Maccabi Tel Aviv will officially get the 2018/19 season underway when they play their first match of the campaign in first leg first round Europa League qualifying at Ferencvaros in Budapest, Hungary. This evening the Club held their prematch press conference as Head Coach Vladan Ivic and midfielder Avi Rikan both addressed the assembled media:
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How did the Yellow & Blue’s first match against a Hungarian opponent end? WATCH
Head Coach Vladan Ivic looked forward to the first contest:
“This is the first game of the season for both clubs. Maccabi is the biggest club in Israel and Ferencváros is the biggest club in Hungary. There are no favorites in a game like this.”
Preparations for the match:
“We prepared well in our preseason and when we heard that our first opponent was going to be Ferencvaros, we prepared specifically for them. I have prepared the team to advance through the first round. Tomorrow is the first half and then next week is the second.”
Experience in Europe being an advantage:
“Maccabi has played in the Europa League and the Champions League over the past few years and we may have more experience in Europe. But it’s the first game after the preseason for both teams and it’s a 50/50 match.”
Immediate goals:
“I’ve been with the team for three weeks and we have worked hard preparing for the competitions. Our target is to advance to the group stage and now we are just focusing on this competition as it’s the first one.”
Winning every match:
“I spoke to my players that our target is to win every game and that is the same for tomorrow.”
Midfielder Avi Rikan spoke about tomorrow’s match:
“We came here to win just just like any other match and we prepared well over the past month. The professional staff did a good job and we are coming into the game ready to go.”
What Maccabi is expecting from Ferencvaros:
“We looked at their matches and we saw a quality team. We understand that the Groupama Arena is a very homey for Ferencvaros. We prepared for them as a team and we know what to expect tomorrow.”
The new players on the squad:
“We have a very good team and we also have some new players. We have all prepared well and we had plenty of time to get ready for the match by playing a number of friendlies. The new players have adapted very well.”
