MHaifa1913
13 Nov 2002, 12:55 PM
"They will want revenge - I hope we won't let them"
Tonight the first appearance of an Israeli team in the Champions League ends. Let's hope for a classy way of ending it.
Probable starting line-up:
Dudu Awat
Alon Harazi, Arik Benado, Eric Ejiofor, Adoram Keisi
Avishai Jano, Giovanni Rosso, Walid Badir, Nenad Prelja
Yaniv Katan, Ya'akubu Aiyegbeni
500 fans are expected to dressed in green. The game starts at 21:45 Jerusalem Standard Time and will be shown live on Channel 5.
הצלחה חבר'ה
MHaifa1913
13 Nov 2002, 01:10 PM
Haifa looks for UEFACup ticket
By Ha'aretz Sports Staff
ATHENS - Maccabi Haifa's task tonight in its last Champions League game for the 2002/03 season is to maintain its composure and close ranks at the back.
Haifa will meet Olympiakos Piraeus in Athens in its final game of the first group stage with no chance of advancing to the second stage, although a place in the UEFA Cup is still on offer for the team that will finish third in Group F.
As Haifa won the home leg of its tie with Olympiakos 3-0 in Nicosia on September 24, it can afford to lose 2-0 tonight and still finish third. A 3-0 win for the Greeks would put them in third place by virtue of having scored more goals even though the teams would have the same goal difference.
Olympiakos will be without defender Giorgos Anatolakis (thigh) and striker Lambros Houtos (hamstring) in the debut European game for new coach Slovenian Srecko Katanec.
Maccabi Haifa arrived in Greece on Monday night confident they could do enough to secure third place in the group.
Apart from defensive midfielder Raimondas Zutautas, who ruptured a cruciate ligament during the 3-0 victory over Manchester United last month, the entire Haifa squad is fit.
Nigerian central defender Eric Ejiafor makes a welcome return from injury while the in-form Michael Zandberg will replace Zutautas. Yakoubu Ayebeni, who scored a hat trick against the Greeks in the last game will be partnered up front by Yaniv Katan.
"This is our last game, there is no chance to fix anything after tonight so we have to get it right," said coach Yitzhak Shum.
"I hope Olympiakos will play in the same way they did in Nicosia, but clearly they will try to score as soon as possible. This will get the home fans involved and raise the motivation of the [Olympiakos] players," Shum continued.
"Our aim will be not to concede a goal in the first 20 minutes and if we do manage to score we will be able to play the game in a much calmer manner," he continued.
In the event that Haifa manages to score one goal, Olympiakos will have to score five times in order to regain the advantage.
"Many were skeptical of our chances in the Champions League but now I am certain that Olympiakos will treat us seriously and with respect.
"Will we play defensively? I guess if Olympiakos come at for the entire game then the answer will have to be `yes'," Shum said at last night's news conference.
Shum was surprised to see as many as 40 journalists, most of them locals, on hand to ask him questions. But last night he was much more concerned with the fact that the team's final training session started late as the team's bus got caught in the notorious Athens traffic. Unlike when Haifa played in Manchester and in Leverkusen, where the transit between the hotel and the stadium was slick, here the Haifans were held up for over an hour as they edged their way through the Athens streets, making the players decidedly edgy.
"Clearly a club such as ours cannot afford to concede many goals in such an important game," said captain Arik Benado. "This is the first Champions League game - and the last - this season in which we are favorites. I know the crowd will be strongly behind their team and I know that they are looking for revenge, but we will do everything in our power to bring home the UEFA Cup ticket," he continued.
Katanec put his players through a training session which was all about attack. Direct shots at goal, changing positions and crosses into the area. These are the weapons which the Greeks will want to use against Haifa in order to achieve the result he so desperately needs in his debut in the Champions League.
Katanec's formation will be 3-3-2-2 with the strikers and two attacking midfielders to back them up. With five attacking players on the bench as well, Olympiakos will be going only in one direction.
"Our task is very difficult, but not impossible," Katanec said yesterday. "Every coach believes his team can score. Shum thinks his players will score a goal here and I also believe that with our preparedness, if we play in the right way and don't allow ourselves to be exposed at the back, our strike force could be lethal. In any event we will know the outcome after 90 mintes tomorrow," the Slovenian said.
Probable teams:
Olympiakos Piraeus: 31-Dimitris Eleftheropoulos, 16-Thanassis Kostoulas, 2-Christos Patsatzoglou, 3-Stelios Venetidis, 18-Paraskevas Antzas, 7-Stelios Giannakopoulos, 11-Predrag Djordjevic, 8-Christian Karembeu, 15-Edu Drasena, 20-Par Zetterberg, 10-Giovanni.
Maccabi Haifa: 44-Dudu Awate, 3-Alon Harazi, 19-Eric Ejiafor, 4-Arik Benado, 6-Adoram Keise; 5-Walid Badir, 6-Avishai Zano, 28-Nenad Pralija, 11-Giovanni Rosso; 20-Yaniv Katan/13-Michael Zandberg, 10-Ayegbeni Yakoubu.
Referee: Rene Temmink (Netherlands).
MHaifa1913
15 Nov 2002, 07:32 AM
While we did make it through to the UEFA Cup, I am a little concerned with our defending. Dudu Awat has been very shakey as of late in goal. This could cost us against AEK in the UEFA Cup.
Aside from that, Haifa showed great attacking ability against Olympiakos which could result in Yaniv Katan making a move abroad. Don't expect to see the same team in the 2003/04 season.