Paulo Sousa revealed what Maccabi's goal is on Saturday against Hapoel Beer Sheva: "Let's finalise what we started at the beginning of the season"
At their third consecutive road game on Saturday at 8.40pm, Maccabi Tel Aviv will be facing their main rival this season, Hapoel Beer Sheva. The reigning champions go into the match with a ten-point cushion over their opponents at the top of the Israeli Premier League with just four matches left to play in the season. Ahead of this intriguing encounter, Maccabi held a practice and a press conference, which began with head coach Paulo Sousa saying a few words of condolence to the family and friends of former player and coach Lufa Kadosh, who passed away on Wednesday: "I'll start the press conference by sending my condolences to the family of Lufa Kadosh. All the information I have regarding him, especially as a person, is that he was a lovely, lovely person, loved by all and for many people yesterday, close to their families. For all of them my condolences. I hope they'll be strong and proud of everything he did in his life".
After losing their last two matches, Maccabi hope to return on Saturday to their winning ways. Despite a point sufficing to win their second consecutive league title, Sousa insists the team are out to win: "We are always looking to win games, not to draw. That's what has given us the possibility to be first practically from the beginning of the season. It's something we keep thinking about. I prepare my players and my team to win games and in the next game it will be the same idea. I think the momentum at the moment is not the best for either team. But we've been at the top of the league from the beginning and we want to remain there until the end. We've always had balanced games against them (Beer Sheva) because they've had a fantastic season. But so have we so we want to make sure that we keep things on the same track as in the beginning, looking to win games. Hopefully we can change things from the first time we lost there, because now we have the possibility of finalising what we started at the beginning of the season and to keep proceeding in a way I'd like to see my players and my club go – a winning mentality, having a strong culture with this mentality, always providing consistency in this football culture, preparing well during the week and winning games".
Asked if he'd also noticed a drop in the team's quality in the last two road encounters, Sousa replied: "I agree, especially in the Sakhnin game. It wasn't even close to what we're used to doing. Regarding the last game, the derby, we got much more control of the game, many more corners, many more shots on goal, but unfortunately the details of the game went much more in favour of our opponent. We need to be much more effective of course because winning games is not only about controlling the game but also about being effective in all the possibilities you build during the game. Hopefully next Saturday we'll be able to build enough opportunities to be effective and to win the game".
Responding to a comment that perhaps the squad were waiting to finish the road games for the opportunity to take the title at a home match instead, Sousa said: "We've played lots of games away from Bloomfield and encountered difficult moments and we've faced up to them with the right performance to win the game. Hopefully also at the third one away we can win and come back to Bloomfield and proceed on our way with our job already done for the season".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jCT7QCQULM
Ahead of a contest that may very well be the team's championship match, Sousa described his feelings: "I've been excited from day one when I took this decision to be the coach at Maccabi. To repeat (a league title) after ten years is very difficult, to manage to do what we've done so far this season, is very, very, very difficult. That's why I'm excited to finish the league like we proposed from day one here – to fight to win, to repeat winning the league and to do it as soon as possible. And as soon as possible could be Saturday".
Now approaching the end of his first year coaching at Maccabi, Sousa was asked to compare coaching in Israel and in Hungary, where Sousa managed league runners-up Videoton last season: "Culturally the football is different, culturally the people are different and also the quality of the football is different, so it's difficult to compare. I think it's not an easy country here. We spoke last time about being much more positive, because in my opinion, in what I've seen in my general view about Israeli football, I feel that everyone, and with everyone we're talking about all the protagonists, should be much more positive, not in a sensationalist or a speculative way about things, but more realistic. Realism means I believe in this football, I believe it can grow a lot, it has lots of potential".
Sousa was also asked if he thought he'd improved the quality of his players over the course of the season: "I think as a coach what I always try is to analyse the quality of the players and to make the players able to perform the best they can. It's up to them to understand if they're improving but like I said many times one of the key things is when you see a player coming with joy and attention to get all the feed-back and to perform well. I feel that they feel satisfied because they feel movement, they feel they have many more elements to deliver on the pitch, for themselves and for the club and for the team. It's up to them to say if they've improved or not".
Also at the press conference was striker Barak Badash, who will return to the squad after missing out on last week-end's derby due to an accumulation of yellow cards. He spoke about the atmosphere in the dressing room: "Maybe for you lot our taking this title is not that exciting, but for us winning any championship is a powerful thing, an experience in its own right. Despite the last two defeats, we go into every match wanting to win and that's what we'll be doing on Saturday in Beer Sheva, that and to take the title. I don't think we're indifferent to how we play, it's just that some matches go better than others. At Sakhnin we just disappeared but at the derby we really wanted to win, everybody felt it on the pitch but we lost and that's just part of the game. We're looking ahead, we deserve that title, we've proved it all season long and I hope we'll have the pleasure of winning it emphatically".
"I only got here half way through the season but now that I've spent some time at the club I can honestly say that we're the best and deserve to win the league. As for the future, the club's management is absolutely top notch and you can see it on the pitch, so if they keep it up this way you'll see Maccabi stay a serious factor in the league for years to come". Badash, who won the championship with his former club Ironi Kiryat Shmona in the 2011/12 season, was asked to compare it to the one he hopes to win with Maccabi: "We keep talking about the championship when we still have a game to play on Saturday. I can say though that winning the title with Kiryat Shmona was special because it's not something you do every year. Winning with Maccabi won't be any less special , but before we do we still have a match to win, and we hope to do that on Saturday".
