In his pre-match press conference, Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Paulo Sousa spoke about the team's forthcoming encounter on Saturday against Maccabi Petach Tikva: "They're a team that are going to create us some problems"
This morning Maccabi Tel Aviv held their weekly pre-match press conference ahead of their Israeli Premier ("Winner") League matchweek 22 away tie against Maccabi Petach Tikva. In last November's home encounter, Maccabi Tel Aviv dropped two points after having relinquished a two-goal advantage. Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Paulo Sousa: "Maccabi Petach Tikva are a team that are very close to going down, and for that their motivation is really high, but it's already motivation to play against Maccabi. They need to collect points, they're playing at home. They got a good result yesterday (in the State Cup) and that also motivates. They're a team that are going to create us some problems and it's up to us to perform well. This is what I expect, the right attitude, the right focus on the game, the right intensity to perform individually and collectively to get the three points because we're working for that. I spoke after the game last Sunday regarding consistency, and in these games you need to get this consistency to get results".
Sousa continued: "We don't only focus on the game, we also focus to keep developing the principles of our game, individually and collectively. Normally in these kinds of weeks we try to introduce a little more complexity in practise sessions, where the focus of the players needs to be a little higher in order to perform, because of the match demands created by a lack of space in many parts of the pitch, especially close to the opponent's goal. We need to take the best decisions, with speed in our minds and our legs, to provide the opportunities and hopefully to score goals to win the game".
Sousa was asked about the possibility of resting certain players this Sunday ahead of Maccabi's important Europa League match against FC Basel next Thursday night: "It's not because of the match on Thursday. Normally we make some decisions regarding having some players rest, to keep up their performances, others are chosen because we think they are the right players for that specific game, for the characteristics they have, others because they need to keep competing, because we need to have all the players ready to perform in each game".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2pdM-cAEgQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UU-oWQqnf8B8a_TsmVi0mTUg
Towards the end of the conference, Sousa had a word to say about the decision to sign striker Rade Prica for another season at Maccabi Tel Aviv: "I think he's always been important for me, for the team, for the club, for everything he's accomplished so far. He's a player like all the others, who since I arrived has needed to adapt himself to the different demands I make. But so far we feel really happy to have him, with a view to the future of Maccabi".
At Sousa's side at the press conference was midfielder Eran Zahavi, and he addressed himself to the criticism he has received recently in the press and also to the preparations ahead of the forthcoming match: "Why should I react to everything that's written about me in the press? Just because I don't score a goal in every match doesn't mean I'm not in form. But if they're going to judge my form by how many goals I score in each match, okay, then last match I wasn't in form. I think that in the last match we hit a peak regarding our standing in the league, but I don't think our performance was the best we're capable of and I think there's a lot of room for improvement. That's what keeps us sharp mentally, we know it's not good enough to get us through the rest of the season, not for the match on Sunday and not for our game next week against Basel . We're looking ahead and always trying to improve".
Zahavi was asked if the match against Basel was already on the players' minds: "First of all we want to get all three points from our league tie so we can be much more relaxed ahead of the match against Basel because at the end of the day it's the league that's our major objective. Once we have Sunday behind us it'll be all about Basel and we'll try to get through that match as well, because that will be an experience for all of us, for the club, for the fans. In our last match (against Petach Tikva) we dropped two points and more's the pity. We had the game in our pocket and we made a few mistakes that cost us dearly. We'll have to make sure we don't repeat those mistakes on Sunday".
Zahavi also took the opportunity to say a word about the penalty he missed against Hapoel Beer Sheva last Sunday: "First of all, the press have every right to criticise me, I'm happy to be of service. But after the match against Frankfurt, where I took (and scored) a very similar penalty, nobody wrote about me like they did after the Beer Sheva match. So far I'm concerned, there was nothing at all complacent about the way I took the penalty, I knew he'd go for the corner and the fact that I didn't get the penalty right, well, that happens. I could have shot harder and over the net too and the result would have been exactly the same. In the end we didn't drop points and I'm happy my teammates made sure of that, despite my missing the penalty".
One journalist asked Zahavi to react to the interview this week with Shai Abutbul, midfielder at Eran Zahavi's former club and Maccabi's arch rival Hapoel Tel Aviv, who responded to a question by saying that if he (Zahavi) continued to "act out" in front of his former club's fans, he shouldn't be surprised if at some stage someone would try to "do him some harm". Zahavi: "That's not worthy of a reaction. To me it's nothing more than incitement and stupidity. It shouldn't be taken too seriously. They're obsessed with me. Don't they (Hapoel) have enough problems of their own? The (Tel Aviv) derby was six weeks ago, and all of a sudden this is what's still bothering him? I don't think we should be providing a venue for that kind of nonsense, and so far I'm concerned any journalist who writes about it is doing just that. To ask Abutbul a question like that, six weeks after the derby, that's entrapment, and apparently he fell for it. I feel sorry for him".
Finally Zahavi was asked to react to the punishment the club received, two home matches moved from Bloomfield Stadium to venues a distance from Tel Aviv, for crowd disturbances after the cup tie last month in Ashdod: "Obviously it's a blow for us not to play at Bloomfield, it's our home ground and we've collected a lot points there. But we got punished and you have to accept that like adults and simply play elsewhere. Mind you, I'm not a referee but if you ask me whether we play in front of our fans in Bloomfield or in Netanya, it makes no difference, so why to go to all that trouble? "
Paulo Sousa added: "I'm a person who believes that violence cannot exist. Next month I will go to play a game for charity, we are always looking to pass on our emotions in the game itself. We also cannot talk about the 'crowd', because it's exactly like society, you have a small number of persons who express themselves differently, wrongly. But in my opinion playing at Bloomfield is an 'extra' for us and unfortunately we will not be playing there for the next two games. We need to do our job. I'm sure our fans will be close to us to support us, wherever we go to play. Hopefully in the future this won't happen anymore because like I said before Bloomfield as a stadium is important for us and we can see it in how our players perform there".
