With a perfect home balance in Euroleague, and thanks to the climax vis-a-vis Barcelona, ​​Maccabi Tel Aviv returned Yad Eliyahu to his big days • The change that began in the summer of 2017 was completed thanks to the star in the best show in the city: Janis Sparopoulos • But tonight, Messina and Milan will try to spoil the yellows as only they know

• The yellow crowd is reminiscent of the '70s and' 80s

  Photo:

  Alan Shaver

Three things stand for Maccabi Euroleague's successful season so far (rights reserved to AA):

A. Excellent human material.
B. Multiple shooting ability players from outside.
third. A very athletic front line that closes the color on defense.

If you like, you can add two more sides to the structure of success: the navigability of Janis Sparopoulos, and the return of "Mekhela Menorah Mivtachim" to the cheerful days of "Yad Eliyahu Sports Hall". Currently, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Real Madrid are the only Euroleague teams without a home loss this season. Yad Eliyahu the Yellows win an average of 69:86, compared to an 85:85 average in the factory outside games.

And if you remember the impressive comebacks against CSKA and Panathinaikus last month and last week's peak - Yad Eliyahu returns to his great days, then in the late 70s, early 80s. Maccabi of that time did not lose him six years in a row, and at the end of the game in January. In 1982, when the Yellows turned into a 16th victory over Kanto, Earl Williams coined the well-known phrase "Come on Buddy F *** Arad Wiz Maccabi Inn De Hand."

Maccabi Tel Aviv fans. Memories from the Super League // Photo: Alan Shiber

2 The last time Maccabi Tel Aviv recorded nine consecutive wins in the opening season was in the SuperLeague season 19 years ago. So castor groups something like Lulio, Hiraklis and Novo Mesto looked scared already at Ben Gurion Airport, so the last time, in fact, was Maccabi "A did not lose an entire season in the hands of Elijah, was in 1991 (the loss to Pesaro was in Belgium, due to the Gulf War). Even then, it was a total of six games in the finals.

The buds of change were sown in the summer of 2017. After two years on a negative home balance, the club decided to drop the ultras from the upstairs to the downstairs hall. They arrive hours before, sing, encourage and rest for a moment. The other day against Barcelona, ​​and in the victory over CSKA, the hall was volcanic as in the great days. No chair was left unoccupied.

Maccabi Tel Aviv players with Janis. Suddenly everything looks different // Photo: Alan Shiber

Even at Gates 3 and 9, derisively dubbed "the fur and the Rolex," and in the precious seats on the hardwood, they remained indifferent - and alongside the enjoyment of the best show in town, the judges stood, encouraged, and frequently heard what they thought of their whistles.
In addition, there is an excellent connection between the audience and the players this season, which gives them confidence even in difficult minutes, and full confidence in the decisions of coach Janis Safropoulos, who for most fans is the star of the show.

3 Tonight, Milan arrives in the battered and battered Hall of the defeat of Anadolu in Turkey. The group from northern Italy has lost all ten of its previous visits to Yad Eliyahu.

But perhaps only the chairman, Shimon Mizrahi, will address the players before heading to the pitch tonight and remind them of two things: One - Milan was the group that in January 1983 cut a six-year streak in which Maccabi did not lose in the Hall. The other - opposite Attura Messina, whose balance in Elijah's hand is quite impressive: four wins and two losses.