Category: News

“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.”

Purchased a Mini-Season Ticket? Don’t forget to pick it up

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Prior to Maccabi hosting their first match of the Champions League group stages at Sammy Ofer Stadium, it’s time for those that purchased a mini-season ticket to pick them up from a number of convenient locations upon presentation of your credit card or proof of purchase.

IMPORTANT! Don’t wait until the last minute to pick them up in order to avoid long lines and delays at the ticket outlets or even miss out on collecting them altogether.

Below is a list of all of the locations to pick up your mini-season ticket for the group stages of the Champions League that will take place at Sammy Ofer Stadium.

Thursday 24.9.15

Leaan Ticket Office – 101 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv

Hours 09:00-21:00

Bloomfield Stadium ticket windows by Gates 10-11

Hours 16:00-20:00

Friday 25.9.15

Leaan Ticket Office – 101 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv

Hours 09:00-16:00

Bloomfield Stadium ticket windows by Gates 10-11

Hours 09:00-16:00

Saturday 26.9.15

Bloomfield Stadium ticket windows by Gates 10-11

Hours 09:00-19:00

Sunday 27.9.15 Sukkot Eve

Leaan Ticket Office – 101 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv

Hours 09:00-13:00

Bloomfield Stadium ticket windows by Gates 10-11

Hours 09:00-16:00

Monday 28.9.15 Sukkot

Sammy Ofer Stadium

10:00-19:00

Tuesday 29.9.15 Matchday

Sammy Ofer Stadium

10:00-halftime of the match

  • It’s recommended to pick up your mini-season tickets in advance in order to avoid long lines and delays on Matchday at the ticket windows.

Tickets on sale for Maccabi Haifa match

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Maccabi Tel Aviv will play Maccabi Haifa at Sammy Ofer Stadium on Saturday night, September 26th at 20:05 on Matchday Five of Ligat Winner.

Ticket sales will begin today, Monday September 21 at 19:00 through Leaan only. The match will take place on Saturday September 26th at 20:05. Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters may purchase tickets for the South Stand in upper sections K-235-240 and lower sections K12-1325.

Season ticket holders will receive priority to purchase tickets until September 22nd at 13:00. Each season ticket may purchase up to two tickets for the match. Should tickets remain after that date and time, ticket sales will be open to the general public.

Ticket prices:

Ticket Prices via telephone *8780/Internet:

Adult – 105₪

Women/Soldiers/Youth – 54.50₪

Ticket Prices at the Leaan Ticket Office, 101 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv or at the Official Maccabi Tel Aviv Team Store at 147 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv (Should tickets remain):

Adult – 99₪

Women/Soldiers/Youth – 49.50₪

Ticket price on Matchday (Should tickets remain):

Adult – 90₪

Women/Soldiers/Youth – 45₪

IMPORTANT!

Ticket sales for the physically challenged and those in wheelchairs can email: support@leaan.co.il

Women, soldiers and youth tickets are for those individuals specifically.

Ticket collection hours and location:

Leaan Ticket Office, 101 Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv

Tuesday 09:00-13:00

Thursday 09:00-19:00

Friday 09:00-13:00

It is recommended to collect the tickets in advance as there will be delays on Matchday at the Stadium ticket windows.

Matchday Ticket Collection begins at 17:30

Vermouth: “We just weren’t good enough”

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Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Gili Vermouth played 90 minutes in his club’s 2:1 loss to Hapoel Raanana. The veteran midfielder discussed what went wrong in the match, his playing time this year and playing consistently for the club:

What happened this evening against Raanana:

untitled-19“I think that we just didn’t play well enough, as Raanana had two chances and scored two goals. We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities and could have played better closer to the goal. We just weren’t good enough.

If we would have scored first, the game would have played out differently and it would have been a bit easier. But because they scored first we had to chase after them. We watched them on video and prepared properly and paid extra attention to their set pieces.”

On his playing time this season:

“I would like to play more and start all of the matches. In the game against Beer Sheva and Kiryat Shemona I played, but I didn’t against Chelsea and it’s not pleasant, but that’s the story right now.”

 Not playing consistently can have an impact:

“There’s no question that I could play better and I made some good passes but they didn’t make it through to the intended target. I always come to play each and every game and I know that I can contribute both in Europe and in Israel. Anyone that doesn’t play consistently is not in an ideal situation but I’m happy that I played a full match today. When I played against Viktoria Plzen I was able to change both of the games and then I didn’t play against Basel and Chelsea, but this is what it is right now.”

Dasa: “I’ve got to tip my hat to all of the fans”

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After falling to Hapoel Raanana 2:1 at Bloomfield Stadium, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s right back Eli Dasa discussed the match that was, looked forward to the coming week and also gave credit to the wonderful Maccabi supporters:

ורמוט ודסה בתגובות מהמשחק מול הפועל רעננה

How do you look back at this match:

“It’s a big disappointment. We didn’t expect this to happen especially at home. These were points for the taking after the Champions League match, but we won’t dwell on the loss for too long. It’s a long season and everything will be ok.”

You played 90 minutes and saw that Maccabi controlled the match:

“Most of the matches at Bloomfield are played in our favor but Raanana closed us down very well. They worked very hard and they deserve the credit for the win.”

There are two big games coming up:

“We come to win every game, but it will be a tough game away at Sammy Ofer against Maccabi Haifa who are off to a poor start. We can’t look back at this loss as we have to go forward and prepare for the Haifa match and then the Champions League game.”

Nevertheless the loss tonight was still a tough pill to swallow:

“We are professionals and have won the championship the past few years, so for sure we are taking this loss hard. We take every point that we can get seriously as these will count later on in the year in April and May. Tomorrow we have to lift our heads and continue on.”

Were you still thinking about Chelsea:

“No, not at all, that definitely wasn’t the problem. We made the switch and you can’t say that the players didn’t want to win. They gave it their all. Sometimes there are games like this where it just doesn’t go your way. If we had scored first the result could have been totally different but there are also games like what we had against Raanana.”

The over 10,000 fans that came out today kept cheering well after the match was over:

“No question, I want to give back to the supporters. They are great. Even when I was with Beitar and I saw what the fans were like against Hibernians of Malta, they have been terrific all year long and we want to make them happy. I’ve got to tip my hat to all of the fans for cheering us on when we win and when we lose.”

“We haven’t collected the amount of points we had wanted to”

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Maccabi lost its first league match of the season going down to defeat to upstart Hapoel Raanana 2:1. While the Yellow-and-Blue dominated the play, they weren’t able to break through the tough visiting defense and couldn’t turn around the match in their favor. Winger Tal Ben Chaim who came on as a second half sub shared his thoughts on the defeat:

תגובות מהמשחק מול הפועל רעננה

“We didn’t play well today and lost the match. Our preparation for the game was good and that wasn’t the problem. We haven’t collected the amount of points we had wanted to by now and I promise you that we will pick up more points over the next four matches. I don’t want to say that we deserved to win and we have to give credit to Raanana. They counteract aimed twice and scored both times. We have to continue to train properly and get into the best possible shape we can for the match against Maccabi Haifa.”

The impact of the European campaign:

“Two years ago we were playing in the Europa League against tough opponents and we knew how to make sure to win our Israeli league matches. Specifically today we just didn’t play well and it has nothing to do with the game last Wednesday. The issues with playing in Europe are the flights, staying in hotels and just the grind that it puts us through, so it doesn’t make a difference if it’s the Champions League or Europa League.”

On the criticism leveled by the coach:

“I’m not going to comment on what the coach said, ask him. You all want to make a symposium about everything he says.”

Jokanovic: “We didn’t do enough today”

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Slavisa Jokanovic spoke about his team’s loss to Haim Silvas’s Hapoel Raanana as Barak Itzhaki’s lone goal wasn’t enough for the Yellow-and-Blue. Jokanovic discussed the club’s shortcomings, the Israeli league and the challenges that lie ahead.

תגובות מהמשחק מול הפועל רעננה

 Was this loss an aftereffect from the Chelsea match:

 “We must be competitive in the Israeli league too. We can’t just think about the Champions League as tonight we didn’t play with enough effort and power. We opened BZ1A1144the match well and we dominated. The other team shot twice and scored two goals and it’s difficult to play when they had many players on defense.”

When Eran Zahavi has a hard game it makes everything more difficult:

“We can’t rely just on Zahavi and we were short some players who were out injured and we needed more options. We didn’t show a big difference between us and Raanana. We tried hard and our desire was there but what we did today was just not enough.”

The quality of the Israeli league may be high:

“We dominated but we didn’t do enough to stop the counterattack and we will face this type of defense many times this season so we must be prepared.”

It seems that Raanana didn’t give Maccabi any respect the way you did against untitled-18Chelsea:

“Raanana worked very hard and they punished us today. We were organized at Stamford Bridge but we didn’t have the quality. We didn’t play well enough today and we didn’t deserve to win especially when we gave up the second goal.”

If you have more more matches like today you’ll have a hard time to repeat as champions:

“We will have to improve and we didn’t do enough today. It was a hard week for us and we have more matches ahead for Haifa and Kyiv. It’s not about one match a week but two.”

Raanana Stuns Maccabi 2:1

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The Yellow-and-Blue came out of the gates at Bloomfield Stadium with a lineup that included Predrag Rajkovic making his first start at the fabled field and a back four of Eli Dasa, Tal Ben Haim, Eitan Tibi and Omri Ben Harush. Gal Alberman played in his usual defensive holding midfield position with Nikola Mitrovic and youngster Dor Peretz playing further up the pitch. A trio of Dor Micha, Gili Vermouth and Eran Zahavi rounded out the starting XI for Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic.

Prior to kickoff, Maccabi honored their former striker Barak Badash as Captain Eran Zahavi presented him with a framed jersey commemorating his time with the club playing in 45 matches and scoring 11 goals while adding 5 assists.

The first half saw Maccabi controlling the flow of play and tempo of the match as Dor Peretz had the club’s best chance in the 17th minute when his booming shot was just deflected by Raanana’s ‘keeper Arik Yanko into the crossbar and out of play. Gili Vermouth who supplied Peretz with the ball had a number of nice short passes throughout the opening 45 minutes, but it was Evans Kangwa the Raanana striker who put Haim Silvas’s team into the lead.

Maccabi’s Ben Harush had been moving the ball into the visitors territory when suddenly Raanana picked him off and went on a counter attack that saw Kangwa put the ball behind Rajkovic from 17 meters out for the 1:0 advantage. Ben Harush would have an opportunity to even the score in the 38th minute but his strike would be pushed aside by Yanko to preserve the 1:0 scoreline at halftime.

Jokanovic made a couple of subs to begin the second half as Barak Itzhaki and Tal Ben Chaim came on for Dor Micha and Nikola Mitrovic to try and ignite the Maccabi offense. However, Raanana continued to stifle the Yellow-and-Blue attack time-and-time again with a frustrated Ben Haim and Alberman collecting yellow cards in the process.

As time wound down Maccabi’s pressure mounted with chances coming from Ben Chaim, Zahavi and Vermouth but none finding a way past Yanko. That was until Barak Itzhaki’s chip shot eluded the Raanana ‘keeper to draw the hosts even in the 89th minute.

But just when you thought that the game was now Maccabi’s to win, a quick Raanana break led to a shocking goal by Snir Shucker to silence the Yellow-and-Blue faithful sending the home side to a stunning defeat.

Know your opponent: Hapoel Raanana

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Haim Silvas’s club made a number of changes this past summer saying goodbye to Tony Nwakaeme and ‘keeper Daniel Lifshitz who came over to Maccabi and welcomed former Yellow-and-Blue striker Barak Badash.

Year Founded: 1972

Stadium: Netanya

Head Coach: Haim Silvas

פרומו: לקראת המפגש מול הפועל רעננה

Players who left: Tony Nwakaeme, Shoval Gozlan, Moshe Abutbol, Yoav Gerafi, Yogev Lehrman, Yakir Shina, Gil Blumenstein, Della Yampolski, Ze’ev Haimovitz, Elis Bakaj, Daniel Lifshitz.

Players who arrived: Yuval Shabtai, Ido Levy, Barak Badash, Ahmed Shacban.

Key Player: Evans Kangwa

_IR_4983The striker, who was third choice behind Mamadou Thiam and Tony Nwakaeme in Haim Silvas’s lineup now takes center stage and has answered the call with two goals in as many games. His counterattack speed is lethal and may cause problems for Slavisa Jokanovic’s defenders.

 Past Encounters:

Maccabi Tel Aviv has played Hapoel Raanana a number of times over the years but their first league matches took place just two years ago when Asher Alon’s team was promoted to Ligat Winner. The Yellow-and-Blue have held the upper hand in the matches between the two sides as one their more memorable wins was a 2:0 victory in Maccabi’s first home match of last season.