Ticked: Sports Events Recap Clip, May 22 (Sports5)
Maccabi Netanya and Beitar Jerusalem face a chance to finish with a title that has been rocking for both. The Diamonds will meet the team from the capital in the State Cup final tomorrow (Tuesday, 20:30) in Haifa, when Netanya will try to win the factory for the first time in 45 years, while the Jerusalemites have not lifted since 2009. Today the press conference was held ahead of the big game, attended by the coaches and captains of both teams.
Beitar Jerusalem coach Yossi Abukasis said: "In one game there is no advantage, it is a cup final. Whoever is smarter in it and takes advantage of the weaknesses of the other team and will be good offensively. In 90 or 120 minutes, anything is possible."
What to do differently from the previous games against Netanya: "On the way here I thought about the games that were against them, that maybe the crowd enjoyed it and the results were crazy, but I thought that if we really wanted to take the trophy, we would have to find the balance between attack and defense. Netanya got into a lot of situations and scored a lot against us. They have very strong tools in attack and in midfield with players who join. We're going to have to be strong defensively to shut them down."
Fans' enthusiasm for the final: "I'm glad we were able to bring the audience back in this difficult season, and there's an onslaught of subscribers. It means that the audience believes in the team and its management, and connects back. It's very encouraging and reminds me of the days when I was a Beitar player. I didn't think we'd reach such numbers of subscribers and such a frenzy of tickets, since I've been in football I don't remember anything like this. If there were 80,000 tickets, everything would be sold. We want to give this audience the State Cup and give them back for all their support even in difficult moments."
Who will hoist the trophy tomorrow? Yossi Abukasis and Ran Kozuch (Photo: Danny Maron)
Return to the front of the stage: "We went through very difficult things. Well done to Barak Abramov and Kfir Edri who quickly stabilized the system, we managed to add players who improved the team and we got up off the boards. But in the cup final, only those who win are remembered. Glad we made it to the final, but we want to take it."
Tamir Adi's injury: "It hurts me for him, because he waited for this peak moment like any other player. Whoever plays from the squad we have will have to give their best, after this game there is a break. We also have players on the bench who can do that."
Captain Ofir Krief shared his feelings: "This is my third final, but it's the most exciting because I'm wearing the captain's armband. We talk a lot, since 1936 there have been seven cups and we can go into the history of the club. Everyone is very focused, we are all alert, we will arrive in full force. My contract? There are a lot of players without a contract but we don't care. We only think about the game and winning it, and taking a title with Beitar."
Maccabi Netanya and Beitar Jerusalem want to end a difficult season with a title (Photo: Walla!, Ofir Saar)
Maccabi Netanya coach Ran Kozuch said: "I am a Netanya fan, I feel that there is a lot of responsibility. There is a feature in the city, people who expect a long time. I really hope it comes tomorrow. I met someone at the bakery this morning who told me about the last trophy. Since then he got married, had children, dignitaries - and he told me that winning the trophy was the happiest moment of his life. I understand how important this is for the fans, the club, the players and the staff."
The coach continued: "We have a game plan that will lead the game towards our advantages. I believe and even trust in my players that they will be able to do it. We've done a lot of rotations to get to this final fit, the games in the playoffs have fixed our minds in terms of attitude and we'll come tomorrow ready."
"Don't remember madness." Beitar Jerusalem fans (Photo: Danny Maron)
Captain Aviv Avraham was also in the previous final in 2019, in which Netanya lost to Bnei Yehuda on penalties: "Precisely because of the images that are etched in the memory we have an uber-mutation, mainly for me. We have a debt to ourselves. I take stress to a positive place, to a place I enjoy. There are players who for an entire career can't reach such positions, so that pressure is positive."
On last season for him and the team, Abraham said: "Sometimes things don't come together at the beginning of a season. We started badly, I couldn't find my place in the lineup. I'm glad I came back later and in January things started coming together for the team. We won the Toto Cup, reached the top play-offs and now we are in the cup final."
- sport
- Israeli football
- Israel State Cup
Tags
- Beitar Jerusalem
- Maccabi Netanya