The team’s head coach and captain spoke at a press conference ahead of the match against Maccabi Netanya: “We’ll need to approach it with the same focus and readiness we had before the derby”
Ahead of Saturday’s (October 25, 20:00) match against Maccabi Netanya at Netanya Stadium, head coach Elyaniv Barda and captain Fernand Mayembo met with the media to share their thoughts following the cancellation of the Tel Aviv derby and their preparation for the upcoming game.
Head coach Elyaniv Barda opened by addressing the canceled derby: “To be honest, I didn’t even make it out to the pitch - I was still in the coaches’ room at the time. We came fully prepared and focused for the derby, and all along we wanted it to be played and decided on the field. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen that evening. The club’s representatives are handling the matter”.
“I believe that this match is the best thing Israeli football has to offer - in terms of exposure and public interest,” the coach added. “Football must protect its best product, which is the Tel Aviv derby, and it has to be decided on the pitch - no question about it”.
When asked about shifting focus from the canceled match to the next one, he said: “At the end of the day, we’re here to talk about the upcoming match against Maccabi Netanya. Some things are in our control, and some aren’t — what’s in our control right now is what will happen on Saturday. We have to disconnect from what happened and prepare in the best possible way. The derby’s cancellation doesn’t change our preparation; we want to come into this one with the same intensity we had on Sunday.”
On the upcoming opponent: “Netanya are a strong side - they earned a well-deserved win at Sammy Ofer last week. They have a deep squad and good quality, and we’ll arrive ready. The last match between the teams? This one won’t be the same - both we and Netanya have changed significantly since then.”
On the team’s long-term goals: “We’re in matchday eight - for us it’s the seventh - and we’re not looking too far ahead. We just want to keep collecting points, play good football, stay on our path, and represent the club with pride. This isn’t the time to think about how the table looks”.
On player fitness: “We had a few players dealing with minor issues before the derby, and now they’ve had a few extra days to recover. I can promise that we’ll always have 11 fit players on the pitch - everyone who plays will be at 100%”.
Team captain Fernand Mayembo opened his remarks by addressing the fans regarding the derby incident: “I want to tell our amazing fans that we’re with you in all of this. We’re together — if something happened, it happened to all of us”.
“I’m proud to be the captain of Hapoel Tel Aviv,” he added. “I’m happy with my role and the responsibility that comes with it”.
On the upcoming match against Maccabi Netanya: “We’re coming to win - I don’t know any other option. Our goals are clear: we want to win every match and finish as high as possible”.
