Maccabi head coach Pako Ayestaran is getting ready for the "Toto" Cup final: "When you are used to winning it's something that gets to be a habit"
Six years after winning their last "Toto" (League) Cup title, Maccabi Tel Aviv will take to the field on Wednesday at the Netanya Municipal Stadium to battle it out with Maccabi Haifa for the first trophy of the 2014/15 season. Today both teams' head coaches and captains attended the official pre-final press conference and Maccabi head coach Pako Ayestaran opened the proceedings: "I'm grateful to be here at the Toto Cup final and as you know in a final anything can happen. There is no favourite and we'll try our best to get the first trophy of the year, that's all. For me the most important thing is to continue playing at the level we expect because in order to get the big things you have to be focused on the small changes you can do every day. And this is what we are going to try to do tomorrow. Because at the end when you are used to winning it's something that gets to be a habit for the team, and this is what I want to try". Asked if the preparations for the Cup were different than for the league, Pako responded: "Of course because during the league, even if you don't play a good game or if you don't win still you get a chance to recover. In a Cup game, especially in the final, you have just ninety minutes, maximum one hundred twenty plus penalties to try to get the result. In this case you know that for a mistake you pay quite heavily".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCbB_nvEV5Q
The head coach also reacted to a remark about the "poor" performance of the side Sunday night against Hapoel Ra'anana: "I will sign again. Continue playing at this level and we'll continue winning tournaments. The question is I am quite pleased with the team. We are not here to convince anybody and to agree with everybody on the style of our game. If we are able to please everybody at the end of the season, I think I can go to sleep with the work done. But this is football, you know. There are people who like our style and people who don't but the only thing I have to try to improve is the style we are really convinced is the one that is going to take us to be dominant and that's all".
In the first encounter this season between the sides back in October, Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Maccabi Haifa 3-1. Did the coach feel there were any changes in his team since then? "I think we are more consistent as a team but you remember that we won 3-1 but the first twenty, thirty minutes were for them and they had two great chances to start winning the game. In this case I think they're a team built to be contenders in the league and at any time they can wake up and put any team under difficulties. But we never approach the game to try not to be proactive and react depending on what the opposition do. We always approach the game at the same level, trying to be dominant and being the ones trying to create from the beginning. But sometimes, when the opposition team pushes you, sometimes you have to change the style. But I think that in probably 90% of the games our approach is to try to be dominant".
Sheran Yeini was also in the squad when Maccabi won their last "Toto" Cup, and even came on as a substitute in injury time. Six years later he'll be leading his side as team captain and hungry for yet another Cup title: "This is the first trophy of the season and we want to win it, full stop. The Toto Cup is always important for the simple reason that it represents another trophy for the club. The motivation of the Maccabi Haifa players to prove themselves to their new coach is just as great as ours was when our new coach came in so there's no question it'll be a great game. We're going into this game with even better stats than last season at this stage, we're more attack-minded and lead the league in goals scored. We're also coming around so far conceding is concerned and it's my sense that our fans are happy too".
Maccabi Haifa, who haven't won the trophy since the 2007/08 season, have just appointed a new head coach. Marco Balbul, whose managerial career began twelve years ago as assistant with the same club and includes stints with a number of Israeli Premier League clubs, including one season as assistant at Maccabi Tel Aviv, just held his first team practice this morning. He also shared his thoughts on the upcoming final: "I've travelled a very long road to get to this moment and I assure you we will go into the match ready to take the trophy. We'll have to get back to basics, passing the ball, and slowly but surely I believe I'll succeed in introducing my system". Team captain and former Maccabi Haifa and English Premier League star Yossi Benayoun summed matters up: "At the very least we owe it to our fans to win this trophy and it goes without saying we'll do everything possible to give them some joy. We're facing the best team in the league and we'll have to raise our game to a higher level. This is one game we owe to our fans".
