After advancing to the Europa League Group Stages Macabi Tel Aviv found out the identities of the clubs they will play in continental action. Villarreal from Spain, Astana from Kazakhstan and Czech side Slavia Prague round out the 3 opponents that the Yellow & Blue will face beginning on September 14th.
Schedule:
Europa League Schedule:
14/9 A Slavia Prague
28/9 H Villarreal
19/10 A Astana
2/11 H Astana
23/11 H Slavia Prague
7/12 A Villarreal
Head Coach Jordi Cruyff said after the draw: “Before the draw you just never know who you will get. I think it’s a tough group. Usually you expect to get a club that you know that you’ll be able to take points from. After 8 matches I’m happy that we were able to advance to the group stages. It wasn’t simple but we did it. This was a great feat for us and since we were able to gain points by being in the competition last season we were able to be seeded throughout the campaign. It’s a bit disappointing that since we were in Pot 2 we ended up with a very difficult club from Pot 3. Our priority is always the League and we want to compete for the championship with European football coming second in that order of preference.”
Villarreal
“The Yellow Submarine” is one of Spain’s regular Europa League participants and holds the record with 54 appearances in the competition. Last season the club finished in 5th place in La Liga and is always a threat in European football advancing to the semifinals in the 2015/16 season where they eventually fell to Liverpool.
Villarreal’s coach is Fran Escribá and he will enter his second season with the club after replacing Marcelino García Toral who had much success with the side who plays at the Estadio de la Cerámica, formerly the El Madrigal stadium. Some of the top players in the squad include defender Mario Gaspar, striker Carlos Bacca and midfielders Roberto Soriano and Manu Trigueros.
Astana
The Kazakhstan champion may not come from a traditional footballing country but over the last few seasons they have been able to become a European power and advanced to the Champions League Group Stages two season ago. Astana enjoys playing at the ultra modern 30,000 seat Astana Arena where Head Coach Stanimir Stoilov has roamed the sidelines since 2014. They are in the Europa League group stages after falling to Celtic 5:0 in Scotland and defeating Israeli Nir Bitton’s club at home 4:3. The players to watch out for include striker Junior Kabananga from Zaire, Ghanaian forward Patrick Twumasi, midfielder Marin Tomasov and central defender Yuriy Logvinenko.
Slavia Prague
They may have been in Pot 4 but for all intents and purposes the Czech Republic Champion are in the Europa League Group Stages after being knocked out of the Champions League Playoff Round by APOEL. Slavia is one of the two big clubs from Prague which also includes Sparta Prague where former Yellow & Blue winger Tal Ben Chaim now plies his trade. Slavia has plenty of fine players including Czech National Team striker Milan Škoda, Slovakian winger Miroslav Stoch who played for Fenerbahce along with Danny who joined the club from Zenit and veteran Halil Altıntop who played many seasons in the Bundesliga.
Please note: Tickets to the away matches will be available through the Leaan Ticket Agency Office and ISSTA Sport ONLY. Ticket package information for the home matches will be made available soon
