Doron Ben Dor
Omar Atzili and Muhammad Abu Fani (Oren Ben Hakon)
Maccabi Haifa will host Hapoel Tel Aviv today (20:30) at Sami Ofer and their ambition is to go into the World Cup break with at least a four point difference at the top. Coach Barak Bakr, who intends to send his trainees on vacation for at least a week during the World Cup, after which the team will go to a training camp in Greece, will return Muhammad Abu Fani to the midfield at the expense of Ali Muhammad, whose playing ability has decreased.
Omar Atzili who was at the center of things in the last 48 hours when he announced his retirement from the national team and at the same time extended his contract in Haifa until 2026 will start in the front. In Haifa, they complimented the way Atzili was handled when the club chose the best timing for the player to announce the extension of his contract, something that pushed all the reactions and dealings around the team to an end. Azili himself will receive a show of support from the fans tomorrow after he chose to extend his contract and stick a stake in the green uniform
Now it seems that Bacher’s deliberation is about the striker who will start the game, Franzi Piero or Nikita Rukavica. Piero was weak in the derby and the heavy load on him in recent times was evident, both in the league games and in the European arena. Another player who seems to have a big load on him and was even invited to the national team squad is Shawn Goldberg who is supposed to extend his contract with the club by three years during the World Cup break.
Inside such, Bachar Said before the game against Hapoel Tel Aviv: “We have to look much better. Hapoel Tel Aviv won the last game, they have a coach who knows football and knows how to punish if you come in a bad way. We have to pick ourselves up and win. All the last games against Hapoel were difficult.”
Bachar also spoke about the appeal received due to the closure of the north stand due to a ball being thrown by one of the fans in front of Hadera: “We changed the decision in a smart way because the club works hard to catch those who try to harm the team. The north stand is a strength for us and I am happy that it will be at our disposal.” Neta Lavi He said: “The road is important to us, we don’t think about what happened and want to win. The team? I like being there, it’s a busy time, but it’s fun to play.”
And back to Bakr. The club does not hide the satisfaction with the work of the professional team headed by Barak Becher and this is also the reason that, as published in ONE, the first goal will be to extend the coach’s contract in order to bring continuity to the successes in the coming years. At the same time, it is clear to the people of Haifa that if the coach has an attractive offer overseas, it will be difficult to stand in his way and the club will have to find a suitable alternative. At the moment, it is estimated that Bakr will not be in a hurry to leave the team in any case and it seems that he will agree to extend his contract.
