Shlomi Azulay, one of the Yellow-and-Blue’s midfielders is looking forward to playing in the Israel State Cup Round of 32 when they take on Ramat HaSharon from the Leumit League away at Grundman Stadium this evening at 21:00. Azulay spoke about how the smaller sides prepare to play the bigger teams in this tournament as well as the importance of the Cup competition and how it differs from the WINNER League:

“We have to always be ready for the State Cup matches and we will come prepared as this will be a difficult game. Some players who haven’t played that much recently will get a chance to play and I’m sure that they will do the job to help us advance to the next round.”

Last year, Maccabi began the tourney with a 4:1 win over Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramle after having beaten Haifa in league play:

“I hope that the results will be similar and that history will repeat itself. What’s most important to us is to make sure we get to the next round as this is a knockout tournament and not like the league. Everyone will contribute and we will move on.”

The Sharon team has never been an easy opponent, especially at Grundman Stadium:

“I heard about this and that Ramat HaSharon never makes Maccabi’s life easy in any game. Hopefully we won’t run into any problems during the match and we want to make sure we are 100% ready for the game.”

About the new coach Peter Bosz:

“Every time a new coach comes to a club the players want to prove themselves. Everyone is giving all they have in training.”

Minnows facing the bigger sides in the State Cup:

“When I was with smaller clubs we all came with a lot of motivation to play against the big sides. Maccabi has been the best team in Israel over the past few years and I’m sure we ourselves will come into the match full of energy and motivation to make sure that we aren’t upset.”