Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Paulo Sousa reacted to the Europa League group stage draw and to Sunday's upcoming match against Bnei Yehuda: "Bnei Yehuda are always a tough side to beat"
After being drawn against Girondins de Bordeaux, APOEL Nicosia and Eintracht Frankfurt in the group stage of the Europa League yesterday afternoon, Maccabi Tel Aviv held an evening practise session at their Kiryat Shalom training ground. Prior to the training, head coach Paulo Sousa, defender Carlos Garcia and midfielder Gal Alberman took time out to talk about the draw and about tomorrow's home tie against Bnei Yehuda in the second matchweek of the Israeli Premier ("Winner") League. This is Sousa's first encounter with Bnei Yehuda, but he's aware that last season's tussles with Maccabi's "smaller" Tel-Aviv neighbours were not without their problems: "This is a tough match, the fans and the team found that out last season. It's a team that are always well prepared for their matches and make life difficult for their adversaries. The Maccabi squad prepared themselves well during the week the way they should prepare for every match, we're thinking only about winning and that's why we have to work hard every minute of the match".
Defender Carlos Garcia played in a number of exciting matches against Bnei Yehuda last season and he too is convinced that the squad face a tough job: "Everyone remembers how the matches played out last season, I think we had just about everything, Moshiko (midfielder Moshe Lugassi) scored his 99th minute goal, we came back from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2 and lost to them at home. They were the toughest opponents we faced last season and that's why we'll be fully focused tomorrow because we know that our matches with them are always difficult".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX-CkoQXAI4&feature=c4-overview&list=UU-oWQqnf8B8a_TsmVi0mTUg
Garcia also reacted to Maccabi's group stage Europa League draw of Bordeaux, APOEL Nicosia and Eintracht Frankfurt: "They're three good clubs, but it could have been a lot worse. I believe we have a good chance of being competitive against them and reaching the next stage. It's good to open with a home tie with all our fans and I hope we'll be able to take advantage of that and start off the group stage on the right foot".
Head coach Sousa began by congratulating Israel's other representative in the group stages, Maccabi Haifa, and then carried on where Garcia left off: "First of all I'd like to congratulate Maccabi Haifa on all their achievements in Europe so far. I hope they'll continue to succeed, along with us, so that Israeli football's status in Europa will grow stronger. As for the draw, it wasn't an easy one but easy draws hardly exist at these stages of the competition. What's most important is that we go into the matches with a great deal of ambition and strength and play positive football. We have a chance of getting off on the right foot with a home tie with all our fans supporting us, believing in us from start to finish".
Midfielder Gal Alberman was also prepared to share his thoughts about the team's draw in the Europa League: "It's not an easy draw but once you get into the group stages there are no easy draws. I hope we'll start our European campaign with the wind in our sails and show everyone what we're really capable of. Obviously our fans are absolutely vital to us, and I'm sure that with them spurring us on as they always do we'll be able to close any gaps that exist between us and the other clubs in our group".
