Just before the World Cup break, Maccabi Tel Aviv will close the first round in the Premier League with a home game against Hapoel Haifa in the 13th round (Saturday, 19:30).
Tonight (Thursday) the Yellows held the press conference in which the coach Vladimir Ivic addressed the competition.
About the opponent, Ivić said: "This is a team that changed their coach recently, I know Roni Levy. He is serious, a good coach. You can see the change in their game. They are organized, know how to defend and attack, play with fast forward players and a strong midfield. They have Experienced players and obviously a tough game awaits us on Saturday.
"This will be the last game in the first round, we are playing at home and want to continue to play another good game after the last game. It is clear that we have an obligation to win the game and we must give our maximum to prepare ourselves, for today we concentrate 95 minutes, to play football, to win we have to play Football. I believe that in the last few games we did it, in some games we didn't achieve what we deserved, but that's part of football and we have to continue."
Eran Zehavi.
Waiting for Hapoel Haifa, photo: Alan Shiver
On the team's utilization and amount of chances: "Our strikers score, in the last game we had 6 good chances even before we scored. We work, we create situations, when a team creates and works, you cannot say that the game is not good. You can also lose. You create 15 situations, you Can also lose 1:0, it can happen, but you don't say too much to players in such a situation.
"The best players in the world miss chances, this is football and this is the game. No one is a machine. Everyone wants to score, the hardest part is to miss. They work every day to be good, sometimes it's confidence, position but I think we are on the right path because we create So I don't have a headache. I have a headache when we don't do what we expect and can do. The game against Nes Ziona is something that happens once a season. It was a better game than the game against Hadera. So we had 8 chances and scored 6 goals. If we had scored Against Nes Ziona 5 goals you would say it is a fantastic game".
"Everyone can have an opinion and I respect that," added Ivic, "Critics are great for me when it comes from people who understand football, I love critics and the players should love too because it's something that can improve them. It's part of my job, I don't think I'm the best Well, the players don't think they are the best in the world either. Everyone who makes decisions is also wrong, that's the job."
Roni Levy
Confrontation with Ivitch, photo: Maor Alxalsi
On the question of whether the size of Maccabi's squad will give it an advantage against Hapoel Haifa: "Obviously it's an advantage. You can't say no. We have a large squad and you can change players. When you have players with a similar character, you can change. I've said many times that I can't give a chance For everyone, but I believe that most of them played and we will continue to use it."
Regarding a possible reinforcement in the January transfer window, the coach said: "I believe you will receive information when the moment comes. This is not the right moment when we have a game waiting for us in days. I am not thinking about that but about how my team will beat Hapoel Haifa."
On the possibility of playing with Parfae Guillaume in the front: "Farfa can play in several positions because of his characteristics. He can do many things in a small area, his classic position is a midfielder, sometimes he can play on the wing in some games. I am satisfied that I have a player who can play in several positions and we'll see now what the next game will require of us."
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