Just before heading out for the final training session at the Petrovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg, the Maccabi Tel Aviv Coach Shota Arveladze along with central defender Egor Filipenka spoke at the official prematch press conference.

Arveladze began by talking about the warm welcome the team has received so far: “It’s been great here so far and we have been taken care of so well since we have arrived. We’ve watched a number of Zenit’s recent matches especially since we last played against them in September. Of course, once you play each other, which we did, you get to know the other side a bit better.”

Zenit’s weakness:

“I’m not going to go into their weakness here. Even the best teams have some weak points and we know exactly what they are. We spoke to the players as to where we may be able to take advantage of our opponent, but I will only discuss these things after the match.”

Following the loss against Zenit on Matchday One:

“Following the Zenit match we had three very tough contests and we passed every test successfully. Over the last few weeks we didn’t do as well as we expected. We didn’t have a very long break because of the National Team games and we know that we won’t have a lot of time off in the league for a while now which will allow us to really work on a number of things. It was tough to come back from the loss to Zenit but we did it.”

About the weather:

“We can’t do anything about the weather. We aren’t the first to play in such weather and we have plenty of players who have played in these types of situations. I prefer the cold rather than the heat. Of course the conditions won’t be optimal for us but I believe that after the training session today we will get used to it as much as possible.”

Egor Filipenka who played for Spartak Moscow in the past talked about what type of welcome he will receive from the Zenit fans due to the fact he played for their rivals: “I feel fine even though I played for Spartak in the past. I follow the Russian League and I know that Spartak is battling for the league title and I hope that they will be able to win it.”

Tal Ben Haim, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s veteran central defender returned to the club last season after over a decade as a footballer in Europe. Number 26 primarily played in England during that time and discussed his special relationship with his father, his first few matches, changing positions and about his children:

“I have 3 boys, two of which play in the Maccabi Youth Department so it’s kind of a trip down memory lane for me taking them to practice just like my parents took me to training and watched me as well. I’m involved in everything that they are doing and I only want the best for them. I hope that they follow in this path.”

Family affair:

“My brother is 2.5 years older than me and on Saturdays I would sit with my father and watch my big brother play before or after my own match. My father couldn’t sit still and stood on the sidelines and if my brother went deep into the other team’s territory he would run down the sidelines following him. To this day my father still comes to my games and when I go onto the pitch he whistles to let me know where he is. After every training session and match we talk, not just about football but everything and anything else.”

Going from striker to central defender:

“I had a coach by the name of Amnon Balali when I was with the Under-15 side and he wanted to make me a central defender, but I wanted to hear nothing of it. He called my father every day to try and convince me to make the switch. One day he put me as a central defender and I liked it as he also gave me the chance to move up on the attack. It was a big change from being a striker to becoming a defender. I was 14 years old and I already knew how to play as a striker so it was a drastic change, but at the end of the day I have to thank him for convincing me to play as a defender.”

First match for Maccabi:

“It was against Ashdod at home and we won 1:0 and 3-4 days later we played at Dinamo Zagreb. Following that we played Hapoel Beer Sheva away and defeated them 4:1. I scored a header in the first minute on our first corner. Nir Levin had said that Beer Sheva didn’t know who I was and that they wouldn’t pay attention to me so I should stay a bit back and when Tal Banin would take the corner I should sprint to the middle of the box. I’ll never forget that goal.”

Returning to Maccabi Tel Aviv:

“It’s never easy to come back to Israel after many years in Europe as I was used to the mentality in England and I knew all of the people around me. The last three months of the past season were really difficult as I was hurt and I couldn’t train and run. The first time I was with Maccabi I got my first chance after a month and I was never on the bench again. In England when I didn’t play for two matches I wasn’t happy and that’s the same case today. I want to be on the pitch and play. When I’m on the bench or I’m hurt it’s very hard to sit and watch.”

Final words:

“I want all of the younger players who are promoted to the First Team to understand that this is Maccabi Tel Aviv and not just any other club. It’s one of the reasons why I’m here. It’s not just about winning titles but also helping the next generation understand where they are and the responsibility that comes with it.”

Avi Rikan, the Maccabi left back spoke about the upcoming Europa League Matchday Five clash against Zenit in St. Petersburg on Thursday at 18:00 Israel time. Number 22 discussed reaching the Round of 32, the match on Thursday, his return from injury and he also looked back to the win in Kiryat Shemona:

“It wasn’t a secret that we needed this win and the points to take some of the pressure off of us. It was a sweet victory. Once the match ended we were already focused on the Europa League game on Thursday night which is very important. We want to play well and win.”

More on the Kiryat Shemona match:

“We were very happy especially for Vidar and it gave us a lot of confidence. A lot of the players have been through plenty in their careers and they know how to make the switch between the league and Europe.”

Impact of the first match between the clubs on Thursday’s contest:

“It was one the strangest games in football from every which angle, but we aren’t looking back to that match whatsoever, it shouldn’t have any impact on Thursday. We will be taking this contest very seriously and we know that it won’t be easy as they are very good. We know what kind of quality side they are and we are preparing for them as the professional staff is doing a great job to get us ready.”

Looking ahead to the return match:

“I agree that we may have been very dominant in the matches so far, but we are coming into a totally different game on Thursday at Zenit. We will have to work very hard defensively and close down their flanks. They have players who know what to do and they are a very good home side that are also very physical. But we are ready and I hope that we will come back to Israel with a smile on our faces.”

Reaching the Round of 32:

“Everyone knew that Zenit was probably going to take first place in the group so the second position was going to be the one that the rest of the teams would fight for. We may be in a good position to advance but anything can happen. We really want to make it to the Round of 32 as Maccabi is a team that always wants to do well in any competition that we are participating in. We have two more games to do so and I hope that on Thursday we will take another step towards that goal.”

Returning from injury:

“It wasn’t a simple injury to come back from and it’s taken some time to get into game shape. Both the professional and medical staff did their best to get me fit and they deserve a ton of credit. They really helped me a lot and now that I’m playing and getting more minutes I’m feeling even better and I’m here to help Maccabi do the best that we can, we want to reach all the goals that we have set for ourselves.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv is heading to St. Petersburg, Russia for their Matchday Five Europa League contest. The Yellow & Blue will face Zenit on Thursday at 18:00 and all of the updates will be available on the Official Website, App and the Club’s Social Media Networks.

The Yellow & Blue just completed a dramatic comeback victory against Kiryat Shemona in the northern city and will look for revenge after falling 4:3 in Netanya on Matchday One of the Europa League.

Here is Head Coach Shota Arveladze’s squad for the flight to Russia: Predrag Rajikovic, Barak Levi, Daniel Tenenbaum, Eli Dasa, Tal Ben Haim, Eitan Tibi, Egor Filipenka, Omri Ben Harush, Avi Rikan, Gal Alberman. Eyal Golasa, Nosa Igiebor, Haris Medunjanin, Yossi Benayoun, Dor Micha, Oscar Scarione, Eliel Peretz, Tal Ben Chaim, Eden Ben Basat, Vidar Kjartansson and Sagiv Yehezkel.

Avi Rikan, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s left back discussed his side’s crucial victory away at Kiryat Shemona in Matchday Ten of the Liga Ha’Al. Number 22 spoke about his recent injury, collecting three points and the importance of the win:

“It wasn’t one of our best games to be honest from a lot of different parameters, but there were plenty of matches that we played well and didn’t take points, so it was most important for us to leave here with three points. The win took a lot of pressure off of us and it was great to be able to celebrate the way we did at the end of the match. It’s been a long time since we were so happy.”

About Vidar Kjartansson:

“He wasn’t with for the last couple of weeks because he was with his National Team but he came back very quiet and very confident. He has a very different type of attitude, more European and doesn’t take everything to heart. Today he scored a brace and he has plenty more to offer. I’m sure we will see this over the course of the upcoming matches and we’re very happy for him.”

Coming back:

“We gave up a goal and were able to come back. There were recent matches where we gave up a goal and weren’t able to find an equalizer. I know that scoring in the last few seconds of the match will give us a good push and it showed our character.”

More on the match:

“We know how to play well and we will do just that going forward. There have been many matches where we played very well and didn’t take any points, let’s be happy with the three points, improve and look ahead as this win will give all of us some confidence both because we took points and because of some of the individual efforts by certain players.”

Returning from injury:

“I had been injured for a while and it was very hard for me to come back. I don’t want to say it, but thankfully I haven’t been injured much during my short career. Every injury that I come back from I want to return even stronger than before. This time it was tough and I didn’t come back in great shape, but I’ll always be there for the club at a moment’s notice to help out.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv scored a dramatic win away at Kiryat Shemona, finally picking up a victory at one of the toughest stadiums to play in and one where the Yellow & Blue haven’t taken maximum points in 3.5 years. Head Coach Shota Arveladze spoke to the press following the contest:

“It was tough. I’m happy that we won and we had a few chances. I wouldn’t say that this was one of our best games but I’m happy that we were able to come back after going down by a goal early on. This was a very important match for us as we hadn’t won here in 3.5 years and I’m happy it happened now.”

Getting back onto the winning track:

“We had some poor results and bad momentum recently. But I want to give credit to the boys. Rajikovic saved us in the dying minutes and we scored a goal that was very important for us. I’ll say it once again, this was a very important win for us.”

On Kjartansson’s brace:

“Sometimes when you don’t succeed it puts you in a bad situation. We were all hoping the best for him when he was scoring when he first got here. We knew that he could score and that he had plenty of potential. This evening he scored two goals and I’m really happy for him.”

Vidar Kjartansson scored a pair of goals, the second coming dramatically in the 93rd minute as Maccabi left Kiryat Shemona with three points as they now turn their sights on Europa League Matchday Five action against Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia this coming Thursday night.

Prematch
Head Coach Shota Arveladze came back from the International break with a Starting XI that included Serbian keeper Predrag Rajikovic, Eli Dasa, Eitan Tibi, Tal Ben Haim and Avi Rikan. Captain Gal Alberman was in his usual defensive midfielder role along with Haris Medunjanin, Oscar Scarione, Dor Micha, Tal Ben Chaim and Vidar Kjartansson. Available on the bench were Barak Levi, Yossi Benayoun, Nosa Igiebor, Eliel Peretz, Eden Ben Basat, Egor Filipenka and Eyal Golasa.

First Half
Maccabi didn’t get off to the start that they wanted after coming back from the International break as Kiryat Shemona struck first in the 5th minute of play to take a 1:0 lead. Eden Shamir found Izekiel Nadusal as the Chadian striker put the ball into the back of the goal stunning Rajikovic to give the hosts an early advantage.

Dasa tried to get his side even in the 12th minute, but his cross to Medunjanin was cleared by Shamir while four minutes later Nadusal almost doubled the lead as his header was just tipped away by Rajikovic. In the 22nd minute, Kassio Fernandes picked up a yellow card for tripping up Ben Chaim as he made his way towards the goal while Scarione’s ensuing free kick almost beat the Kiryat Shemona keeper but Nitzan made the save to keep the score as is.

With Maccabi beginning to threaten the Kiryat Shemona goal, Ben Chaim came down the left wing in the 34th minute and almost found Kjartansson with a magnificent cross. Two minutes later a give and go between Medunjanin and Ben Chaim missed the goal by centimeters until finally in the 38th minute the Yellow & Blue’s hard work paid off and the goalless drought finally ended.

Ben Chaim passed the ball to Scarione who handed it off to Kjartansson as the Icelandic striker headed it past Nitzan to draw the Yellow & Blue even as the sides went into the break at 1:1.

Second Half
After ten minutes of second half play Didier Brossou and Eden Shamir each picked up a yellow card as Maccabi looked to find the go ahead goal. In the 66th minute, Coach Arveladze made his first substitution of the contest introducing Nosa Igiebor for Captain Gal Alberman while two minutes later Eden Ben Basat came on in place of winger Tal Ben Chaim.

Just after the substitutions, Dasa came racing down the right wing and crossed the ball to Kjartansson, however his attempt was stopped by Nitzan while Micha’s chance went over the bar. Just prior to Coach Arveladze making his 3rd and final substitution bringing on Yossi Benayoun for Rikan in the 79th minute, Kjartansson’s sharp angle opportunity went over the goal as the score remained 1:1.

As the match hit the 89th minute, Rajikovic was called upon to make a huge save in the box as the Serbian robbed Ahmed Abed from close range. With the match deep into injury time, it looked as if Maccabi would need a miracle to escape Kiryat Shemona with maximum points. And then it happened.

Vidar Kjartansson took a brilliantly unbelievable Micha pass and headed past Nitzan for the 93rd minute match winner sending the Yellow & Blue faithful into ecstasy! 2:1 Maccabi Tel Aviv as they now prepare to head to St. Petersburg, Russia for a Europa League date this coming Thursday night.