Twenty eight years ago to the day (19.8.1992) Maccabi played its’ first European match in Europe against FC Valetta of Malta – as on Wednesday they begin their 21st season in Europe against FC Riga.
Amongst all the Israeli clubs, Maccabi Tel Aviv played the most number seasons in Europe with Maccabi Haifa in second place having represented Israel in 19 seasons.
Maccabi’s record in Europe currently stands on 134 matches: 53 wins, 51 defeats, 30 draws and a goal difference of 178 goals scored and 172 conceded.
Starting a European campaign on August 19th is the latest in Maccabi’s history together with the match against FC Valetta in the 1992/3 season.
Up until this season, Maccabi advanced past the first European encounter 15 times and were knocked out five times.
The match against Riga will be the first time Maccabi plays a one-off knockout match in Europe.
As part of previous European campaigns, Maccabi met 62 clubs from 36 different countries. Latvia’s champions, Riga, will be the first Latvian opponent Maccabi faces.
Fourteen different coaches guided Maccabi in European competitions so far. Nir Klinger leads the chart with the largest number of matches managed Maccabi as coach in Europe.
Maccabi’s top goal-scorer in Europe is Eran Zahavi with 15 with Eliran Atar (13) and Brauch Dego (9) in second and third place respectively.
The record of Maccabi in their opening match in Europe stands on 11 victories, 6 defeats and 3 draws.
The biggest victory in the opening match was a 6-0 win over Zalgiris Vilnius in 2001/2 as Baruch Dego (3), Dedi Ben Dayan, Tal Banin and Eli Biton contributing a goal each.
Maccabi’s fastest goal was scored by Andreas Prohonenokvs as early as the 3rd minute in the 2-0 victory over Levadia Tallinn of Estonia in the 2002/3 season.
This will be the first time Maccabi hosts a European match behind closed doors.
Maccabi already played two matches in Europe behind closed doors as the visitors against Olympiacos (2010/11) and Dynamo Kiev (2015/16).
