The first Ligat “Winner” League Derby of the season is here. This Saturday evening October 31, 18:00 Maccabi Tel Aviv will visit Hapoel on Matchday Nine. The Yellow-and-Blue will come into the match after playing two games already this week against Beitar Jerusalem and Bnei Yehuda in the Toto Cup. Just before the match Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic spoke about the importance of the Derby:
“The Toto Cup match will have no affect on the game Saturday night. Now we are going to play the Big Derby and it doesn’t make a difference where we are on the table. I understand the importance of the Derby to the supporters, the players and for me even more so. This is the first really important Derby for the club, even more
crucial than the Toto Cup one.”
How the match may develop:
“We have to be prepared for the match against Hapoel and I’m not going to make many changes. We have to continue on the same path we started when we played other games over the past few months. It’s never good to lose, but it happens. We didn’t do enough against Beitar and now my team realizes what we need to do. I’m concentrating on my work on the pitch and not with other things that are going on.”
On his previous Derby experience as a player and coach:
“I played and coached in the big Serbian Derby between Partizan and Red Star. But regardless we are in a different place, a different time and my responsibility as a coach is to see that Maccabi wins this game.”
The importance of the match to the fans:
“I understand the fan’s sentiments and how important the Derby is for the supporters this coming Saturday. It’s 11 against 11. We have to play the best we can in order to win the game.”
