The moment they were waiting for in Carmel has finally arrived. For the first time since the 2009/10 season, Maccabi Haifa will participate in the group stage of the Champions League, and tonight (Thursday) they will find out who will be the three teams that will come to Israel in the next two months.
Haifa qualified for home for the third time in their history after a huge drama against the Red Star in Belgrade, and to the draw that is being held at this time in Istanbul, Turkey, they come from the fourth and last level. As usual, the 32 teams in the draw will be divided into eight houses of four teams, with no restrictions on the champion of Israel due to the fact that she is the only one from her country in the event.
The group stage will start on September 6 and end on November 2, earlier than usual, due to the start of the World Cup later that month. The first two from each group will advance to the round of 16, the third will be relegated to the knockout stage of the Europa League and the last will end its journey in Europe.
the participants
Tier A: Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt (Europa League winner), Manchester City, Milan, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Ajax
Doctor Gav’: Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, R.B. Leipzig, Tottenham
Tier C: Borussia Dortmund, Red Bull Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Benfica, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen
Tier D: Marseille, Club Brugge, Celtic, Viktoria Plzen, Maccabi Haifa, Rangers, P.C. Copenhagen, Dinamo Zagreb.
For the first time in history, there are five German representatives in the group stage and they cannot of course play against each other, but except for the limit of two teams from the same country – the draw is open and the options for highly competitive teams are diverse: for example, a team with the European champion Real Madrid, with their runner-up Liverpool and with Inter from the third tier. Another possibility is a spicy meeting between Paris Saint-Germain of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe and the legendary ex-team of the stars from Brazil and Argentina, Barcelona, and Napoli from the third tier.
Apart from Real Madrid, which has never played an official match in Israel, Maccabi Haifa may meet several other teams that have not yet met Israeli opponents: Manchester City from the top tier, Sevilla from the second tier and Borussia Dortmund from the third tier. A “convenient” draw for Barak Becher and his players will be a home with Porto, R.B. Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The dates of the group stage
First cycle: September 6-7
Second round: September 13-14
Third cycle: October 4-5
Fourth cycle: October 11-12
Fifth round: October 25-26
Friday cycle: November 1-2