Maccabi Haifa is ready for what could definitely be its highlight in the European campaign: the match against Paris Saint-Germain in France. After a 3:1 loss to the group of billionaires in the previous round in Haifa, in a game in which she led and showed sparks, the champion dreams of a sensation in Paris, or at least hopes not to be humiliated. With thousands of green fans coming to support the team and even holding a show of support at the players’ hotel (watch the player above), the team hopes to surprise. The show of the green crowd, by the way, grabbed headlines in France and received the headline on the “RMC” website. “Maccabi Haifa has arrived in Paris, its fans are already hot,” read the headline.
Bacher did not practice the car in the final practice, but it seems that he is still debating between the three-brake setup and the rear four setup. If Becher decides to start with two brakes, Abdoulaye Sak may play at right back – a role he has played in only one game in his career. If the lineup includes three brakes, Raz Meir or Omar Atzili will function on the entire right line.
Before the game, Barak Becher (who received compliments from Christophe Galtier) held a press conference. “Our fans everywhere, even made a surprise for us at the hotel and it warms the heart. They are an integral part of this journey in Europe and we want to do everything for them – for the support, financial expenses and time away from home,” said Bacher at the beginning of the press conference.
On Daniel Sondgren’s injury: “Not an easy injury, a very significant player, but we have to deal with those who are there, not those who are not. It will be a difficult game, but we will know how to make the adjustments.”
On the game plan, and its importance: “Every game is money time, even against Benfica at home will be money time, it depends on the results. I am the first to take risks, but it depends on how the game will develop. If there is an opportunity to make a sensation then I will go for it. Even against Juventus away the goal was to play higher, we didn’t start well and in the second half we could have equalized and won but then we grabbed the third. We know what we think is needed to get a good result. If you take the last game against Juventus, in the first half there was an offensive tactic and then a defensive one, We stood well and achieved the shape we wanted. The goal is to play our football and then see how the game develops.”
Watch the show of support by thousands of Haifa fans
Paris is ???????? tonight!
Maccabi Haifa ???????? fans set fire to the capital 24 hours before the Champions League match against PSG ????????. pic.twitter.com/T4ZfKTj829
— ERETZ Sport (EretzSport) October 24, 2022
AfterRMC Maccabi supporter in front of the players’ hotel pic.twitter.com/RP3x6dYJeE
— Ced (Ced30351340) October 24, 2022
Does he still believe in the chances of qualifying: “We always believe that we can do good things, otherwise we wouldn’t come here. It is obviously a difficult game at home, but we believe in the squad and the club, together with the crowd that will push us, we want to continue to do good things. The victory against Juventus gave us a lot Confidence. There is a very high-quality team here, but in the end we have to come at our 100%, make no mistakes, play bravely and then maybe with a little help from above we will get a good result. We always came to win, to show that there is a brave, tactical team here who plays soccer. Tomorrow all things have to come together perfectly to make a good result.”
Regarding the fear of riots between the two fan camps, Bachar said: “We trust the authorities to do the best job, I’m sure they are ready for it and that our audience is there to cheer. I hope that things will go smoothly and quietly, that there will be a good game and that everyone will enjoy good football.”
Netta Lavie added: “In this league there are a lot of players who are the best in the world, I’m happy that I manage to compete at these levels. Messi and Neymar wait for the ball to be lost in order to do interesting things in the attack, they are looking for solutions. We will try not to lose balls and always keep an eye on them. Since the first game in this league We learned a lot, in the first game against Benfica away we were a bit hesitant, we played a good half, against PSG a little longer. Against Juve away there was enthusiasm with the substitutes and against Juve at home for 90 minutes. It’s fun to be here, but also challenging. Tomorrow is the game It’s the hardest at home, but even then we’ll try to do our best and hope it’ll be enough.”
About his position in the team, Lavi said: “I am happy about the path I went through in the club also as captain, I was captain at the age of 22 in a less favorable time, happy about the joint path we have taken until now and that it is paying off. In a squad like this (of Paris) it does not matter who plays tomorrow, everyone there is A decisive player”.
Estimated composition: Josh Cohen, Abdulai Sek, Dylan Betobinsika, Sean Goldberg, Pierre Corneau, Netta Lavie, Ali Muhammad, Charon Sherry, Omar Azili, Dean David, Franzi Piero.
The composition of the groups
Paris Saint Germain
Coach: Christophe Galtier
The game setup
4:3:3
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2A. wise -
4S. Ramos -
5Marcinius -
14H. Bernat
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8P. Royce -
18R. Sanchez -
17Vitenia
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30To. Messi -
7K. Mbapa -
10Neymar
Substitutes bench:
Maccabi Haifa
Coach: Barak Becher
The game setup
4:4:2
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30P. Sec -
19d. in Tubinsica -
3That. Goldberg -
27P. We beamed
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7P. noble -
4P. Muhammad -
6N. Levi -
10C. sherry
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9P. Piero -
21d. Uncle
Substitutes bench:
The games of the last cycle in the 8th grade
Maccabi Haifa – Banfika Lisbon
Juventus – Paris Saint-Germain