Awate in his way to Cyprus...key player
Who will keep the winning days
30.9.2002
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Awate in his way to Cyprus...key player
Maccabi Haifa comes to this clash after a very good
week. It started with a fantastic and historic win against the Greek side
Olympiakos in Cyprus and continued with the meeting against Maccabi Tel Aviv
where they won 1-0. Shom, Haifa's coach has to be pleased with his team
performances, his team ruled the games and played remarkable football. Maccabi
Haifa's fans want that the good form of the team will keep on when they face
Leverkusen. Haifa beat Champions opponent Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0, but a 5-0 win
wouldn’t surprise anyone. Haifa didn’t score due to heroic performance by
Shtraober, Tel Aviv's keeper.
Haifa has some problems in this match, all the players seems to be tired after 3
matches in a week. Harazi will not play in the game after carrying an injury,
Zanu will replace him at the right wing of defense.
All eyes will be on Yakobo Igabini the Nigerian striker, following his 3
magnificent goals that he scored last week against Olympiakos. Now all Europe
looks at him and the big teams want to take him from Maccabi Haifa. If the
strong striker can hit again he might be the striker of the tournament, remember
that he smashed 2 goals against Sturm Gratz in Nicosia in the 3rd
qualify round. So he scored 5 goals in 2 matches in GSP the forced home stadium
of Haifa. Another important player in Haifa's lineup is Zautaotas the Lithuanian
player. He was unstoppable against Olympiakos and stopped all Olympiakos's
attacks. He did the same outstanding work against Maccabi Tel Aviv on the league
fixture. Remember that he didn’t play at Old-Traford.
At the German team Stupmuler, Leverkusen's coach
wishes to keep the winning performances after a courageous win against unbeaten
Bayren Munich. Leverkusen didn't start the season well with a lot of losses to
small teams. The biggest lost came against Olympiakos in Greece 6-2 thanks to
poor appearance. Last week they lost at home to Manchester United so another
loss against Maccabi Haifa may be the end of the European dream for them,
Although Stupmuler says in his interviews that this match is like a cup final
for the. He also said, "Our game keeps on getting better and against Bayern we
had the luck that left us before Munich match. But now we have to forget Bayren
and concentrate on the new mission. I hope that this is a turning point after a
disappointed opening".
Leverkusen will miss Nowotny and Placente the Argentine again after they both
didn’t recovered from their injuries. But Hans-Jorg Butt will make his debut in
the Champions League after great performance against Bayren Munich, besides that
Yoric, that replaced Butt until now, is injured. The Germans will also lack
Sebecan and Vranjes. Ramelow will play as center defender due to all the
injuries and the poor appearances of Tomas Klaine.
Players to watch:
Maccabi Haifa: Dodo Awate: The Israeli international goalkeeper still didn’t
gave his best performance at the Champions League because his defense played
good against Olympiakos and he wasn't good at Old-Traford in Manchester United
match. I have a feeling that Leverkusen will blitz Haifa right from the start so
he has to be better.
Leverkusen: Lucio: Clearly the man who will take Yakobo, but his abilities until
now will not be enough to keep him from scoring. Lucio may have to stay at the
back more often in order to guard Yakobo good.
Starting 11:
Maccabi Haifa: Awate; Zanu, Ajipor, Benado, Kessi; Zautaotas, Pralija,
Badir, Ruso, Katan; Yakobo.
Leverkusen: Butt; Zivkovic, Lucio, Ramelow, Ojigwe; Balitsch, Babic, Schneider,
Bastork; Neuville, Brdaric.
What do I think: 3-0 last week is too much for Maccabi Haifa, so I believe that Maccabi Haifa's dreams will be crushed by the "the beloved Germans". 3-1 to Leverkusen, Schneider make it 1-0, Yakobo score the 1-1, but two goals from Neuville give the win to Leverkusen.
Some funny stuff to clear the mood:
Shom(Maccabi Haifa's coach, funny stuff he said and might be understood with
certain ways, A.R):"Every player gives to another teammate".
Leverkusen against Bayern this week
DiD U Know: Itzhak Shom Maccabi Haifa's coach used to play football in Hapoel Kfar Saba and last year coached their.
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