Maccabi Haifa held its press conference this evening (Tuesday) ahead of the match against Apollon Limassol.
Coach Barak Becher and captain Neta Lavi spoke before the meeting with the Cypriots, to which they arrive in a completely different position than they arrived at Olympiakos last week.
The first question Bakr was asked was whether he should take the players to the ground after the great 0:40-4 victory over the Greeks: "No one should be taken down, everyone is on the ground. We should continue this way and there is another tough opponent. The chances are 50/50, This is a team at our level. What will make the difference is the attitude. We will try to bring what we did in the last games, but it should happen on the field and not in talk. We are not favorites. The chances are equal."
Regarding the fact that this is the Cypriots' first game of the season, he said: "It has advantages and disadvantages. It is the same coach and the same players, so I believe we will come prepared for any possibility. The fact that they did not play an official game can be an advantage for us in terms of playing ability. If we come as we know, things will work out.
On the movement to silence Muhammad Abu Fani after the goal he scored in Greece, he said: "I had a conversation with Abu Fani, he understood that his conduct was not good. He has accumulated enough credit, we resolved it between him and me, he is a very significant player and that is how it will remain."
Barak Bacher and Neta Lavi, this evening, photo: Maor Alxalsi
On the integration of the striker Franzi Piero, Bacher said: "Obviously, when we brought him in, we wanted him to be a player of my opinion in the attack and he did that. Everyone criticized him after two games and we believe in him, he is not yet in full shape, so let's wait patiently."
On Bogdan Palanich's future: "Nothing has changed, he is our player, with us and all in tomorrow's game."
To the question of whether he is calm for tomorrow, he said: "A coach can never be calm, me and the team do everything to give the players the tools. I am always calm in my character."
Bakr commented on the difficult week that passed for Omar Atzili and clarified: "We are all sorry for everything that happened. In my two years with Atzili, he does everything necessary, contributes to the community and he knows he made a mistake."
Becher spoke about the draw, which in a certain situation could bring his team back to the meetings against Olympiakos in the Europa League playoffs and said: "It's spicy but we don't need anything to spur us on. The whole focus is on this and not on the draw, whether we pass or not. We're all in tomorrow's game and its importance for the club."
Neta Lavi, this evening in Masa'at, photo: Maor Alxalsi
Captain Neta Lavie added: "In the media we are favorites and before Olympiakos we were underdogs. We are aware of the importance of the game for the club, we made a historic result that may go into museums, but that is already history."
About Apollon Limassol he said: "On paper, they are not as good, but this is a team that presses all over the field, they don't give up in this team. From a peak moment, you have to get down to the ground. When you think about it, we will lose the main thing. If we say, "Oh, we got the champion of Cyprus" then we will lose You are the main thing. Another challenge awaits us, but it is still a very difficult challenge."
About his embrace with Muhammad Abu Fani and Omar Atzili last week, he said: "Abu Fani and I have been playing together for many years, we grew up together in youth. A year ago I sat on the bench and respected the coach's decision. Omar is having a difficult week, many articles and headlines. My acquaintance with him different, he is sorry and will regret what he did. He visits hospitals all day, does everything he can to do good to others."
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