Ido, who has been playing recently at right-back, said: “The victory over Hapoel Haifa was extremely important. It was a game that already seemed like a Playoff match. The vibe in the team is really good as we feel good and are prepared for the start of the Playoff.”
Shahar, who had his first call-up to the Israel national team but like the rest of his seven Maccabi fellow teammates returned disappointed following the 4-1 defeat to Iceland that ended any dreams of qualification, reflected: “We all wanted to qualify and did our best. sadly that hasn’t happened and we are now focused on our targets at the club and our forthcoming match. We did the switch pretty quickly and are now looking forward.”
On the recent step-up he made which earned him a place in the team as well as national recognition, Shahar said: “This is a test for me as well. I did my best and even after my costly mistake against Olympiacos I improved in the second half as well as against Hapoel Haifa. This is part of the profession – there are mistakes but the right thing to do is to learn from them and bounce back as fast as possible.”
Ahead of Saturday’s home match against Sakhnin which will raise the curtain on the 10-match Playoff, Shahar said: “We would like to win every match especially at home in front of our fans so we will do everything to achieve that. We would like to see all the fans fill up the stadium as it would help us a lot. I understand them for wanting us to switch our focus back on the championship. We made that switch and now we are all focused on the game and wanting our fans to be happy.”
Shahar, a product of Maccabi’s Youth Academy who spent several seasons on loan with Beitar Tel Aviv Bat Yam, Hapoel Haifa, Maccabi Petah Tikva and even Apollon Limassol before breaking into the first team this season, concluded: “There has always been strong competition at Maccabi Tel Aviv for every position in the squad. My motivation has never changed even when I didn’t play that much earlier this season. I kept on working as hard as possible to ensure I do play as I keep on doing it today as well.”
