Category: News

Ben Basat- “I always want to score”

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Less than a minute. That’s all it took for Eden Ben Basat to make his mark on the match after he came onto the pitch in the 81st minute against Maccabi Haifa, scoring the game winning goal as he headed the ball over the Greens ‘keeper Vladimir Stoykovich. The striker spoke about the goal, the challenge to be in the starting XI and the upcoming Champions League match:

“I always want to score and I’m happy that I did today but now I’ve got to make sure that I can keep this pace up. Sometimes you just need a few minutes to be able to score but now I’ll look forward to the next game. I want to play and I’m not going to hide that and I’m happy that I helped win the match tonight. This is not just about me but for all of us.”

On the importance of the win:

“I really hope that this gives out confidence a boost. There’s a lot of matches due to all of the competitions we are playing in. We have a deep squad and we have to always look ahead to our next match, this time in the Champions League. We don’t want to think about whether or not the game will cause us trouble when we go back to play in the Israeli league but there is a fight going on as to who will be in the starting XI. With hard work and extra motivation we will win the championship again this year and I’m sure that we can beat Dynamo Kyiv three days from now.”

Jokanovic- “This was an important win”

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Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic spoke to the assembled press following Maccabi’s 2:0 away victory against Maccabi Haifa at Sammy Ofer Stadium.

How important was this victory:

“This was an important win especially after our last game at home. We improved our organization and played more in the box that increased the amount of chances that we had last match. but there’s always place to improve.”

On comparing last week’s loss to this week’s win:

“I just say what I am thinking and I’m not against the players or the club, but if I believe there is something that is true I have to say it. I don’t know about Israeli mentality I know only about sports mentality. If you show up to a game with only 50% effort then that’s what will happen like we saw in last game. This game we had 100% effort.”

What can you say about Eden Ben Basat:

“Eden Ben Basat plays in the box and scores many goals. Near the end of the game we put more players close to the goal and we were lucky that he was able to score the winning goal. He did a lot in the last few minutes of the game and it’s good for all of us that he did.”

You’re showing confidence in Dor Peretz and he scored a goal today:

“Dor Peretz is a different kind of an Israeli player. He’s tall and has long legs and is very young and can keep learning. He has played a number of positions this year whereas last year he just payed as a central defender. It really depends on him as to what he will do in the future but he can be a very important player in Israeli football for many years to come.”

Dynamo Kyiv is a totally different match on Tuesday:

“We have to be optimistic and try to improve our performance in the Champions League. We will play against a higher quality team than Maccabi Haifa and we have to play at a higher level as well. We have to show something different against Kyiv than what we did against Chelsea.”

Maccabi’s pair of second half goals seals 2-0 win over Haifa.

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Maccabi Tel Aviv visited Maccabi Haifa at Sammy Ofer Stadium Saturday night on Matchday Five of Ligat Winner and came away with a 2:0 win. Eden Ben Basat’s second half header and Dor Peretz’s first goal of the season gave Maccabi the valuable three-points and put them back in the win column. This evening’s game was the first of two matches that the Yellow-and-Blue will play in Haifa over the next four nights as Maccabi will host Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday Two of the UEFA Champions League Group Stages this Tuesday.untitled-8

Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic juggled his starting lineup a bit with the absence of suspended veteran central defender Tal Ben Haim playing a back four of Eli Dasa, Carlos Garcia, Eitan Tibi and Avi Rikan as the left back where he played recently for the Israel National Team. Gal Alberman played in his usual holding midfielder position with Nikola Mitrovic, Dor Peretz, Gili Vermouth and Tal Ben Chaim rounding out the rest of the midfield. Captain Eran Zahavi played as the lone striker while Predrag Rajkovic started in goal for Maccabi Tel Aviv against an offensive minded Haifa looking for their first goal of the 2015/16 campaign.

After a quarter hour of both sides feeling each other out, the Greens and Maccabi Tel Aviv traded chances at either end of the pitch with Ofir Kriaff missing on one of his team’s opportunities while Ben Chaim’s prime chance went wildly over the crossbar to end a scoreless first half.

In the second frame Maccabi’s Garcia headed a Zahavi corner kick just shy of the Haifa goal, Ben Chaim’s low shot just went off of the right post after cutting in from a sharp angle and Vermouth half field run saw his chance go off a Haifa player and out. On the other end of the pitch Rajkovic was up the task yet again making a fantastic save off of Alon Turgeman’s close shot, was in the right place to easily pick off Valiente’s header and again was in perfect position to stop another Haifa attack dead in its tracks.untitled-67

But then it happened. Jokanovic brought on striker Eden Ben Basat in the 81st minute prior to a set piece to complement the earlier introduction of Barak Itzhaki. A perfectly placed long free kick by Alberman to left of the Haifa ‘keeper Stoyakovich found a leaping Ben Basat who headed the ball into the goal for a 1:0 lead.

As time wound down, Maccabi cemented the victory away as Dor Peretz would pounce on a rebound and score his first of the year allowing the Yellow-and-Blue to get back onto the winning track.

On Tuesday 29/9 at 21:45 Maccabi Tel Aviv will host Dynamo Kyiv on Matchday Two of the UEFA Champions League right back here at Sammy Ofer Stadium.

Know your opponent – Maccabi Haifa

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Maccabi Haifa wants to restore its former glory this coming season and that’s why the club decided to make a major overhaul to its roster. But not only that, the team brought back its former manager Roni Levy. What players did owner Yakov Shachar bring in for the new/old coach? Read below to find out.

פרומו: המפגשים אחרונים מול מכבי חיפה

Year Founded: 1913

Stadium: Sammy Ofer (30,700)

Head Coach: Roni Levy

_MG_0025Players who left: Miguel, Ruben Rayos, Avraham Paz, Weam Amasha, Elad Gabbay, Muhamed Calibat, Medo Kamara, Shmuel Sheiman, Amir Edri, Sean Weismann, Idan Vered, Gustavo Boculi

(retired)

Players who arrived: Marc Valiente, Glynor Plet, Sun Menachem, Nikola Drincic, Ismaeel Rayan, Ataa Jaber, Shoval Gozlan, Ayed Hbshe, Shahar Hirsh, Yuval Jossipovich, Ludovic Obraniak

Key Player: Marc Valiente

After lengthy negotiations, the Spanish defender finally landed in Haifa to help upgrade the team’s defensive line. Those that have followed the former Real Valladolid man know exactly what kind of prowess he has on the pitch, however Valiente’s air game is not amongst his strong points. Along with Dekel Keinan or Orel Dgani in central defense, Roni Levy can already mark off two matches this season against Bnei Sakhnin and Hapoel Beer Sheva where the club didn’t let in any goals. It’s pretty clear to assume that Valiente will be shadowing Eran Zahavi and will attempt to close down the Maccabi captain.

Past Encounters: Maccabi Tel Aviv ended last season with two straight years without losing to their Carmel Mountain rival. Of course now is a new year. There have been many matches that the supporters will remember between the two clubs especially at Bloomfield Stadium. The 3:1 victory where Barak Itzhaki scored a gorgeous scissors kick goal or the 2:1 win when Zahavi scored in the 90th minute. But the one match that will always be deeply etched into the supporters memory is the 3:0 win under Paulo Sousa. Why? Because this was the first game in nine long years that the Yellow-and-Blue finally defeated their eternal rivals at Kiryat Eliezer. How fitting was it that Rada Prica with a brace and Itzhaki’s goal off of his chest began the new order for the Israeli league in the last year of the historical stadium.

Micha: “This game is super important for us”

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Maccabi Tel Aviv will visit Maccabi Haifa at a jam packed Sammy Ofer Stadium Saturday night 20:05 on Matchday Five of Ligat Winner. Yellow-and-Blue midfielder Dor Micha knows that the upcoming game is crucial for the club:

דור מיכה לקראת מכבי חיפה

Are you ready to face Haifa:

“Of course we’re ready for the upcoming matches just as we were against Raanana but it just didn’t work out. We haven’t won a league match in a few weeks so we’re coming into this match with the mindset that this game is super important for us.”

You’ll be playing at Sammy Ofer Stadium against Haifa and then at “home” against Kyiv:

“We’ve played there many times already so we are used to the stadium and the pitch. Right now we are preparing just for the Haifa match which is very important and then we will look ahead to the next game against Dynamo Kyiv.”

Maccabi Haifa has struggled this year:

“The year just started and this is still Maccabi Haifa. It’s going to be a tough match.”

You’ve lost two matches in a row:

“We aren’t playing well right now, so we have to come into this match and we’ve got to give it all.”

Youth Department Action Saturday

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Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv will also be preparing for a Champions League match against their Dynamo Kyiv counterparts. The full list of matches is below:

Bnei Sakhnin – Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv – Doha Stadium / Saturday 26/9 at 11:00

After winning their first home match of the Ligat Winner Youth League, Ziv Arie’s team will attempt to win their second game in a row, away at a tough Bnei Sakhnin side. Iman Abu Yon’s club was promoted this season and won their first match away at Beitar Jerusalem in Bayit Vegan on a lone goal by Aiman Hamze in the 60th minute. Three days after the league match, the Under-19 Yellow-and-Blue will face Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League Youth League.

AQ7A8489SC Julis – Maccabi “Oded” Tel Aviv

The Under-17 team’s match has been postponed to a later date due to the Eid Mubarak Holiday.

Maccabi “Eli Fuchs” Tel Aviv – Beitar Jerusalem Shmuel – Kiryat Shalom Training Facility / Saturday 26/9 at 9:00

Eliezer Ben Aharon’s club opened its season last week away, defeating Hapoel Ramat Gan 5:2. The Under-16 team will host their counterparts from Beitar Jerusalem this Saturday who lost their match last Saturday 1:0 to Hapoel Tel Aviv at home in Bayit Vegan.

Nine Years of Frustration

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It’s early in the season but any match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa is always a focal point of the Israeli football season. This Saturday, Maccabi Tel Aviv will visit Sammy Ofer Stadium when they face Maccabi Haifa on Matchday Five of Ligat Winner.

Two years ago this week, the Yellow-and-Blue under Paulo Sousa visited The Greens of the Carmel Mountain for their first match of the 2013/14 season that took place at the historic Kiryat Eliezer Stadium. Maccabi came to Haifa with the proverbial monkey on their back as they hadn’t been able to defeat Haifa on the road in nine straight seasons.

The first half showcased an amazing display by the ‘keepers on both sides with Juan Pablo and Bojan Saranov making one save after another to keep the match scoreless after 45 minutes.

The second half though, was a totally different story as Maccabi showed that they were now a force to reckoned with also away from home. Five minutes into the second frame, Eitan Tibi took the ball across midfield towards the Haifa goal and found Mahran Radi on the right flank. The midfielder then delivered the ball to Barak Itzhaki in the box who put it into the Green’s goal as the ball bounced off of his chest to help Maccabi take a 1:0 lead in the 50th minute.

Only nine minutes went by as the thousands of fans leaped again from their seats for the nicest goal of the game. After Juan Pablo made a save from an oncoming Haifa attack, Omri Ben Harush cleared the ball to Eran Zahavi who was at the 25 meter mark on the pitch. Zahavi, who is now captain already played the part of quarterback back then as he avoided three Haifa players and then launched a perfect pass to Rada Prica who chipped the ball over Saranov. 2:0 in Haifa with the Maccabi fans all over the world in absolute pandemonium. The 75th minute marked the final nail being driven into the Haifa coffin. Omri Ben Harush took the ball into the Haifa box passed it towards Zahavi who let it go through to Prica who precisely shot the ball right into the Haifa goal giving Maccabi a 3:0 win.

Nine years, four months and a day went by since the last Yellow-and-Blue victory at Kiryat Eliezer as the winless streak finally ended paving the way for the 2013/14 championship.

Zahavi: “We know where we need to improve”

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Maccabi Tel Aviv will take on Maccabi Haifa on Matchday Five of Ligat Winner this Saturday night at Sammy Ofer Stadium. Following the loss to Raanana,  Captain Eran Zahavi spoke about the upcoming match against The Greens, the start of the season and more:

AQ7A8672On the beginning of the season:

“We opened up the season in good shape. We made it up to the Champions League and there are things to fix up in all the competitions. But to categorize Chelsea and the Toto Cup together is just not right. We don’t like to lose but the results so far go have been in our favor. But again, we will keep working to improve and go forward.”

About the upcoming match:

“They are a good team even though they’ve had trouble at the beginning of the year. Haifa will be playing at home in a full stadium and they are coming into the match hungry after the last game. We were disappointed losing to Raanana as we come to every game to win. We will work on the points that we need to especially in the box. We may have needed more players in the box and we know where we need to improve.”

The system Zahavi feels most comfortable in:

“I’m comfortable with any style of play. Even with a 4-3-3 we need more players in the box in order to score goals, we know what we need to do and we’ll keep working on it in the upcoming matches. It would be great if other players would score, Barak and Gal scored the past few matches and we didn’t win those games.”

“We must concentrate more and bring more energy”

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Maccabi Tel Aviv will face Maccabi Haifa away at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa on Matchday Five, Saturday night 20:05 as Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic looks to get his side back on the winning track. Jokanovic: “We must concentrate more and bring more energy”

What do expect from Maccabi Haifa after seeing them play against Beer Sheva this week:

AQ7A8673 “They are an organized team and they tried their best in Beer Sheva under difficult circumstances going a man down at the start of the match. For us we must find the points in the game where we can change the situation and it’s a chance to play good football and get back on the right foot. As coach it’s my responsibility to make sure that we are ready and try to focus the team on the next game and in this case it’s Maccabi Haifa which is one of the classic matches in Israel football. This match may be a turning point to regain our confidence. It’s a very important game for me.”

 What went wrong last match against Raanana:

 “We have to remember that before the game begins nothing is over and done. We arrived thinking it may be an easy game and in the end we lost. We didn’t attack with enough players and they had a couple of chances and they scored. We played the two halves with different systems and tried to change things up and each system had their strengths and weaknesses. In the Israeli league we must have spend more time attacking in the box and last match we played outside of it.”

How do you see the club at this point of the year:

ראיקוביץ' “We must concentrate more and bring more energy and as always the next game for us is the most important. We must be ready for all of the competitions. Each game is a different story and right now we’ve played 6-7 more matches than other teams. We are still at the beginning of the season and we must to continue to improve and be hungry for each and every game and in every competition. In each competition the side may be different team but everyone in the squad must understand that this is Maccabi and we are always under pressure to win the match, especially in the Israeli league. Right now, two wins, one draw and a loss is not good enough and it’s not what the supporters want to see from us.”

On his candidness after the Raanana match:

“I spoke with my players after the Raanana game and I say what I think to them and to the media and I try to be honest. I have my reasons when I speak about the team and I never point out individual players but as a collective, as a team.”

What is the status of Nosa Igiebor:

“Nosa Igiebor has a knee problem and had an issue the past few games and he’s not 100%. We are checking him out and we are trying to find a solution to his injury and he is doing this outside of Tel Aviv. Shlomi Azulay is also unavailable for the match.”