Striker Barak Badash is ready to face his former club Kiryat Shmona in the State Cup quarter finals: "A very important game"
Maccabi Tel Aviv striker Barak Badash shares his club's desire to hoist the prestigious Israeli Football Association State Cup at the end of the 2014/15 season. In his career as a footballer, Badash has won the league championship twice and earlier this season he shared the honours after Maccabi won the "Toto" (League) Cup. But the coveted State Cup has eluded the 32 year-old veteran forward, much as it has Maccabi Tel Aviv for the last decade. "We're very keen to reach the semis. It's been a long time since Maccabi have won the State Cup, but this year we're determined, we're pulling out all the stops". As fate would have it, the quarter finals of the competition drew Maccabi against Badash's former club Ironi Kiryat Shmona, and tomorrow night the team will head north to play the first leg of the tie as their guests. "We haven't reached this stage of the competition in recent years so this is clearly a very important game for us".
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"It's just luck that we're facing a difficult side like Kiryat Shmona, and tomorrow night's tie will be on their turf, not an easy pitch at all. But that's what we're here for. Maccabi have one of the best squads in the league and we're in for every title and I hope that tomorrow night we'll get the job done". Badash, by the way, is quite familiar with the pitch in KIryat Shmona: "They're a very home side and they always make it difficult for visiting clubs, especially the big ones like Maccabi. I should know because I've seen it from both sides. Somehow I still feel at home there because I played for the club so many years. And you know, I still have a soft spot for the club but now I'm at Maccabi. I'm happy here and I'll do everything I can to see we win the tie".
Badash has complete confidence in his team and their ability going into the match: "We have a great team and I really hope we'll get through this one on our feet. We just have to play our game, be ready, give it everything we have from the very start and if we can put all that together I'm sure we can win".
