Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Paulo Sousa arrived at a press conference in advance of tomorrow's Champion's League qualifier and tried to radiate optimism: "I'm confident of the attitude of my players"
The Maccabi Tel Aviv team gathered at Gyor's ETO Park Stadium tonight to hold a press conference and conduct a last training before their second round Champions League qualifier against Hungarian champions Gyori ETO FC. Maccabi owner Mitch Goldhar arrived in Hungary during the day and came to the stadium to get a first-hand look at the players' last-minute preparations for the tie. Before the practice, Maccabi head coach Paulo Sousa commented on his statement yesterday that the Hungarians had the edge: "That's really what I believe, and for a number of reasons. First of all the head coach here has been in charge for three consecutive years and he's always reached the top of Hungarian football. Attila Pinter won the title last year and just last week beat Debrecen, who have dominated Hungarian football for a decade, with three or four players who will play against us tomorrow. All this testifies to the quality and depth of the squad".
Sousa added: "Gyori have seen real time on the pitch, whereas we've just played pre-season friendlies. I know the Hungarian league and that's one of the advantages I have to pass on to my players, concerning particular players and the club as a whole. I've coached here so I feel at home, and from the feedback I'm getting here about us having a mediocre team with mediocre players, I think this will only spur our players on during the 180 minutes of the two matches to prove to all our detractors how wrong they are".
The head coach summed up: "I'm confident of the attitude of our players and I'm sure they will give it their all, we've a very responsible squad. I said that Gyori have the advantage but we have our ambitions to advance in the competition and I'm sure the players will make every effort to see that happen. I said it in Tel Aviv and I repeat it here, to advance we need to score and I'm sure we'll score. I have a lot of information on our opponents and I know my counterpart will make a lot of changes. Concerning my own team I already know who will start but you'll have to wait until till tomorrow to find out. I can tell you now that we'll be out there with eleven men".
Maccabi team captain Sheran Yeini added to his coach's words: "We knew we were facing tough opposition but we have confidence in our ability. The coach said he knew a lot about Gyori and now we know it too, and we know it won't be an easy match".
