Maccabi have held their final pre-match practice ahead of Asteras Tripoli
Maccabi have held their final pre-match practice ahead of tomorrow's first-leg Europa League playoff tie against Greek side Asteras Tripoli, to be broadcast starting at 9.15pm on Israeli channel 10. Though some seats will apparently remain empty, all over Tripoli posters call out to the estimated 4,000 local fans who are expected to turn up at the local Theodoros Kolokotronis Stadium to cheer the home side, who dumped Bundesliga side Mainz out of the competition in the 3rd qualifying round.
Before the final practice Maccabi Tel Aviv held a press conference, where head coach Oscar Garcia had a word to say about tomorrow night's opponents: "We have a lot of respect of Asteras, a team that have shown their strength by knocking out Mainz in the previous round. Although our preparations were not ideal, we are professional enough to put everything aside and focus on the match with the purpose of ensuring the tie remains wide open for the return leg".
Team captain Sheran Yeini also spoke about the upcoming game: "We know our opponents and have the greatest respect for them, but we're confident of our own abilities. The conflict back home has provided a great deal of motivation to give the people there something to smile about. We've had some good results against Greek sides like Olympiacos and Panathinaikos but we'll not be taking Asteras for granted". Yeini returned to the security situation in Israel, saying: "Israelis are accustomed to situations like this, even some of the foreign players are used to this kind of thing, like the head coach, who was in Israel two years ago when we had something similar. We feel secure in our country and it's not a problem for us".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wCdQlE9gBM&list=UU-oWQqnf8B8a_TsmVi0mTUg
