Speaking of Maccabi’s start to the game, Shahar Piven said: “For two days we spoke about the fact that we start the season on the back foot, it was important for us to prove a point, with plenty of changes in the starting line-up. Players who were training for the entire pre-season were ready to for their chance and I am delighted we took it”.
On the defensive improvement under Ivic, the 26-year-old defender, added: “Ivic is a coach who puts a lot of emphasis on defence. He spoke to us in the first team meetings, showed us how championship winning teams have the best defence in the league or the second best. This is something which is really important, it is not just 4 defenders or the goalkeeper but the entire team. Up until now we are doing a good job, but we are running a marathon – this was the first match, the first kilometers and we have many targets. I hope that we will continue keeping a clean sheet. For me as a defender – a clean sheet is like scoring a hattrick”.
