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They failed twice against Israeli teams, in 2009 Maccabi Haifa, in 2010 Hapoel Tel Aviv, became an obstacle. Tuesday (9 pm) will be that moment again, because Maccabi Tel Aviv awaits the game away from home. Freund isn’t worried about the shadows of the past looming over his team, which has hardly changed over the summer.
The precarious situation of the coronavirus in Israel and the confinement do not instill fear in the residents of Salzburg. “We are not afraid of the corona virus and we are ready,” coach Jesse Marsch said Monday night. The hosts will start to weaken. At Maccabi, nine players tested positive in the run-up to the game, most recently Eduardo Guerrero and Dor Turgeman.
Maccabi coach Georgios Donis can now only count on 17 players. According to UEFA rules, 13 outfield players plus two goalkeepers must be healthy to play a match. Additionally, an unlimited number of young players can be nominated on a B list.
Salzburg takes off for Tel Aviv
Despite positive cases of coronavirus in Maccabi Tel Aviv, Salzburg began the trip to Israel for the champions play-off match on Monday. Tuesday’s game should take place.
“It’s relatively difficult for the opponent at the moment,” said Marsch, who had publicly positioned himself against Israel as the host the week before. “But the moment UEFA said we were going to play in Tel Aviv, it was not a problem for me,” he said. Despite the unusual starting position, the American was convinced: “Maccabi have a great team. We are not naive. We understand that we have to fight. “
“Qualitrauma” is not a problem
Salzburg want nothing to do with a “quality trauma”, although eleven attempts to reach the premier class since Red Bull’s entry in 2005 through qualification have failed. “I think in the past a lot of the club here had stress and fear of a qualifying round like this because they didn’t make it. But right now we have a group that understands what the Champions League is and what this game means. That is an advantage for us. “
Freund highlighted past successes. “We have had great international success in recent years, and it always felt like the Champions League,” said Freund, who emphasized the experience gained from 54 European Cup matches in the last four seasons alone. “The moment (of elimination, note) was always bitter, of course, but last season’s Champions League made up for a lot. We feel a lot of positive energy. “
The fact that the roster has hardly changed compared to the previous season, with the exception of Hwang Hee Chan, is “basically a very positive starting point, but that doesn’t guarantee you success,” Freund said, referring to winter. previous. “We had a very good feeling there and then we briefly experienced a blue miracle. And last summer we had a lot of changes and we played a strong fall. In any case, we should not believe that it will be a sure success. “
Champions-League-Play-off
First stage, starts at 9 pm:
Maccabi Tel Aviv – Salzburg
Bloomberg Stadion, SR Oliver (ENG)
Possible configurations:
Maccabi: Tenenbaum – Bitton, Tibi, Yeini, Baltaxa, Davidzada – Barsky, Biton, Golasa – Ben Haim, Shechter
Salzburg: Stankovic – Kristensen, Ramalho, Wöber, Ulmer – Okugawa, Bernede, Mwepu, Szoboszlai – Koita, Dhaka
Second leg on September 30, winner in CL group stage
Respect for the opponent
Despite the coronavirus problems, Maccabi should not be underestimated in any way, Freund said. Greek coach Donis’ squad was champion twice in a row, with Itay Schechter also being the man in the squad who with a goal in 2010 made a significant contribution to the elimination of the “cops” by Hapoel Tel Aviv. In the new season of the Israeli league, Maccabi started with just one point from two games, in the CL standings he beat FC Riga, Suduva Marijampole and Dinamo Brest.
“They played very well last season, they have intelligent and experienced players, although they are not well known. It won’t be easy, ”Freund said. “It is up to us how we play the games. I am convinced that we have a lot of power and a lot of speed and the best players, and if we use our potential, then we can do it. “
Change of plans in Maccabi
With Dor Peretz, Avi Rikan, Daniel Peretz, Nick Blackman, Enric Saborit, Yonatan Cohen, Dan Glazer, Guerrero and Turgeman, Maccabi will be nine players short. “I am not here to make excuses. We have enough players ready, “explained Donis, who also said:” We have changed the original plan of the game.
Routine defender Eitan Tibi evoked faith and solidarity and recalled CL’s recent entry into the group stage in 2015/16. At that point, Maccabi eliminated FC Basel in the play-off with 1-1 at home and 2-2 away. “We didn’t have a chance against Basel, but we did something no one believed in,” said the 32-year-old Israeli international.
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