Maccabi Haifa in the clouds: "There is a team here at the level of the Champions League"

The players celebrated in the dressing room the 0:4 over Apollon Limassol, in the club happy: "Shahar brought Bacher everything he wanted with a clear goal - to succeed in Europe. It proved itself."

And also: the shock of Muhammad's goals ("there always seems to be some of him on the field"), the compliments for Hazeza and Lavi and the changes along the way

Shlomo Weiss

04/08/2022

Thursday, 04 August 2022, 06:42 Updated: 06:53

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Summary: Maccabi Haifa - Apollon Limassol 0:4 (Sport1)

1. Tremendous joy in Maccabi Haifa after the 0:4 defeat by the Israeli champion to the Cypriot champion Apollon Limassol.

The players celebrated for a long time with the green crowd and when the whole team marched towards the north stand at Sami Ofer, the fans sent a clear message when they sang "Champions League" to the players.

There were also big celebrations in the dressing room when Yaakov Shahar who was walking around the corridors was seen smiling more than ever.

"Yankel' brought Barak Bacher everything he wanted," states an official at the club, "and it was with a clear goal - to register success in Europe. It has proven itself."

Even before the game, Becker made it clear to the players in the assembly that despite the feeling that the Cypriot team is comfortable, he expects a tough opponent.

At the same time, the coach pointed out the fact that the physical fitness of his team should be better - and that should be taken advantage of.

Indeed, his players took full advantage of this and managed to defeat the Cypriots, thanks in large part to their physiological abilities and fitness.

The coach insisted that his squad be completed before leaving for the training camp and made it clear to the club leaders that this is the way to arrive ready this season, and so it was: all the players went to the camp and this is evident in the coordination of the team.

"We learned lessons from last year, but it's hard to judge the severity because we reached the round after two and a half weeks of preparation and Kairat was in the middle of the season," the coach explained.

"Obviously there were conclusions, and the way the league ended we had a lot of meetings to decide what to do to reach the best. It's a dream of every team to reach such a level at such an early stage."

Thanks to this level, the Greens are convinced that it will be possible to record a historic moment and qualify for the group stage of the Champions League.

"There is a team here at the level of the Champions League," stated a player in the team.

"We feel much more cohesive and better, but now we have to win the game in Cyprus and not underestimate ourselves in order to continue the momentum and then everything is possible."

Second 0:4 in a row.

Maccabi Haifa celebrates (Photo: Maor Alxalsi)

2. When the name Ali Muhammad is brought up, many times the saying is heard - "If Ali had scored goals, he would not have been in the Israeli league."

The number four of the Greens arrived at the beginning of last season and became one of the most important players in the lineup, but until yesterday he did not score a single goal for the team.

Muhammad started the season in a slightly more forward position when he shared the 6th and 8th positions with Netta Lavi.

Yesterday the Nigerian midfielder scored the second goal for the Greens and everyone was surprised.

Made Avis Chibuta, his best friend, as he grabbed his head in disbelief on the bench.

The broadcaster of the game on Radio Haifa, Amit Platkevich, also emphasized the surprise when he announced: "It's once in a century, Ali Muhammad."

Eight minutes later, Muhammad scored the second and the surprised Petaltakevich declared: "Once in two hundred years, Ali Muhammad."

Although not two centuries, the midfielder did wait 25 years for the moment when he scored a double and became the man of the match for the Greens.

"Ali is an asset," states one of his friends in the dressing room.

"It always seems that there are a few Ali on the field and now when he joins the attack, he also reaches the ball many times and is much closer to the goal."

If not for Muhammad's pair, there is no doubt that Dolev Khaiza would have won the man of the match title.

The contact is in excellent shape and receives huge compliments from the professional team.

Haziza is carrying two yellow cards and there were those who expected that the midfielder, who had already seen the advance, would intentionally receive a yellow card in order to miss the rematch and not risk missing a game in the playoffs.

"I don't deal with planning yellows anymore, last year we planned and in the end I missed a championship game," he said, "I try not to mess with referees anymore and if I deserve a yellow then I deserve it."

In Haifa they are indeed afraid that Haziza will receive a yellow in the second leg and it is not impossible that he will start the second leg on the bench.

The one who has received great compliments is Neta Lavi, who gives the impression that he is returning to his fitness from the first championship season.

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Once in 200 years?

Muhammad (Photo: Maor Al-Kalsalsi)

3. When Bakr was once asked what his secret was in building the team at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, he replied that when he builds teams, he starts in the first season with a revolution and building a skeleton, in the second season he strengthens a little and in the third season he adds another reinforcement that completes the team.

If in Be'er Sheva it was Shir Tzedek, Tony Wakama and Miguel Vitor as part of the first season of the revolution, in Haifa Bakr added Bogdan Palanich, Muhammad Abu Fani and Jose Rodrigues to the season of the revolution and then Omar Atzili, Shawn Goldberg and Ali Muhammad as reinforcements.

This season, Becher's third season, the coach decided that in order to compete against legitimate European teams, he must improve the positions of the defenders.

At first it seemed that the Greens were hesitating to add players to these positions, but the truth is that Gal Alberman and Bacher insisted on bringing in the specific players they thought would upgrade the team and finally succeeded in landing them - Daniel Sondgoren and Pierre Cornot.

Last night in front of Limassol the two proved that in the short time they are there they connected well and the feeling of the professional team they hit bingo.

"There is no doubt that they are upgrading the team on the productive side and also in everything that concerns responsibility," states an official in the group.

"Pierro also shows why they insisted on him, in the strengths of Europe he is very significant for success."

Now, having almost definitively secured qualification for the Champions League qualifying playoffs, the Greens are expected to change the squad again.

In Haifa, the tombstone will be thinned out and players such as Sharif Kiif, Nahorai Yafarah and Ilai Hajag will be loaned out.

Uri Dahan will also go out on loan if he agrees to it when Muhammad Abu Fani is still looking for a team and overseas and if an offer comes he is expected to leave.

Ben Shahr and Mohamed Awad are also expected to leave - the former has returned to training on the grass but the fact that there are three senior strikers in terms of Bacher may make him a significant screw in another team.

At the same time as those leaving, in Haifa they will try to add two players, one in midfield and the other in the brake position.

If the champions fail to naturalize Ali Muhammad or Daniel Sondgoren by the end of the transfer window, another attempt will be made to add Hatem Abdelhamid, while an Israeli midfielder may also arrive.

Bingo.

Cornu (Photo: Maor Alxalsi)

4. At Maccabi Haifa, with the arrival of Ber, we also marked a goal to drastically improve the team's European score.

Until last season, the greens for years accumulated a minimal score after not reaching the home stage in any European enterprise.

Last year, the team recorded three points and seven overall ranking points, but that was far from guaranteeing them a ranking in the early rounds.

The success in the games against Olympiakos and Apollon Limassol have already secured 2.5 rating points, and in order to secure a rating in the second round, the greens will have to register about five more rating points, according to the statistics of the last seasons.

In Haifa they are convinced that they will be able to do so.

For comparison, Maccabi Tel Aviv registered 9 points last season.

A victory for Haifa in the rematch in Nicosia and passage to the group stage of the Champions League will already raise the rating of the Greens to 14.5 and relegation to the group stage of the Europa League can guarantee a lot of points, if Haifa gets several points there.

"There is no doubt that the goal is to advance in Europe from season to season," states an official at the club.

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• sport

• Israeli soccer

• Super League

Tags

• Maccabi Haifa

• Barak Bacher

• Ali Muhammad

• Dolev Haziza