Round 32 in the Israeli Winner League will come to an end when Maccabi Tel Aviv will meet Maccabi Haifa at Sami Ofer Stadium. The game on Monday night will be the fifth time the two teams meet this season, with the yellows winning all previous encounters.
Defender Eitan Tibi spoke before the match about Maccabi’s final run towards the league title: “There are five games left. There is no doubt that the next game is vital towards our goal. We want to win the league as soon as possible. I think that Maccabi Haifa is a great team, but I am not concerned about our opponent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T7OOwCwFSs
The defender spoke about comparing this current Maccabi, to the ones from the last three years: “I think that the team is a different every year. This season we are doing something that we haven’t done before, which is to challenge every title. So it is wrong to say that we are not as good as before. We made great progress this season. It is too early to think about the next season and the Champions League. First, we need to accomplish our goals for this season and only after we can talk about the future”.
Tibi was decisive in regards to criticism about the team’s defensive performances: “I have a capable coach and staff who are able to determine whether our defense is good or not. I think that our defensive game is excellent this season, not just good. It is not easy to be on the verge of three consecutive league titles, and we still want to perfect our game. I think that we deserve more credit. Our record speaks for itself, which is the best answer for our critiques. Until to a short time ago people were talking about Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Ironi Kiryat Shmona as are our challengers, so the league isn’t weaker, it is Maccabi that is stronger.
