Maccabi Tel Aviv off to face Chelsea

JACK MILNER

Having beaten Swiss champions Basel on away goals, the Israeli team was drawn in Group G, with Porto and Dynamo Kiev completing the line-up.

Commenting on the draw, Jokanovic, coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, tweeted: “Tough group. We will respect our opponents and give our all on the pitch.”

This is the sixth time an Israeli team has reached the group stage of the Champions League and the first time since Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2010. It is 11 years since Maccabi Tel Aviv reached this stage of the competition.

After their 2-2 draw against Basel the previous week, the Israeli side went through on the away goals rule – and again it was Eran Zahavi who was the hero.

Having scored both goals in Switzerland, he netted in the 24th minute in the Bloomfield Stadium to cancel out Luca Zuffi’s 11th-minute strike.

Zahavi who scored seven times in the qualifying tournament, said: “This was a really fighting performance. It’s fantastic and I’m so glad to have realised this dream for the club. The players here want to give everything and do so much to help one another. The club and the fans really deserve this.”

Jokanovic said: “I’m very proud of my lads and what they have achieved and they showed great character. This is an important day for us and an important day for Israeli football and all the fans.

“The important thing is that we are in Europe’s important arena and I’m very happy and excited about what lies ahead for us.”

The 47-year-old Serb, who played for Yugoslavia, joined Maccabi in June this year after having managed Watford in the UK. Towards the end of his playing career he joined Chelsea where he played for two seasons. 

Maccabi Tel Aviv is owned by Canadian billionaire Mitch Goldhar who is obviously delighted with his team’s performance. “This is the biggest moment since I came to Maccabi Tel Aviv. We’ve always prioritised domestic competitions, but now we also have to focus on Europe. That’s what big clubs do and we’ll have to get used to it.

“We have a long-term vision to fulfil and there is a long way to go. We are still not where I want the club to be, but we will go forward one step at a time.”

Former Premier League star Tal Ben Haim left Maccabi Tel Aviv for England in 2004 just before they qualified for the group stage for the first time. “To come back and help them to get there again is a dream for me.

“We gave a fighting performance that you don’t often see from Israeli teams. The club has invested a lot of money and it’s great to pay it back for the fans,” he said.

In other soccer news from the Premier League in England, business tycoon Lord Alan Sugar joked last week that London synagogues will likely be empty during Yom Kippur with congregants fleeing to watch the match-up of two leading English soccer teams known for having hordes of Jewish fans.

“Spurs versus Arsenal cup game drawn on most important Jewish festival,” Lord Sugar pointed out on Twitter. “Both teams have loads of Jewish fans. Conclusion: Synagogues will be empty.”

North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC will go head-to-head in the Capital One Cup third-round draw on September 23, the same day as the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The match is set to begin at 19:45, just two minutes before the end of the traditional fast.

Both British Premier League soccer clubs have gained a reputation for attracting Jewish followers. North London’s Tottenham is a historically Jewish neighbourhood and many of the club’s fans controversially refer to themselves as the “Yids”.

It will be the third time in 10 years that the teams will face each other in the competition, according to the UK Daily Mail. Arsenal won a semifinal match in 2007 and Spurs was victorious at the same stage in 2008. In 2010-11, Arsenal beat Spurs 4-1 after extra time in the third round.