Following the disappointment of relegation in the qualification stages of the Champions League, Maccabi Tel Aviv carried on with their season 2013/14 European campaign in their second ever appearance in the group stage of the Europa League. The draw looked challenging to say the least, landing Maccabi Tel Aviv in Group F with three other teams that, on paper at least, looked like being at a much higher level: FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Eintracht Frankfurt and APOEL Nicosia. Against all expectations, Maccabi’s results were good and for the first time in history, the club advanced to the knock-out round of 32 after finishing second in the group with eleven points. There the draw proved even more daunting, as their rivals proved only too familiar: The very club that knocked them out of the Champions League qualifiers, FC Basel. And for the second time in the 2013/14 season, Maccabi failed in their efforts to leap the high hurdle thrown up by the Swiss champions, but their successes in the group stage resulted in a leap of 71 points in their UEFA rankings and proximity to the top one hundred clubs on the continent.