Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic spoke to the Official Club Website and discussed the weather conditions in Malta along with the preparations for tomorrow's UEFA Champions League second round qualifying match against Hibernians FC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nn9M08uNdY

 "It's July here in Malta and the weather is the same for us as it is for them. We must respect all of our opponents and especially ourselves and also understand what the supporters expect from us on the pitch."

 Jokanovic also talked about the upcoming matches: "It can be difficult as there are 180 minutes in front of us and tomorrow we are going to take our first step. It's always complicated, but we never know what will be as this game is the first 90 out of the 180 minutes. I've watched a number of Hibernians matches from last year and we have enough information about them. If we don't concentrate and if we're not ready they can be a very dangerous opponent for us."

 

 

Hibernians FC coach Branko Nisevic and captain Andrew Cohen spoke to the press prior to UEFA Champions League second round qualifying match against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday

 "Maccabi Tel Aviv is the most successful team in Israel and they have won the everything in Israel over the last three years. So there are good things going on at Maccabi.

 Maccabi has a Spanish style of play as technical director Jordi Cruyff designed the club. They keep the ball for long periods of time and hold possession. They constantly look to find a small space and then off they go. Maccabi dominates the game and have players who have played in the English Premier league, Spain, France and for such teams as Chelsea, Toulouse and others.

 This will be a great experience for all of us.Maccabi is a very tough opponent and we have a chance to taste European football and playing against better teams than us and will help all of us become better players and bette coaches. We are all looking forward to the game."

 

Cristian Muscat, a sports reporter for the Illum Group in Malta spoke to give us the lowdown on Maccabi Tel Aviv's UEFA Champions League second round qualifying opponent, Hibernians FC

by Josh Halickman

 "Hibernians FC won the Malta League title for the 11th time in their history and dominated the 2014/15 campaign with terrific players such as Brazilian Jorge da Silva Pereira who scored 25 goals last season and captain Andrew Cohen who is also on the Malta National team. The club lost prolific Brazilian scorer Edison Luis de Santos who left for South Korea in March and his absence was felt immediately in the squad. He scored 24 goals and combined with Pereira for a lethal 1-2 threat.

 Andrew Cohen at 34 years old was voted Malta Player of the Year for the 3rd time around and the boss Branko Nisevic was coach of the year. The squad in general was head and shoulders above everyone else and only lost one match all year long! This is especially true when the league cuts the points lead in half late in the season just as they did a few years ago in Israel. As you may know, the predominant religion in Malta is Roman Catholic and when Hibernians won the championship this past year they went to celebrate on the steps of the famous church in Paola, St. Ubaldesca.

 Two other players of interest are Clayton Failla a Maltese midfielder who was scouted by Italian clubs and Andrei Agius a defender who attracted attention from the Romanian league."

 Muscat also described the difference between the Maltese and Israeli leagues:

"There are very few expectations by the Hibernians supporters in this match as they know that the Israeli team is the better side in many ways. Primarily the Maltese players are semi-pro which means that they go to work everyday and practice in the evening. Even I am a full time teacher and do the sports reporting on the side. You must understand that it is more of an honor for Hibernians to be playing in the UEFA Champions League qualifier and whatever will be, will be.

Unfortunately, people have lost interest in the domestic league. The 18,000 seat National Stadium was packed against Italy when they played a qualifying match here, but a regular league match will bring out an average of 1,500 fans. Hibernians usually draws about 800 spectators and there should be at most 1,500 supporters for the match against Maccabi Tel Aviv as they feel that Maccabi is far superior.

The Malta FA feels that they have made a huge improvement in the league by allowing 7 foreigners per club, but the fans seem to be losing interest as many are afraid that the youth systems will suffer.

On a very positive note however, is that Birkirkara one of the Maltese league teams recently signed Italian star Fabrizio Miccoli and he has already paid dividends for the club. Birkirkara defeated Ulisses FC of the Armenia League in the first round of Europa League qualifying to set up a dream matchup for the club against West Ham of the English Premier League."

 

 

For all of the latest news, exclusive interviews and pictures from Malta make sure to check out the Official Maccabi Tel Aviv website

It's been 23 years since Maccabi Tel Aviv began playing in European competition back when the UEFA Champions League was called the "European Cup". Now the Yellow-and-Blue are about to return to the island country where it all be began in 1992

June 2, 1992. Maccabi Tel Aviv put the final stamp on the 1991/92 Israeli league season with a 4:1 victory over Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramle at Ramat Gan Stadium in the last match of the season. The win sealed a first place finish with a commanding 13-point lead over second place Bnei Yehuda.

August 19, 1992. Maccabi Tel Aviv became the first Israeli team to compete in a European competition as the club under head coach Avram Grant headed to play the Maltese champions, Valletta.

Amazingly, after 23 years and Maccabi's historic first match in European play, the club will head back to Malta but instead of playing Valletta, they'll face Hibernians FC. It was fitting for Maccabi coached by Avram Grant to be the first Israeli club in history to represent the country in this auspicious competition.

The Ta'Qali Stadium in the center of Malta hosted 1,500 fans who watched the Israeli Champions play the "White Warriors" of Valletta, however Maccabi proved to be up to the task. The match was played in the middle of a summer day as both sides had to deal with 36 degree heat and extreme humidity.

The hosts made sure to put a physical mark on the match right away as Maltese defender Raymond Briffa tackled Avi Nimni in an attempt to intimidate Maccabi. As Valletta kept playing a physical battle with the Yellow-and-Blue, the Israeli visitors turned up their play a notch and began producing chance after chance attempting to beat goalkeeper Charles Cortis. However, it was Valletta who opened the scoring as Jesmond Zerafa capitalized on a defensive mistake by Amir Shelach to give the hosts a 1:0 lead.

Zerafa's goal was quickly cancelled out as an 81st minute Itzik Zohar corner kick was headed into the Valletta goal by Avi Cohen, the Jerusalemite to even up the score. Maccabi continued to apply pressure and in the 87th minute it was Avi Cohen again who factored in the second goal by assisting on Avi Nimni's winner. Cohen's deep pass to the budding star was perfectly placed onto his feet as Nimni cleanly beat the goalkeeper to give Maccabi their first European victory in their first European match!

 

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv completed the loan deals of Barak Levy and Gael Margulis to Maccabi Netanya for one season. The club has also agreed with Mahran Radi on his release to Hapoel Be'ersheva and extended the contract of Yoav Ziv by another season. 

Sports Director Jordi Cruyff told the club's official website: "Mahran was one of my first signings at the club, he is a player and a man a highly respect and I would like to thank him for his contribution during three amazing seasons at Maccabi Tel Aviv. We agreed to release Mahran even though it is to one of our fellow title contenders as because as far as we are concerned the human aspects is as important as the professional contribution. We wish Mahran all the best in the future. As for Barak Levy and Gael Margulis, they are two young talanted and promising players who reached a stage in their career where it is important for them to play regular football. I am sure that at Netanya they will find a warm home where they can show their talent and return to Maccabi stronger and more complete players"

Tal Ben Chaim spoke to the media prior to departing for the second round qualifying match of the  UEFA Champions League in Malta against Hibernians FC

 "I had a number of offers from outside of Israel, but I chose what I felt most comfortable with. I enjoy being with Maccabi and of course the players, and I would like to stay here for the long term. It was important to me to end all of the speculation and let everyone know that I am here to stay."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWUKHMRX_Jg

Ben Chaim also discussed the Austrian training camp: "We had a good training camp and we got back into shape after a short break. The three preseason matches we had brought us back to full strength and we are ready to go. Before the last match against Anzhi, we has a practice earlier in the day so that will always have an effect on the game itself because we were still getting back to full fitness. Training camp and preseason matches are not like getting ready for a regular match." 

Looking ahead to the matches against Hibernians and Maccabi's European chances, Ben Chaim commented: "I think that last year we had a good club and that we have enough players right now to go into the next round after the two games against Hibernians. We all want to head into the group stages of the Champions League, we know the supporters want this as well, but we will have to defeat very tough teams along the way. No one has to be worried about bringing in new players as the club is doing everything to get us to where we need to be."

Ben Chaim also commented on the team's chances in Ligat Ha'Al this coming year: "Over the last few years we have been the best team in the country and you don't have to worry about us. Technical Director Jordi Cruyff is doing everything to make sure that we are in the best situation as possible. Hapoel Beer Sheva, Kiryat Shemona and Maccabi Haifa are all strong teams and we won't have an easy time this year to win the league." 

 

Maccabi Tel Aviv Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic spoke to the media prior to the club's upcoming UEFA Champions League second round qualifying match against Maltese Champions Hibernians FC

What was your impression of Austria training camp?

"We worked very hard during the last 3 weeks and I believe that we all did a great job. I had the chance to analyze and check out the players that I had at the camp and during the three preseason matches. The training camp is short and we did what we needed to do to be ready. As the new guy in town I had to learn what I had in hand and then see how we could improve."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWUKHMRX_Jg

How do you feel about the upcoming match against Hibernians FC in Malta and what is the status of Eran Zahavi?

 "In theory we are the favorites but we have to show our best on the field of play. You may be surprised as to what you will see as this will be the first official game. I believe we are ready for this match and of course I understand that Maccabi has great ambitions in Europe for this coming season. We are still not 100% sure if Eran Zahavi will play or not, as he still has some small muscle problems and we don't want to take a risk playing him. Zahavi will probably start from the bench and I will keep the option open to play him later in the match should we need him. He should be fully fit in the near future."

Many Israeli teams that have brought in new players, however Maccabi has only brought in one and released Mahran Radi.

"What we brought in so far is not enough and when I arrived we spoke about 3 positions to upgrade, however the Israeli market is small. I checked out a number Israeli players and the club has my opinion on what I think about them. We will need to sign players soon because right now we are a small squad. I understood the situation to release Radi as we want to improve and needed to find something more guaranteed in that position. But like in every club, some players come in and some go out.

 We will need to take some serious steps in the next two weeks to upgrade. We know what we needed already a few weeks ago and it would be better if we had these players already in training camp. We have a serious situation in front of us, but we will deal with it over the next few matches."

 What type of formation will Maccabi play this season?

 "I would love to play like Barcelona, but we are still not there yet. We have a lot of players that can adapt to various different structures on the pitch. All four of the players at right back will have a good opportunity to play this year. I will choose the best option for the game at hand, but all of the players will have a chance to play."

What do you think of the level of Israeli players?

 "Maccabi Tel Aviv is a very important club in Israel. We have to look at the domestic league here in Israel and not try to compare us to other leagues like the Championship or the Premier League. The players are very fast in Israel, however they need to learn how to play more compact."

 

Polish striker Andrzej Kubica who is celebrating his 43rd Birthday this week, arrived at Maccabi Tel Aviv coached by Avram Grant at the start of the 1998/99 season. During his time in Israel, Kubica became one of the most dangerous goal scorers in Israeli league history as he epitomized the definition of what a classic striker should be. At 1,96 meters, Kubica wore the Yellow-and-Blue for a total of three seasons playing in 100 matches and scoring 44 goals, with his most memorable campaign being in 1998/99.

It didn't take Kubica long to get used to the Israeli league and already in his first match in the Toto Cup the striker scored a brace helping Maccabi Tel Aviv to a 6:0 victory over Rishon Le'Zion. On Matchday One Kubica marked his arrival in league play as well scoring against Ashdod. Maccabi fans from the 90's will remember his prowess in the opposition's box well as Kubica became the first foreign player to win the scoring title in the Israeli league. Kubica ended the year off with 21 goals in league play and 25 in all competitions.

His composure in the box made Kubica one of the deadliest strikers to have ever played in Israel and his third goal against Hapoel Kfar Saba at Ramat Gan Stadium showed exactly that ability. Kubica easily outsmarted the defender, kept going at full speed and chipped the ball over the opposing 'keeper Sagi Staruss. Away at Maccabi Haifa Kubica was able to strike the ball so quickly that it left Nir Davidovitch frozen.

Another one of Kubica's great attributes was his ability to score with his head. The Polish striker was able to score in that fashion on Matchday Ten against Hapoel Petach Tikva and away at Hapoel Haifa where he cemented his place in the annals of history as one of the best strikers to ever wear the Yellow-and-Blue uniform.