitar took a 2:1 lead but Uri Malmillian and Eli Drikes scored to give the Yellow & Blue a 3:2 win.