Eighteen years have passed since Maccabi Tel Aviv drew 1-1 in Europe against the then Swiss champions, bringing the deciding tie back to Israel. Perhaps this time it will end differently
The silence that fell on Bloomfield Stadium the moment after a ball from Swiss midfielder Alexandre Comisetti slipped through the hands of Maccabi keeper Aleksandr Uvarov still echoes around the goal near the terraces at gates 4-5. Eighteen years after that goal blocked Maccabi Tel Aviv's path to an historic appearance in the Champions League, the current Swiss Super League champions are returning to Bloomfield Stadium. True, there has been a change of the guard in the Swiss top flight and the dominance of Zurich's "Grasshoppers" has been replaced by the "Bebbis" of FC Basel. Also true that this is a not a direct battle for a place in the Champions League group stages, since the winner of this week's clash will have to face one more opponent before that is decided. Still the similarities are striking. Back then, the Grasshoppers' midfield was dominated by a Swiss player of Turkish descent who scored in the first game. At the end of the Swiss team's final practice before the return leg in Israel, he summarised his expectations from the match in a short sentence that became a prophecy: "I'm sure we'll win, 0-1".
Six weeks earlier, Maccabi Tel Aviv had been drawn to play two legs against the Swiss champions "Grasshoppers" in the final stage of the Champions League qualifying games. Since "Grasshoppers" had never reached the group stage of the Champions League, the local sports media pronounced it an easy draw for Maccabi, who had also avoided encounters with stronger opponents like Glasgow Rangers, Panathinaikos or Anderlecht. Maccabi refused to agree to Grasshoppers' proposal to reverse the order of the matches and the first leg in Zurich ended in a 1-1 draw, after a goal by striker Yevgeni Kashentsev drew Maccabi level after 54 minutes. 14,000 Maccabi fans scurried to buy tickets for the return leg two weeks later at Bloomfield Stadium, knowing that a 0-0 draw would suffice to see their beloved team make their maiden appearance against the best teams on the continent.
On the eve of the return leg, Maccabi were mainly concerned with the fitness of two of their central players, midfielders Avi Nimni and Itzik Zohar. Coach Dror Kashtan refused to even consider replacing them, saying: "All of the injured players are doing better and I believe that everyone will play". On the other hand, the guests arrived with a full line-up and took the Israeli August heat in stride, after conducting their final practice in the morning. "The conditions are excellent, the stadium is fine, the heat will not be a problem", concluded visiting team coach Christian Gross. "At the World Cup in the U.S. matches were held in hotter and more humid weather, and it didn't bother the teams". And indeed, the coach was right – the Swiss were not bothered by the heat and after just 5 minutes they scored the invaluable away goal. Kashtan tried to introduce changes with an early substitution in the 16th minute, but that did not change the final result. With one weak shot from a set piece that rolled into keeper Uvarov's net, Maccabi Tel Aviv saw four million dollars and European acclaim evaporate into thin air.
Eighteen years later, Maccabi hope that the numbers will work in their favour and compensate for the disappointment experienced by the tens of thousands of fans who left Bloomfield Stadium on that sad afternoon. The opponent is not the same, the Swiss player of Turkish origin is now the team coach, but the hopes are the same. Two clubs keen to move up the European ladder will fight it out for a ticket to the next stage of the competition – each club in their own way. Just like eighteen years ago, Maccabi must keep a clean sheet. Unlike then, they must also score and perhaps make up for past failings. If they succeed, then perhaps history is meant to correct itself. If not, we'll still be happy knowing that just like in 2012/13, that season eighteen years ago also ended with Maccabi Tel Aviv as champions .
photographs: from the "Yediot Achronot" and "Ma'ariv" newspapers
