Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Bosnian midfielder, Haris Medunjanin met the media prior to his club’s Matchday 32 game in Sakhnin. Number 4 discussed some of the issues that surrounded Thursday’s Israel State Cup 3:2 victory over the same Sakhnin at Sammy Ofer Stadium while also commenting on the upcoming tilt versus the very same club

“Why hasn’t anyone spoken about Sakhnin’s offside goal and the fact that there was no a penalty called as well. In every game something happens and we have plenty to talk about. We made a good decision to play on and it was the correct decision as the right back was not injured, played the full 90 minutes and he took plenty of corners and free kicks.”

More on playing the ball prior to the first goal on Thursday night:

“As the coach said we can’t decide and it has to be the referee to make the decision. This is how I see it.”

Expectations for tomorrow’s match:

“Sakhnin is a good team and they wait for their chances. We play very attacking football and if we are not focussed we may give up another 3 chances as we did in the first 30 minutes in the State Cup match. We came back, showed courage, scored 3 goals and won the game.”

About his style of play:

“I always search to play in front or between the lines but sometimes it’s very difficult. We try to find the space. We created a lot of chances and if we take shots on goal you never know what will happen.”

Deciding on taking free kicks between Eran Zahavi and himself:

“It’s up to us to take the free kicks between me and Zahavi and we talk about it. In certain kinds of situation we look at who may be more comfortable to take the free kick.”

Peter Bosz, the Yellow-and-Blue’s Dutch boss is readying his side for a crucial match away at Bnei Sakhnin tomorrow, Monday at 20:55 after disposing of the same club this past Thursday night in the State Cup semifinals at Sammy Ofer Stadium. The Head Coach discussed how the club will improve, the various statuses of players and a few words about the events surrounding the State Cup match between the two sides:

“No further thoughts about Thursday night. Tomorrow is all about football.”

Thoughts about the happenings from last match against Sakhnin:

“I think about football and I’m thinking about the first 30 minutes where Sakhnin had a lot of chances and where we could do better.”

Tal Ben Chaim’s injury status:

“We will see tomorrow, but he will train today and we will see.”

Heading into the stretch run of the season:

“They had three big chances before they scored and we have to be more organized in defense. They showed that they can create chances and we have to stop them. This is 5 games away from the end of the season and we are 1-point away from Beer Sheva. We will try to do everything to win the game. The tactics are attacking and winning.”

What he tells the players about making sure to focus on the game at hand:

“I advise them what I do, not to read and listen to the press. Focus on the football, that’s the main thing,”

Improving for Monday’s match:

“I look at the players that I have and we can do much better, we have to find where we made mistakes and improve. After the match I watch the full game and I sit with the players and tell them what they can do better.”

About Barak Itzhaki who started last match:

“He played good and we will see tomorrow.”

Calling time during the match and playing the ball out:

“You can’t leave this up to the players and it has to be in the hands of the referee. I saw a game where someone was injured and the team played on and got a penalty. It was more or less the same situation in the Beer Sheva vs. Sakhnin match.”

Potential conflict between the fans:

“You can’t blame our fans about not throwing the ball. I don’t know why the fans are upset at each other.”

Why Gal Alberman didn’t start:

“He didn’t recover 100% from the last game and we have fantastic players in the squad and in this case it was Dor Peretz who played very well.”

Players who have been injured and out of the squad recently including Nosa Igiebor, Omri Ben Harush and others:

“The players are getting better but not good enough to be in the squad. I hope that they will return to play before the end of the season.”

Dor Peretz is having an interesting season. The Maccabi midfielder played many minutes at the beginning of the year but has had to be patient on the bench for much of the second half of the campaign. However, the youngster has shown his abilities of late and Peter Bosz gave him a place in the Starting XI against Bnei Sakhnin in the State Cup semifinal:

“It was a lot of fun to play and even more so because we advanced to the final. The result in these types of games is often more important than how we actually played. Of course, we will learn from the match and look to improve what needs to be improved.”

On the claims that the Itzhaki goal was unsportsmanlike:

“We have very clear instructions on this matter from the coach. The referee is the only one who can make the decision in this type of case. We don’t make these types of decisions as it’s not our role to do so. We continued to play and that’s what was supposed to happen as far as I’m concerned.

From that moment on the match became much more aggressive and then it went back to normal. Sometimes things happen during the heat of the match and there’s no question that this riled things up a bit more than it had been at the beginning.”

About Gal Alberman:

“I have a great teacher in Gal Alberman and he has really helped me along the way. It’s a privilege to be able to learn from him. There’s no question his shoes will be very hard to fill but he is really such a good help. I think I’ve been able to take many of the things that I’ve learned from him and applied it to my own game.”

Facing Maccabi Haifa in the final:

“It’s a huge match between two giants. Right now, we’re just concentrating on the league but when we get to that game there’s no question how interesting a matchup it will be.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv’s number 11 and excitable winger Tal Ben Chaim sat down for a frank chat about who he really is outside the field of play. On it we already know that he is a fireplug, dynamic and scintillating, let’s find out a little more about the player who lays it all out on the pitch for his club:

“I’m tired, the baby gets up early but doesn’t cry anymore, just gives a big sigh! But make sure to put down that this interview was done after not having slept too much.”

Tal Ben Chaim signed a 4-year deal with Maccabi after having played with Hapoel Tel Aviv and was the first player to make theme directly from one club to the other:

“It certainly wasn’t easy and it wasn’t simple but it was a big upgrade for my career. I don’t even want to think where I would be today if I hadn’t made this move. It’s fun to come play football here everyday and that’s not something I had earlier on in my career.”

The secret of Maccabi’s success:

“Our lockerroom is not the standard lockerroom you would see with any other club where players that play the same positions are close friends especially when one might play instead of the other. I think that this is one of our big secrets that make us successful as a team.”

What happens to Tal Ben Chaim when the opening whistle is blown?

“I don’t think that it’s such the big deal that everyone makes it out to be. A footballer has both good things and some things that are not as good. There were plenty of matches where I kept telling myself not to get upset and then the whole match I would be concerned with just this and I didn’t play well. I believe that I along with my family and the Maccabi fans want to see the Tal Ben Chaim that plays with a lot of energy and passion when I play football. That’s me for the good and for the bad.”

Battling for the League and the Cup:

“When you win one championship then you want to win another. When you win the Cup you then want to win another Cup. Last season we won the League, the State Cup and the Toto Cup, so the minute you do something like that you want to do it again. That’s why our goal is exactly that, even though it hasn’t been an easy year, not just because of Hapoel Beer Sheva but due to the intensive European campaign that we had. If we want to make it into the Champions League again we will have to have a successful year just as we did last season. But all in all we are happy with where we are right now.”

Will your son Sean celebrate the league title with you at the end of the season?

“It’s time for him to make it to Bloomfield and I already have a vision that he’ll be running on the pitch celebrating with everyone.”

Barak Itzhaki returned in a big way to the Yellow-and-Blue’s Starting XI by scoring a gorgeous header goal while drawing a penalty after being tripped up in the box to help Maccabi complete a 3:2 win over Sakhnin that propels the club into the Final against Maccabi Haifa.

The striker discussed his goal and the not sending the ball out prior to his goal: “There’s always time wasting against us at the beginning of the match and we decided that we weren’t going to give back the ball or send it out to stop play. To complain about Tal Ben Chaim is absurd and Ali Osman played 90 minutes. I saw the replays and when the ball went out, Ali was still on his feet. In the following match we would do the exact same thing. Sakhnin is a god team, but the better team won the match.”

Monday’s match against Sakhnin at Doha Stadium:

“I’m sure it will be hard to play at Doha and we’re prepared for that. They are a very good club and if we want to reach our goals we will have to jump over this hurdle.”

The State Cup final and his personal feelings:

“I feel great and I’m very happy that I had a chance to play and it’s what I love to do best whether I start or if I come off of the bench. I’m adapting to things and I’m sure the final will be very interesting as its the “Israeli Classico”. Beer Sheva is in good form but for me the Classico is Maccabi Tel Aviv against Maccabi Haifa.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv we’re excited about reaching the Israel State Cup final after defeating Bnei Sakhnin 3:2 at Sammy Ofer Stadium in front of over 25,000 fans. The Captain, Eran Zahavi commented on Bnei Sakhnin’s criticism that Barak Itzahki’s goal was unsportsmanlike:

“Anytime we can play one we do and we don’t stop the match. If the referee doesn’t stop the match then we continue playing. It’s nothing new that a club may try to kill time against us and that we don’t send the ball out. I unequivocally support Tal Ben Chaim’s decision and I don’t believe that the referee impacted the game. The better team won the match and most importantly we are in the State Cup final for the second straight year.”

About the threats that Sakhnin made about Maccabi not being able to win at Doha Stadium:

“I’m only concerned about my team. I don’t think any team will hand us the championship. We have to go into Doha and win the match ourselves and not wait until some hands it to us.”

On Tal Ben Chaim’s play:

“I like how he plays. He plays with a lot of passion and emotion. I only wish we had more players like that. I’m very happy that he plays on my team.”

Playing Maccabi Haifa in the final:

“This has been a huge rivalry ver the years as both clubs have been at top of the Israeli League and have won many titles. I agree with those who call a game between both of us “The Israeli Classico”. Haifa is a very tough opponent and this match will be one of the best.”

Peter Bosz looked back at his club’s fantastic State Cup semifinal win at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa as Maccabi will have the opportunity to defend their title in Jerusalem against Maccabi Haifa. The Dutchman spoke about making it to the final, his feelings about the way his squad played and the controversy surrounding Maccabi’s first goal:

“I always tell the truth and I’m really glad that in this country we can give our opinion. Many times when a player is injured we never know if he is really injured or not and we have to put the ball out. In Holland, we leave the decision of a player being injured to the referee who is objective and not to the players. Since I’ve been in Israel, Maccabi has been the stronger team in almost every match. I’ve seen that keepers will waste time after only 10 minutes of play. As a coach I am angry as this is also not very sportsman like.”

Looking back and looking ahead:

“This was a semifinal and it was a very important game. Maccabi didn’t begin well and Bnei Sakhnin scored the first goal after a few good chances. I do know that Zahavi scored a goal that was not offside but on Monday we have to play football and fast football. We must play better than today.”

Monday’s rematch against Bnei Sakhnin in League play:

“I hope we will play better. I’ll watch the full 90 minutes to see what we can do better for next match. We didn’t defend well as they had four good chances in front of our keeper. I’ll have to take a good look back at the match.”

The fans:

“I was really angry at halftime and we can’t play a semifinal like this. We can’t let our opponent be more aggressive than us. We made a mistake on the second goal but I’m really happy and proud that we came back to win 3:2 in 90 minutes. The fans stayed behind the team even when we were down and they continued to support us, that made a big difference.”

Barak Itzhaki starting in place of Orlando Sa:

“Orlando had a rough time the last little and hadn’t scored in a while and Barak has trained well so we made a change up front.”

Backing up Tal Ben Chaim:

“When I was a player I would have played the ball and I support Tal Ben Chaim with his decision as we didn’t truly know the status of the injured player.”

Feelings about heading to the State Cup Final in Jerusalem:

“Proud, excited and curious as I’ve been told that it’s a big prize here in Israel. I had two objectives coming here a few months ago which was to win the title and the Cup and we are on the way.”

Tal Ben Chaim played hero for the Yellow-and-Blue as the winger’s 85th minute strike was the difference in a 3:2 victory over Bnei Sakhnin. Firas Mugrabi fired the first shot but Barak Itzahki answered quickly for Maccabi. Shlomi Azulay then gave Sakhnin a 2:1 but a Zahavi penalty drew the defending Cup holders even. However, it was Ben Chaim who saved the day and won the match for the champs scoring a fantastic goal to send Maccabi back to the State Cup finals to be held in Jerusalem.

Peter Bosz, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Head Coach made a number of changes to his Starting XI as Dor Peretz, Barak Itzhaki and Avi Rikan all got the nod in place of Gal Alberman, Orlando Sa and Yuval Shpungin who has featured in place of the injured Omri Ben Harush. Predrag Rajikovic took his usual spot in goal as Eli Dasa, Eitan Tibi, Carlos Garcia and Rikan played in front of the Serbian keeper. Haris Medunjanin and Peretz shored up the midfield while Tal Ben Chaim, Dor Micha, Eran Zahavi and Itzhaki featured on attack for the Yellow-and-Blue.

Medunjanin made his presence felt in the early going as his 3rd minute 25 meter screamer missed the mark while Peretz’s 13th minute scorcher just went wide of the Sakhnin goal. Just two minutes later, Firas Mugrabi had the first of a number of quality chances as he raced down the right side on the pitch only to be stopped at the last second by central defender Garcia who pushed the ball out.

In the 18th minute Mugrabi once again flew down the right side but his effort went wide of the goal. However, as they say the third time’s a charm and it certainly was for Bnei Sakhnin as the clock hit minute 23. Mugrabi took a terrific through ball that went between the Maccabi defenders allowing him to score on a one-on-one situation against Rajikovic for a 1:0 lead.

Maccabi immediately looked for an equalizer and found one soon thereafter. Itzhaki’s strong 25th minute effort just scooted by the Kandil’s post but his 27th minute header cleanly beat the Sakhnin keeper thanks to a perfect pass by Micha drawing the Yellow-and-Blue even at 1:1.

As the heat index climbed a few degrees at Sammy Ofer Stadium, Sakhnin coach Yossi Abuksis argued with the referee claiming that Maccabi had continued play in an unsportsmanlike manner as a Sakhnin player was down on the pitch injured. The veteran manager was shown a red card and ejected for his efforts while Mugrabi also picked up a yellow card for kicking the ball out of play in protest as the half ended deadlocked at one a piece.

Maccabi came out of the box quickly to start the second half as Ben Chaim steamed down the pitch but was fouled just outside of the box by Wanderson Silva who was shown yellow. Both Zahavi and Medunjanin lined up to take the free kick but it was the latter who stepped up, hitting the bar with his brilliant opportunity.

As Maccabi looked to take the lead it was Sakhnin who took advantage of their first chance of the half as Shlomi Azulay beat Rajikovic good to go up 2:1 in the 52nd minute. Down by a goal, the Yellow-and-Blue searched in earnest to draw even.

Zahavi provided an evening’s worth of chances between the 58th and 63rd minutes from a header, a free kick and an opportunity from right in front of the goal but couldn’t find a way past the Sakhnin shot stopper.

As Maccabi continued to press, Head Coach Bosz made his first substitution of the match introducing Orlando Sa in favor of Garcia as the Dutchman looked to add some more firepower to his potent offense. In the 67th minute Itzhaki took a Micha pass in the box and was tripped up by Tambi Sagas good for a Zahavi spot kick. The Captain beat Kandil from 11 meters to draw Maccabi even once again at 2:2.

With the match settling down after a frantic pace, Bosz made his second substitution of the evening inserting Gal Alberman for Itzhaki while Sakhnin countered by taking off Haled Halayla who had just picked up a yellow card for Eldar Hasanovic.

With Maccabi searching for a hero to win the match by the final whistle they had to look no further than Tal Ben Chaim whose vicious effort from the left side beat Kandil in the 85th minute good for the win and a trip to the Israel State Cup final in Jerusalem.

75% Success rate – Since 1928, Maccabi has taken part in 45 State Cup semifinal matches, advancing 34 times to the finals.

Biggest ever – Of the 45 times Maccabi has appeared in the semifinals, one score stands out. In 1929 the Yellow-and-Blue won their first State Cup and defeated Maccabi Zichron Yakov 9:2 in the semifinals.

100% From the spot – Maccabi has gone to a penalty shootout 4 times in semifinal play out of 45 total matches and has won every one of them.

55K – In 1979, 55K fans descended upon Ramat Gan Stadium and had the chance to see Maccabi take on Beitar Tel Aviv as well as Beitar Jerusalem against Bnei Yehuda.

Ask Tabak – Without a doubt, the 1983 semifinal was one of the best. 120 minutes, 8 goals, 16 penalty kicks and one Benny Tabak who helped Maccabi advance to the finals.

You know that face – Of the 45 semifinal matches, Maccabi has played two clubs six times a piece; Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Petach Tikva.

5 BOOM – Braces and hat tricks may be common occurrences for Maccabi in State Cup semifinal play, but how about five (!) goals by one player. Rafi Levi is the man who scored five goals in a 6:0 victory over Shimshon Tel Aviv.