Shota Arveladze, the Yellow & Blue boss looked ahead to the second leg of Europa League second round qualifying, tomorrow, Thursday July 21st, 20:00 at the Netanya Stadium against Kairat Almaty.

The Georgian discussed Eli Dasa’s status as well as other players, if the away goal scored in the first leg that ended in a 1:1 draw will be an advantage and began by passing along condolences on the loss of Nurit Mor Zt”l the Youth Department secretary:

“I want to begin by extending my condolences to the family of Nurit Mor, it’s always difficult when you lose part of the family.

Tomorrow’s contest:

“It’s a new game and we can only think about near the end of the match and see if we can slow down the game. But I believe that we have to play our own game like we did after the first half hour of the away leg. From there we can then show our power, how strong we are and go from there. Only then can we see if the away goal will be important.”

The upcoming campaign:

“If you look at the statistics, computers and technology that we use, we are not as fast as the other competition. The league is long and I calculated that we will have a 50 week season and we had a very short break. I hope that the boys can handle it and I have to keep my balance all season long. We just found out when the league starts and the upcoming schedule. I believe we will be fine mentally and physically for the games we will play every week. Sometimes we will have travel including flying far and near. I have to give credit to my team so far.”

Comparing Netanya to Bloomfield Stadium:

“I can’t compare the stadiums as last match was my first experience and I can only expect better and better. We can play some exciting football and people will be angry if they miss some of the great games we will have.”

Status of Eli Dasa:

“Eli Dasa is doing well and has been working hard. We all know the type of injury he had and we have been speaking to the doctors. He is happy and has been training. He’s a warrior and a hard worker and wants to be involved and play. He’s almost there, but I’m not sure how soon he can play. I would like to save him and see him completely heal and not play one game then not play the next. The medical staff has been excellent and we’ve had good communication with them. Thanks to them they’ve been able to give a good level of treatment to the boys.”

Transfers:

“We will bring who is necessary and someone who we like.”

Coaching staff:

“We won’t be waiting too much longer to add staff. One person that I wanted had surgery and I couldn’t take him, but we are close on someone else.”

About Eden Ben Basat:

“I like every single one who fights for his spot and he has done well so far, but there are only 11 places on the field. Everyone has to impress me by working hard and it’s hard to show that you’re number one. Everyone can show that they are number three.”

Working with Jordi Cruyff:

“I know Jordi and we are together 24/7. We discuss plans for Maccabi every day and every second. We check transfers and look to see how we can get better and be the best team in the league. I am not here to discuss rumors.”

Egor Filipenko, the new central defender:

“He signed a contract, passed his medicals and is ready to play. Everyone has to be ready to play.”

Former Maccabi player Eran Zahavi:

“Maccabi is proud of him and he should continue to score. I hope they buy more players from Maccabi and will bring more money into the club.”