Hapoel Beer Sheva will look to make history on Tuesday night when they face Sabah in Azerbaijan for the right to play in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. After their 2–1 victory in the first leg, the Israeli champions know that a win or even a draw will send them to the promised land for the first time in the club’s history.

Prior to the match, Head Coach Ran Kozuk and goalkeeper Ofir Marciano spoke about the great challenge ahead of them.

“Sabah will have the home advantage and it’s something we’ll have to deal with. It’s also something we’ve been talking about. Obviously, the bigger the competition a team plays in, the greater the advantage it has when it comes to the players we want to sign going forward. We’ve been talking to players for some time and I believe this can help advancing to the Champions League, but it’s not what determines things.”

“Every game involves mistakes and we’ll try to make as few as possible. The entire squad is fit. I’m happy that my family is here and their support is very important to me. I hope they’ll be part of our celebration, God willing. Superstitions? My belief is not to use superstitions. I don’t think whatever happens will hurt us in the league. Regardless of what happens, we’re putting all our energy into winning the game, getting through it and being part of the Champions League. The team has proven that it knows how to deal with everything. The achievement is a big one and we’ll do everything we can to do our best.”

Ofir Marciano also spoke about the match ahead, “We feel good, we feel very prepared. We understand the significance of the game and what we need to do. We’re facing a good opponent, we respect them, but we believe in ourselves. We’ll have to come in focused and understand the different moments of the game. It sounds cliché, but we’ll have to give everything on the pitch and be precise, and I believe things will work out well.

“There are always dreams; that’s human nature. Qualifying for the Champions League would be one of the happiest moments of my life and of everyone at the club, but we’re only halfway there. We understand the significance of the game. We spend more time with each other than with our families, so we’ll be one big family. We do everything together, even pray. We’re trying to prepare ourselves in the best possible way for this game.”