The Yellow & Blue received goals by Gal Alberman and Oscar Scarione while Ahmed Said scored for Split as Maccabi won the first leg of their Europa League Playoff Round 2:1. The decisive match for a ticket to the Europa League group stages will be held next Thursday, August 25th in Croatia.

Head Coach Shota Arveladze’s Starting XI had a familiar face in goal as Predrag Rajkovic played behind a defense of Avi Rikan, Eitan Tibi, Egor Filipenka and Dor Peretz. Captain Gal Alberman was in his usual defensive midfielder position while Haris Medunjanin and Nosa Igiebor played next to number 6. Tal Ben Chaim, Dor Micha and Oscar Scarione provided the attack.

First Half

Following a furious start to the game by Maccabi with action coming from Ben Chaim’s left wing supplying a pair of superb chances, the Yellow & Blue got on the board in the 7th minute via an Alberman goal. Medunjanin took the ball after a short corner and passed it to the Captain who hit it home from the top of the box to give the hosts a 1:0 lead.

Ben Chaim tried his luck again in the 11th minute by passing the ball to Micha but his effort went over the goal while Hadjuk had a pair of chances in the 17th minute both on corner kicks but Rajikovic made the saves when called upon to keep the Yellow & Blue in the lead.

Micha’s 27th minute opportunity was blocked by the Hajduk defense and sent out for a corner while Tibi picked up a 31st minute yellow card as Maccabi continued to search for more goals. In the 33rd minute Scarione’s chip found Igiebor but his header was saved by Kalinic and three minutes later the former sent a ball from 30 meters out that couldn’t find the goal as the sides headed into the break with Maccabi holding a 1:0 lead.

Second Half

Hajduk Split had one mission in mind at the beginning of the second half and that was to score a valuable away goal. Unfortunately for Maccabi that’s exactly what happened in the 56th minute as Ahmed Said brought his team level with the hosts 1:1.

Coach Arveladze introduced Eli Dasa in the 62nd minute for Peretz which almost immediately paid off as his terrific ball to Scarione in the box barely missed the target. Five minutes later Arveladze made his second substitution bringing in Eden Ben Basat for Gal Alberman as Micha took the captain’s armband. In the 69th minute the Yellow & Blue has a marvelous chance to go ahead but Ben Chaim’s attempt was again saved by the Croatian National Team keeper to keep the score as is.

Five minutes later Franck Ohandza almost capitalized on a Maccabi mistake but his shot just went wide of the goal and at the other end Medunjanin’s sharp effort also missed the target. However in the 78th minute Scarione made sure to put the ball in the back of the goal to give the Yellow & Blue a 2:1 lead.

Igiebor’s massive chip found Ben Chaim who easily went in on goal and tapped the ball to Scarione as number 5 easily it slotted home for the one goal advantage.

The 81st minute saw Yossi Benayoun enter the contest in favor of Scarione as Maccabi looked in earnest for a third goal but it was not to be as the Yellow & Blue will head to Split, Croatia for the second leg next Thursday August 25th holding a slim one-goal advantage.

The Ligat Ha’Al begins the 2016/17 season this weekend and Maccabi Tel Aviv will play on Sunday August 21st against Hapoel Kfar Saba on Matchday One. Due to the radius penalty, the game will be held at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem.

Please note the following:

All seats are unreserved
Entry is for those with this year’s season tickets only
Parking Pass holders please review the map below to see where your parking area is at Teddy Stadium

As per the Netanya Stadium sections the seating arrangements are as follows:

Platinum – Entry via Gate 7
Silver & E+ – Entry via Gate 6
Western Upper & Lower – Entry via Gates 5, 8, 9
Eastern Upper & Lower – Entry via Gates 18-21

Season ticket collection

Season ticket holders who have yet to pick them up may do so at Teddy Stadium Asher the following:

Eastern Upper & Lower – East side ticket windows at Teddy Stadium

Silver, E+, Western Upper & Lower – West side ticket windows at Teddy Stadium

Ticket Prices

Leaan Box Office – 55 NIS
Leaan Website or Telephone *8780 – 60 NIS
Matchday at the Box Office (should tickets remain) – 50 NIS

Three fans were brought before the Magistrate’s Court in Petach Tikva and were banned from stadiums due to their disturbances at the Toto Cup Derby.

Two of the three fans were arrested by police after being identified by Maccabi Tel Aviv’s security apparatus and were banned from stadiums for the next 180 days by the court while the third received a 21-day ban.

The Club has also sent them official letters banning them from any club related activities for five years. One of the fans who was caught using pyrotechnics for the second time at a match and was given a five year ban last season was now permanently banned from the stadiums.

Maccabi Tel Aviv FC has also demanded compensation of 100,000 Shekels for damages incurred by the Club from each of the following fans, Shahak Shmuel Ashkenazi, Almog Tasiri and Tzion Mizrachi.

These actions are continuation of the Club’s efforts to “Kick Out Violence & Racism” and further penalties and punishments may be handed down to additional fans following the completion of the security video analysis.

The Croatian side began Europa League qualifying in the second round and just three days later started their domestic campaign. Up until now Marijan Pusnik’s squad has played nine games, four in Europe and five in their league so one could say that both Maccabi and Split are in fine form going into their Thursday night contest.

Split currently sits in third place in the Prva HNL, however they dropped some important points losing to Dinamo Zagreb and drawing against Osijek. In order to analyze the club as best as possible, we took an in depth look at their largest win (4:0 over Istra) and their biggest defeat (4:0 to Zagreb) while checking out where the players were positioned throughout the two matches.

In general, Hajduk plays a 4-3-3 but their formation can change depending on the opponent. In the loss to Zagreb, Pusnik’s side played a similar formation, but for most of the match many players dropped into the midfield and Split played with a lone striker in a 4-1-4-1 formation. The same was true in Hajduk’s victory over Istra where many players hovered around the midfield as the wingers played just behind the central striker.

If we take a closer look at Hadjuk’s offensive side, the midfielders and others playing in that area provide the majority of the Croatian attack. According to the shots on target or offensive statistics one can see that the majority of the Hajduk attack came from the center of the pitch and not from the wings as shown in the diagram.

Croatian Classico:

Hajduk Split’s last contest was a 1:1 draw at Osijek, but it’s worth taking a look at the match just beforehand that resulted in one of the most painful losses of the campaign as they fell to Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian Classico. Pusnik’s charges didn’t exactly show up to their last home match at the Stadion Polijud as they gave up a late first half goal and then three more by the 68th minute to their arch rival.

One of the things that Dinamo was able to do very well against Hajduk was being able to get the ball into the key area. Hajduk may have had more offensive opportunities (90 out of 105) and you can see via the shots on goal as to how Pusnik’s team’s offense is quite potent. Zagreb had 11 offensive attacks that led to shots on goal just one more than Hajduk who finished with only three accurate shots on target.

Split’s accuracy rate was also low when it came to their passing statistics (76% compared to 85% for Zagreb), but most importantly their attacking passes stood at only 4 attempts while none made it to their destination.

The Magnifying Glass:

There’s been much talk about the average age of Hajduk’s young squad for the 2016/17 campaign. Even though Pusnik’s side has little European experience, they are still very talented and have been together for a couple of seasons in the Croatian League. Let’s take a closer look at the strengths of three specific players.

Nikola Vlasic – Hajduk’s number 8 is only 18 years old but he is a very important piece of the team’s puzzle for the third straight year, which is an impressive fact despite his young age. Vlasic is an offensive midfielder with a beautiful dribble which he does on average of eight times a match explaining why he is able to draw many fouls when on the attack. Vlasic’s strongest point is his attacking key passes and he has already picked up four assists this young season. However, the weakest part of his game is his shooting ability and his chances to score. The midfielder has yet to find the back of the goal this year and the amount of shots on goal is lowest amongst Hajduk’s offensive minded players.

Tino Susic – One of the side’s most exciting players is number 31, Tino Susic. The Bosnian midfielder with a strong left foot is one of the most dangerous players in Hajduk’s squad. If you thought that Vlasic dribbled plenty then think again as Susic dribbles on average 11 times per match with a 60% success rate.

In comparison to the other midfielders, Susic is one of the most versatile players who likes to threaten the opponent’s goal and does so the most on Hajduk while also scoring the majority of his team’s goals. Last campaign, Susic scored 12 times in the domestic league finishing with a total of 15 across all competitions. Long efforts, getting behind the central defenders and a high accuracy rate are just some of the features that the midfielder will come to Netanya with.

Fran Tudor – If the family name of this 29-year old midfielder is familiar then you are not mistaken. Fran Tudor is a distant relative of Igor Tudor, the former Juventus central defender and one of Eyal Golasa’s past coaches when he played with PAOK.

But with all due respect to his roots, Fran doesn’t need his relative in order to prove that he’s a quality player in his own right. The young midfielder is considered one of Hajduk’s most important players from last season where he both started and came off of the bench. This year he has already picked up two goals and two assists in six matches.

The little details:

Number 12 – We won’t see the full story of Hajduk’s most important player in Netanya. As a sign of respect and admiration for their fans, the 12th man, the club will not allow any player to wear the number 12.

Lovre Kalinic – Is the 26-year old Croatian keeper who wears the captain’s armband. Since his days with the youth side, Kalinic has been the club’s first choice keeper while also making four appearances for his National Team and was included in the Croatian Euro 2016 squad that was eliminated in the Round of 16 by the eventual European Champion, Portugal.

Franck Ohandza – It’s still unclear if Hajduk’s main striker will arrive in Israel for the contest, but if he does, the Maccabi defense will have plenty of work to do on the Cameroonian who has already scored five goals. If Ohandza doesn’t make it to the Holy Land then Ahmed Said will feature up front on Thursday.

Gal Alberman, Maccabi’s veteran central defender spoke to the assembled press about the Yellow & Blue’s Europa League match tomorrow night, 20:00. The Captain talked about the club’s experience in Europe, the domestic season which begins this weekend and the goals the the team set for this coming campaign:

“Like the coach said, we are looking at the various goals we had set for ourselves. The goal right now is to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League and we’ve worked very hard to get to this stage.”

Advancing to the group stages:

“I think that our experience has told us how important it is to make the group stages both for the club and for us as well. We want to continue on our way and qualify for the Europa League. It’s important also for the fans and we’ve been working on this for the past few months and it extends the European season by a number of months as well.”

Approach to the game:

“We have to win especially because the first game is at home and we don’t want to give up any goals. We have a lot of experience and we will see once the match begins how the game will go.”

Maccabi’s experience as an advantage:

“The experience level could really come into play in these two matches and we have a number of players that have that know how as to how to qualify.”

Transfers having an effect on Hajduk:

“I think that it’s part of the game, players come and players go. I don’t think that we are looking at each individual player but Hajduk as a team and they are a tough opponent.”

The upcoming domestic season:

“The picture as to who will fight for the league title is pretty clear. We all know who will be competing for the crown and this Israeli season will be very interesting. It’s great for the league as it will be so competitive, but right now our focus is on tomorrow’s European match.”

Shota Arveladze, the Yellow & Blue Head Coach discussed the upcoming Playoff Round Europa League matchup against Croatian side Hajduk Split. The Georgian spoke about choosing his squad, playing in Europe and the club’s mentality:

“We have to play and win every game. Our mentality is to win which makes us much stronger and we’re at the stage when we are playing for the group stages. If we count our targets this would be our first which is to advance to the Europa League group stage. This was what we wanted to do over the first 8-9 weeks. It’s clear as to what kind of game we have to play.”

Injury status:

“We have some knocks which we have after every game but we have all 22 players on the pitch for training thanks to our medical and training staff.”

The player’s qualities:

“The weapons I have is the quality of the players and they can change games individually or as a club. They have passion and can create which makes them special. We have a strategy and will will implement it.”

Playing in Europe:

“My motivation is unchanged if it’s the first time in Europe or the 5th. We have played six games up to now and want to play at least another six more. The groups will be full of English Premier league teams, Italian, French and German teams. This is our goal.”

Knowledge about Hajduk:

“I know the name of the players and I’ve watched their last five games against Ukrainian teams and a number of other games. I had the last three weeks to do so and I have information as to who has come and who have been transferred. I know about the beautiful stadium and atmosphere the club has and we will have to see how it will work out.”

Tomorrow’s squad:

“We have a training still and we can choose 18 players, two of which are the goalkeepers and we will need 16 more. Some names will be in and some will be out. But we have 22 fit players that want to be involved and it’s good for me to see this.”

Who gets to play:

“I never give anyone the feeling who will or won’t play. Whoever comes to training and respects the team, the club and his contract can play. We go game by game and see who needs to have a rest. There are three games a weeks and it’s still hard to compete in this weather and it’s the toughest month in the Middle East. We’ve been battling the weather and we will do our best to choose who is best to play.”

The Europa League group stages are within striking distance for Shota Arveladze’s side as they will face Hajduk Split on Thursday, 20:00 at the Netanya Stadium for the first of two encounters between the clubs for the right to advance to the group stages of the tournament. Split is the second Croatian team that Maccabi has played in European competition and just before a new chapter is written we’ve decided to take you back to the last time a team from the Balkans visited Israel.

In 2001, Maccabi Tel Aviv was participating in the preliminary stages of the UEFA Cup and after defeating Zalgiris Vilnius in the first round (1:0, 6:0 Maccabi’s biggest European victory), Nir Levin’s club was drawn to play Dinamo Zagreb from Croatia.

The pair of matches began with an away game for Maccabi unlike this time around against Hajduk, however, the Yellow & Blue was able to pick up a 2:2 draw on away goals by Rodrigo Goldberg and Baruch Dego before Jasmin Agic and Goce Sedloski tied up the game. Five days later, the return leg was played at Bloomfield Stadium.

Over ten thousand fans filled the Jaffa stadium to root on the Yellow & Blue to the next round, but the aforementioned Agic had other plans. The Croatian side’s number 8 scored in the 32nd minute, stunning the crowd as things didn’t look too bright for Maccabi. However, Maccabi also had a number 8 of their own who knew exactly what to do in the most critical of moments.

Four minutes before the halftime whistle, Dino Drpic tripped up a Maccabi player in the box leading to a penalty. Avi Nimni stepped up to take the kick and in cold blood drew his team even as the match ended 1:1 sending the Yellow & Blue to the next round due to an away goal advantage allowing the fans to celebrate into the evening.