Maccabi Tel Aviv will face Kiryat Shemona this Saturday night, 20:50 at the Netanya Stadium for the Israel Champions Cup
Following the "Shield of Honor" award ceremony with Israel President Reuven Rivlin, a joint pre-match press conference took place with the participating team's coaches, Slavisa Jokanovic and Shalih Hasarma along with players Gal Alberman and Adrian Rotchet.
Veteran midfielder Gal Alberman discussed the importance of the Champions Cup and the club's focus coming into the match: "We are beginning a new year and this is the first trophy of this coming season. We are playing to win it. We are a club that participates in all of the football competitions, be it the Toto Cup or the Israel State Cup, and the Champions Cup is another title that we want to win. Even though we lost the last match in the Toto Cup we put that game aside and we have another game now. Just as we won in Plzen we move onto the next game."
Maccabi Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic also spoke about the first title of the new year and the importance of the club's supporters: "I am still not sure who will start on Saturday and we are preparing for the match because want to lift some silverware. There will be many supporters at the stadium and we will do everything to win the match.
It's always important to focus on the present and that's the Champions Cup game. We have to concentrate on the pitch and perform for our supporters. They want us to win the title and we have to do just that."
New players Eli Dasa and Shlomi Azulay just participated in their first practice with Maccabi and coach Jokanovic talked about their importance to the club: "We have always been thinking of both of these two players and they will be important for us. They have a bright future, they are at the right age and we are sure they can be an important part of the club going forward."
