MTA head coach Paulo Sousa is not taking Sunday's match against Ironi Kiryat Shmona for granted: "The whole squad need to be ready"
This coming Sunday at 7.30pm, Maccabi Tel Aviv return to Bloomfield Stadium to host Ironi Kiryat Shmona after three consecutive games on the road. After the euphoria that followed the championship match last Saturday in Beer Sheva and a few days of well-deserved rest, the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad returned as freshly crowned championships to practice ahead of the match, a pleasing sight to their head coach Paulo Sousa: "The feeling of course is about lots of happiness because it was a hard season from day one. We worked really hard, all of us, the staff, the medical staff, our team manager was also in his first year in that position, Benny Tabak, the players, everybody worked to achieve this because there were lots of difficulties during the season, lots of demands. One of the demands was you guys, always putting us under pressure. We always tried specially to get the players focused on everything that we proposed to achieve for ourselves from the beginning because it's not easy to win consecutively and this was our proposal from day one when we arrived. Since '96 Maccabi haven't won two years consecutively. You need to make sure everything you do allows you to achieve this level. And especially this season because we also did special things, regarding Europe, regarding our mentality as well, breaking some records, like beating top teams in Europe especially in away games. I think that for Israel and for the boys, it's passing a mental barrier, to believe in themselves, in what they can do as a team and as individual players".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_md1Bo15QXU&list=UU-oWQqnf8B8a_TsmVi0mTUg
The forthcoming match will see newly crowned champions Maccabi Tel Aviv face Ironi Kiryat Shmona, who just yesterday beat Maccabi Netanya to win the coveted State Cup for the first time in their history. Sousa: "I congratulate our next opponent for winning the Cup and for doing really well in the league because in the play-offs so far they are the best team. Since January they haven't lost, they deserve a lot of credit for that. Also congratulations to (Maccabi) Netanya for winning the (second division) League and returning to the first division and also to achieve the important level of reaching the (Cup) final. To both of them congratulations".
"Regarding the game, a tough game again but like I said before we have targets to achieve this season because we want to add the stamp of our identity, which is what I say all the time about our culture and our football philosophy. Do we need to play our best, yes, the whole squad need to be ready, to be prepared and I believe in all of them and from what they show me during the week I make decisions to win games. Of course some players are a bit more tired. This is something we take into consideration because we want all the players in shape, physically, because our break is short and straight away we have important games in front of us in the next season. Everything will be taken into consideration".
In light of the fact that both clubs have been celebrating this week, the head coach was asked what kind of game we should expect: "What I demand of my players is respect for the game, respect for the fans and respect for themselves, for their professionalism. We talked about adding the stamp of our identity, and that's having the right attitude as a professional. This means having good habits, which means being focused, and this is something we keep working on, especially this week because it was a completely different week with three days off to enjoy the championship they deserved. But then, back to work, looking to get focused, get the right intensity, to provide good football, to provide a good performance and especially to win the game in front of our fans".
Sousa was also asked about his future at the club and rumours tying him to other clubs: "I also anticipated this question because this is the rumour these days. The news from Barcelona, and especially Espanyol, is that I haven't got any official offer from anybody. At the moment that I'll have an official offer I will always consider this club first, (owner) Mitch (Goldhar), (owner representative) Jack (Angelides), (sports director) Jordi (Cruyff), and especially the boys, the players and also my fans. I'll be the first one to communicate it but so far the (Maccabi) pre-season, it's already done, it's already organised. I'm completely focused on everything we need to do. But so far this season we have other targets to get to. As the leader of the staff, the boys, I want to make sure we achieve these targets".
With the 2013/14 season coming to a close, Sousa was asked about the plans for the coming season: "We already spoke about that, yes. From day one I've kept saying that if we can improve the squad we need to improve. First of all I always want to be competitive, first inside (the league) in order to be more competitive outside. The club know my ideas, the profile of the players we're looking for to be stronger, and then it depends on what the market will allow us".
Central defender Eytan Tibi, who this week celebrated his third championship in succession, the first of which with Maccabi's Sunday opponents Ironi Kiryat Shmona, spoke about the importance of the match: "First of all, so far we're concerned we have three more matches to play this season and the one against Kiryat Shmona, like all the others we've played against them, will be no stroll in the park. As a club, Maccabi Tel Aviv make no distinctions what kind of match it is or where the match is played, we always want to win. This philosophy continues and applies absolutely for our upcoming match as well. That's all we think about. The championship celebrations will take place whenever they do, but whenever we have to play we have to play with our focus on our goal, which is to win".
Much like his gaffer, Tibi also had a word to say about his future at the club: "Right now I'm a Maccabi Tel Aviv player. I'm on contract here and that's all that interests me. I intend to honour my contract and right now I have individual and team goals I'm focused on".
