And its name… Beitar Jerusalem, after all. With PAOK standing clearly unlucky, in terms of today’s draw and the opponent they… drew for the 2nd qualifying round of this year’s Conference League!
As, considering that the “two-headed man of the North” could even find… semi-professionals in his way, the fact that he will be called upon to play with the esteemed Israeli team, if nothing else, raises the difficulty index for him to get the qualification…
But who are Beitar Jerusalem, who they have faced again in the past?
What did he do this season?
Beitar had a difficult year in the Israeli league, finishing eighth with 13 wins, 4 draws and 16 losses. He also set three records: the biggest victory and the game with the biggest score, a 6-3 win over Maccabi Netanya, where Ion Nicolaescu even scored a goal and was also the top scorer of the division. But also the worst defensive performance, with 58 goals conceded, which Maccabi Netanya also had.
However, the last taste was sweeter for the “lions of the capital”, as they beat Maccabi Netanya – rather unexpectedly – 3-0 on May 23, 2023 in the Cup final, winning the title for the eighth time in their history . Thanks to goals from Nikolaescu in the 37th minute, Fred Friday in the 76th minute and Yarden Shua in the 90th minute.
The coach
Yosef Abukasis has been through more or less six different teams, with Bnei Yehuda being his… favourite, having three terms in it. At the same time, the 53-year-old technician has also served as an assistant in the Israeli national team, in the 2012-13 season, while in his youth he was a midfielder and even an international player.
He is considered to be strict, his teams like to play possession football, while an “award” for him is the fact that he has won a place in the Hall of Fame of Israeli football!
The star
From his very first season at Beitar Jerusalem, he managed to make a difference for his team. For Ion Nicolaescu the reason, with the Romanian striker going to Israel in September 2022 from Dunaitska Streda. To win the title of top scorer at the end of the year, with 15 goals after 27 appearances, while also providing six assists in that time. At the age of 24, Nikolaescu is committed to another year of contract and his potential good performances in Europe might take him to…other states.
The tradition with Greek teams
As fate would have it, PAOK finds an old friend opposite him. Such is Beitar Jerusalem you see, since the two had faced each other again in the 2000-01 season, for the then UEFA Cup and specifically the 1st round of the competition.
With the first match in Toumba ending 3-1 in favor of the “black and white”, even though the visitors had taken the lead with Hamar’s goal in the 39th minute, thanks to goals from Camps, Cohen and Nalitzis, in the 44th, 48th and 55th minutes respectively ! The rematch, however, almost turned into… a rout for Dusan Bajevic’s team…
With Katsabi opening the score in just 5 minutes, Nalitzis making it 0-2 in the 43rd minute, but Beitar responding with three goals within 16 minutes, one of them from a penalty by… its current coach!
Before and after Aboukasis, Sivillia had scored two more times, before Konstantinidis came on in the 90th minute and finally equalized at 3-3 for PAOK.
However, Beitar has faced another Thessaloniki team, Heraklis. On July 17, 1993, to be precise, for the 4th matchday of the first round, namely of the 7th group of the competition.
When the “old man” left Israel with the “double”, thanks to a goal-poem by… Ivan Jovanovic, with a direct free kick just in the 5th minute, while Daniel Papadopoulos had made it 1-2 in the 80th minute.
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
