Osher Davida experienced a busy summer as he was part of the Israel national Olympic team that competed in France before rejoining Maccabi’s European qualifying campaign.
The 23-year who scored once in the four qualifying matches he competed in said ahead of Maccabi’s league opener against Maccabi Petah Tikva: “We were busy in the past month in Europe which was an important task which we achieved and are delighted for. We had a little bit of time to celebrate but now our league campaign begins. We are preparing in the best possible way and I believe we will be as strong as ever against Maccabi Petah Tikva. We shouldn’t have any excuses as we have a big enough squad which is exactly what it is for – so that everyone would get to play. I am happy we are showing improvement from game to game and I hope we will continue to do so.”
As the opening match of the season against Hapoel Jerusalem was postponed due to the European campaign, Maccabi’s league opener will be against Maccabi Petah Tikva – the current Cup holders. Davida said of the side Maccabi played earlier this season in the Super Cup: “We know they are a tough opponent especially away, so we expect a tough match. Even when we played them in the Super Cup the match wasn’t over until we scored the second inside injury time. Last season as well they eliminated us out of the State Cup, so hopefully we’d be prepared to try win the match right from the start.”
On the dynamics in the team following the departure of some veteran players and the effect it had on the dressing room, the 23-year-old said: “We didn’t have just one leader above everyone else last season but had a few. There were several leaders and some are still here in Eran (Zahavi) Dor (Peretz), Nir (Bitton) and others. The atmosphere in the dressing room is amazing as it is fun to arrive every day and spend time with such teammates. We have a good connection between the youngsters and the experienced players which is an important component for a team.”
On the difference between life under Zarko Lazetic as opposed to Robbie Keane, Davida who joined Maccabi last season, added: “They are both attacking coaches as Maccabi Tel Aviv should always have. There is high pressure which the coach has been working on a lot and I hope we continue to improve. Last season we also applied to press high in most matches, so what is different? I can’t place my finger on one point. But at the same tim we are enjoying ourselves a lot as training are of a high tempo and I think this is something both coaches brought. The small difference is that we feel there is a little more demand from us as we all know that if we take our foot off the pedal we could find ourselves sitting out. Everyone wants to play and at the end of the day this is healthy for a team”
