Maccabi Haifa vs Olympiakos: Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round

 Maccabi Haifa vs Olympiakos:

Champions League 2nd Qualifying Round 

By Stephen Kountourou

Competitive football returns! With pre-season over for Olympiakos, the Greek champions start their season with a very tough test in the UEFA Champions League 2nd qualifying round against Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa. This was an opponent Thrylos did not need at the very beginning of the season. Not only was Maccabi Haifa one of the toughest possible draws for the Greek champions, Olympiakos historically faltered against Israeli opposition with some of the most embarrassing defeats in Europe coming at the hands of clubs from Israel. Still with a strong transfer window and more reinforcements still to come Olympiakos are still the favourites on paper in the tie. Not that it makes the anticipation of these matches any easier.

 

Competitive record vs Israeli Teams

As stated previously, Olympiakos record against Israeli sides in Europe is a worrying one, with the first encounter coming nearly 20 years ago in the 2002/03 edition of the Champions League Group Stages, coincidentally against Maccabi Haifa. Thrylos failed to defeat them both home and away, with the former being a 3-3 draw at home and the latter an embarrassing 3-0 defeat in Haifa. 

The next encounter came during the 2010/10 Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round against Maccabi Tel Aviv, in what might be the biggest defeat to an Israeli side in the club's history. Despite a 2-1 win in Piraeus, Thrylos would lose away 1-0 in Tel Aviv, being dumped out on away goals and missing out on European football for the first time since the 1991/1992 season.

The 3rd and most recent Israeli side Olympiakos has faced came in the form of Hapoel Beer Sheva. Once again the Greek champions would fall victim to their stigmatism against Israeli opposition, with a 0-0 draw in Karaiskakis followed by a narrow 1-0 defeat to knock Thrylos out of the 2016/17 Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round.

This is why supporters of Olympiakos are incredibly nervous about facing Maccabi Haifa for a second time. 

Thrylos' rather poor record against teams from Israel stands at six games played, one win, two draws and three losses.

Opponents Perspective 

To get an opponent's perspective, I have asked Israeli football expert and Maccabi Haifa supporter Motale Raffeld (@MR111997), to answer a few questions about what Olympiakos supporters can expect from next week's Champions League tie with the Israeli champions.

What style of play can Olympiakos expect from Maccabi Haifa?

“It is complicated.”

“In general, Maccabi Haifa is a team that presses high and moves the ball from the centre backs  (Planic and Goldberg) who are both good and calm with the ball - but in matches against strong rivals, Barak Bachar, the coach, who also won Olympiakos with Hapoel Beer Sheva 6 years ago, tends to change formation and start the match with three Center backs.”

“However, last year Maccabi Haifa lost in the Conference League 3-0 to Union Berlin - And they don't play with high pressure, gave excessive respect to the opponent and was scared, and Maccabi Haifa staff(and the players) took this game very hard and realised that no matter who the opponent is - they will come to press and try to win.”

How do the media in Israel see Olympiakos as an opponent for Maccabi?

“Look, in the past, the Israeli media was less professional and took the rivalry out of proportion. When I was a little child, Israel lost 3-0 to England in the Euro 2008 qualifiers and the headline in the newspaper was 'Shame'.”

“Today there is no chance that this would have happened, the media more understands football and more understands the level gaps.”

“It is clear to everyone that this is the hardest draw that Maccabi Haifa could have received - not only now, but in all the qualifiers. We know that Olympiakos is the favourite but believe and hope that at home Maccabi Haifa, maybe make a good result and maybe make a surprise in Greece.”

Which key players should Olympiakos watch out for in the Maccabi team?

“The best player in Maccabi Haifa is Omer Atzili, without a doubt, he scored 20 goals and assisted 10 in the league - but throughout his career, it is clear that he is a player who succeeds only in Israel.” 

“He was not good at Apoel Nicosia, he played just 7 matches in Granada, he does not have many appearances for the Israeli national team and in matches in Europe, he didn't make any impact against teams that were favourites vs Maccabi. He is very technical, he has great shots from any point on the pitch and brilliant passes and crosses but he is very slow and not adapted to these levels.”

“Tjaronn Chery is also an amazing player, he is one of the best playmakers to ever play in Israel, but like Atzili I am not sure he can make an impact at these levels. He had an amazing goal against Tottenham two years ago, but Maccabi Haifa lost 7-2. In this game, Maccabi came to press and played without fear, which is why the result was so high.”

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“Players who can be significant in the match are midfielders Mohammad Abu Fani and Ali Mohamed. They are strong, aggressive, making good pressure, good with the ball and have given some good performances in European games. In addition, I realised that except for Yann M'Vila, Olympiakos' Midfielders have little difficulty in moving the ball, and if that is the case, those two will cause Olympiakos trouble.”

“Maccabi Haifa bought Frantzdy Pierrot, a 27-year-old striker who scored 15 goals last year in Guingamp from the second French league, and he is the most expensive player in Maccabi's history - but it is still difficult to know how he will adapt. This will be his first game in Europe ever.”

What is the expectation of supporters of Maccabi going into this match?

“Very excited.” 

“Maccabi moved to the new stadium only eight years ago, which means the big European successes were either on the old pitch or when Maccabi hosted in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan or Cyprus (when there was a difficult period of terrorist attacks in Israel, in 2002/03 they defeated Olympiacos 3-0 In the home stage for example in the home stage of the Champions League) so it could be a kind of historic evening.” 

“First big European victory in the Champions League qualifiers at home, at the new stadium.

It is clear that Olympiacos is better, and even at the end of the season Maccabi Haifa had some problems, but the fans believe that at least in Haifa we should try and win.”

Injuries and Suspensions 

There are only two notable absences from the Olympiakos European squad for Wednesday night's clash in Haifa. Garry Rodriguez who sustained an injury during pre-season will miss the first leg but there is hope that he could return before the return tie in Piraeus. Gonzalo Ávila, also known as Pipa, also missed out on the squad due to injury but is fighting to be available for Wednesday night. 

Prediction

This is a game that will be as big a phycological test for Pedro Martin's men. Thrylos must not retain the same worries as the supporters about facing an Israeli side in Europe again and fully focus on the task at hand and begin their conquest for the Champions League Group Stages in the best possible way. Maccabi most recently played in the Israeli Sup Cup final in which they lost to Hapoel Beer Sheva on penalties. Many who saw the game have indicated that the Israeli champions did not look at their strongest on the night, although this could be Haifa saving their energy for midweek. 

Despite clearly struggling to create chances in pre-season Olympiakos with a full-strength squad were able to maintain that defensive solidity that they displayed last season and this is what should get them over the line against Haifa in both legs providing there is now a moment of madness and lapses in concentration from the defence. I personally believe that Thrylos will finally defeat their demons with a 0-1 win and their first-ever away victory in Israel. 

@SteveKountourou

Hellas Football