Summary: Maccabi Tel Aviv - Maccabi Haifa 1:0/Sport1
Most Premier League teams can catch their breath this week, rehabilitate the injured and also practice and work in routine training sessions and not be under pressure for another game (until the 19th round next week - the last one currently planned to be held on Tuesday-Wednesday), but Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa have no rest .
Two weeks after the postponed season game in which the Greens won in Bloomfield and less than two weeks before the second league meeting that will be held at the municipal stadium in Haifa, the two compete tonight (Wednesday) for a title in the Toto Cup final in Netanya.
Since the return of Israeli football from the enforced war hiatus, the two major teams have been playing at a pace not recognized even in the top European leagues.
Two whole months between Thursday and Sunday and between Sunday and Wednesday.
For Maccabi Haifa, which unlike Maccabi Tel Aviv (which qualified directly for the round of 16) also has to play in the knockout stage of the Conference League, this tight schedule will continue next month as well.
They also had an exhausting summer in the uniform of the young teams.
Anan Halaili against Roy Rabivo/Berni Ardov
Tonight's final will be Maccabi Haifa's 35th game of the season in all formats.
For comparison, the European champion Manchester City, which plays in a longer league and thanks to its treble has also participated in many enterprises (the English Community Shield, the European Supercup and the World Team Championship), currently stands at 32 games.
Maccabi Haifa has played half of its games this season since the league returned from the war hiatus.
17 games in a period of two months.
At the same time last year, the Israeli champion had only nine games.
Two years ago it had 14. If again hung in the highest tree, Manchester City held 13 games in these two months since November 25.
Except for the beginning of this journey, when the Greens had five days between the completion game in the league against Hapoel Petah Tikva and the "home" game (in Budapest) against Ran in the Europa League, they did not have more than four days of rest.
As mentioned, this pace will continue throughout the next month, as Maccabi Haifa is expected to play two meetings with the Belgian Gent on February 15 and 21, and if they qualify for the round of 16 of the cup then they will also play between the 27 and the 29.
Maccabi Tel Aviv has two games less, when this will be the 33rd time it steps on the grass for an official match in the Robbie Keane era.
She had a week of rest between the league games against Hapoel Jerusalem and Bnei Sakhnin in early December, and she will have a longer break (rare this season) after the home game against Sakhnin, when she will wait nine days until she is hosted by Maccabi Netanya in the 22nd round.
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The minutes leaders in their groups.
Eran Zahavi next to Pierre Corneau/Maor Alxalsi
Who is the minute record holder?
Eran Zahavi is the undisputed star of Maccabi Tel Aviv, but also the second oldest player in the squad (after Sharan Yeni).
Even so, he barely rests, including in these two busy months.
The top scorer of the Premier League participated in all 32 games of the team this season.
He did not start only three times: against Sakhnin in the semi-finals of the Toto Cup (28 minutes), against Petrokov in the Conference League qualifiers (29 minutes) and against Hapoel Hadera in the league (half as a substitute).
He stands at 2,595 minutes this season in all formats - more than any other player in the two finals and in the Israeli teams in general.
Well, except for Peretz.
Like Zahavi, he has so far accumulated 2,595 minutes on the grass and we must also mention five appearances in the Israeli national team (compared to three for his friend).
Only, unlike the scorer, Peretz does not participate in all the games.
He missed the return match against the Slovenian team due to illness and then was also absent from the meeting with Hapoel Hadera in the second round of the league.
At Maccabi Haifa (as mentioned, with two more games this season) there is no case similar to that of Zahavi: everyone missed games or was rested at some point.
Pierre Cornot leads the minutes with 2,479 followed by outgoing captain Charon Sherry with 2,336.
Surprisingly, in third place is still Abdoulaye Sak with 2,257 minutes, despite the fact that he has already missed seven games since he left to play with the Senegal team in the African Championship.
In his case there are five more games in the national team uniform.
Dor Peretz/Maor Alxalsi
So Maccabi Haifa kept the stars better (and also suffered from unnecessary injuries that forced them to make more and more changes) but it was Maccabi Tel Aviv that shared more players.
30 players received minutes in official matches of the yellows this season, when this also includes Daniel Peretz, Shahar Piven, Elon Almog, Dan Glazer, Parfa Giagon and Djorja Jovanovic who managed to move to new stations during the summer window.
23 of the 30 started at least once in Cain's lineup in the league.
The Greens, however, shared 28 players this season.
This includes Uri Dahan, who was loaned again to Beitar Jerusalem at the end of August, and Dia Saba, who was removed from the squad following his wife's post after the terrible massacre on October 7. 24 players out of the 28 started in the lineup in the league as well, with Gadi Kinda (participating for the time being only as a substitute) Soon the 25th and in light of the expected purchase it seems that the hand is still tilted.
Even if they want to, they can't keep the lineup.
Ruby Keen with Masai Dago/Bernie Ardov
On November 25, this arduous gaming journey began.
On that Saturday, the two teams played in different settings.
Maccabi Tel Aviv then went up to meet the Ukrainian Zoria with the following lineup: Orlando Muskera, Avishai Cohen, Derrick Lucassen, Enrique Saborit, Roy Rabivo, Yoris Van Overeem, Dor Peretz, Gabi Kanikovsky, Dan Beaton, Milson, Eran Zahavi.
Five days later, Keane also started with the same 11 in Iceland's midday game against Bridablik in the Conference League, but since then he has made at least one change in every game.
At home against Hapoel, Hadera made his biggest amount of changes this season (five, including relegating Peretz and Zavivi to the bench) and then Maccabi Tel Aviv's winning streak was also halted.
Against Maccabi Haifa he already returned to the original lineup presented here, except that Dore Turgeman filled the place of Milson who is with the Angolan team in the African Championship.
Masai Dago did not keep the lineup even once during the busy two months.
If there were also cases of eight changes in the lineup between the league and Europe and a greater turnover, among other things due to injuries, illnesses and other matters.
For example, after the victory over Hapoel Jerusalem, Maccabi Haifa wanted to keep the lineup for the season's game, but Franzi Piero was injured, so Dean David took his place against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
A change was forced here as well, when Sherry received permission to fly to the family in Holland and Kenny Seif replaced him in the 11th against Maccabi Petah Tikva.
After that, Sherry returned for Sakhnin, but Mahmoud Jaber was injured and Lior Rafalov was yellowed, so again there was no possibility at all to keep the lineup, even if the desire was there.
The same was true on Sunday, when Rafalov returned at the expense of the ill Ali Muhammad.
It's hard to believe that this will change tonight.
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