Maccabi Tel Aviv will begin their journey towards European League play on Thursday when they take on Sheriff Tiraspol in UEFA Europa League Second Round Qualifying action in Moldova for the first leg of the two legged tie between the clubs. The past two seasons the yellow-and-blue featured in the Europa League and will look to make it three years in a row in the continent’s second best competition.

Newly minted head coach Kenny Miller will no doubt be up to the task after having guided Maccabi to last season’s Israel State Cup title while taking over the team on an interim basis following Ronny Deila’s departure during the domestic league’s Championship Playoffs.

For the former Scottish striker this will be his first opportunity as a bench boss to guide a club into European play, something he has been acquainted with in the past as a player. While his team on paper may be favored, Tiraspol has some familiarity with Israeli teams having faced Hapoel Beer Sheva a decade ago and Maccabi Haifa in the 2023/24 campaign.

However, Miller has a pair of weapons in the attack at his disposal that could prove to be potent for Maccabi in up-and-coming striker Sayed Abu Farchi as well as captain Dor Peretz who returns to the yellow-and-blue after flirting with an opportunity in Croatia during the offseason.

After Maccabi captured the Super Cup with a 3-1 win over Hapoel Beer Sheva this past weekend in the official start to the 2026/27 season, Abu Farchi earned rave reviews by scoring a phenomenal brace to help his club to the title. With that the 20-year old from Baqa al-Gharbiyye in tow looking to have a stellar season as he continues to build up his resume, Abu Farchi spoke about what he has set his sights on for the year ahead both in Israel and abroad.

“Every year we come with one goal, to win the championship and lift as many trophies as possible” the striker began. “There’s no difference between this year and last year, although personally I want to achieve even more. Every season we come with the objective of bringing home the league title.”

Abu Farchi took a significant step forward last season and his progress was clear as day to see by all including himself after making 43 appearances and scoring 11 goals across all competitions.

“I always strive for more. Even if I score 30 goals this season, next season I’ll aim for 31. I’m always hungry for more and I hope to score more this year than I did last season. The goal is to have a dream season for myself, for the club, and for the fans and to finish it in the best possible way.”

With Miller remaining on as head coach and captain Dor Peretz remaining at the club, Abu Farchi is content but also is focussed on what he can do to help take the team to the next level, “We’re very happy that Kenny and Dor are with us. They’re both a very important part of this club, but I prefer to talk only about myself.”

For Miller, he sees a tremendously talented striker and will help him take the next steps in his development and career, “Sayed knows exactly how I felt about him from the moment I arrived here. You could immediately see the enormous potential he has. What I always tell him and will continue to tell him, is that the goals will always come if he works hard for the team and makes the right runs. Sometimes he puts himself under pressure or gets frustrated when he doesn’t score. In the Super Cup he found the net twice and he could easily have had even more. Beyond his excellent performance, he worked incredibly hard for his teammates.”

The bench boss added, “The things he still needs to improve are the aspects that come with experience and the demands of the role. He’s a young player, he only turned 20 at the end of last season and he’s been thrown straight into the role of leading striker at the biggest club in the country. That role comes with tremendous pressure and responsibility and he’s handling it brilliantly. As for tonight, he started the season in fantastic fashion. In a big game against a very strong opponent, he scored twice and was involved in another goal. As I said, it could have been even more. It’s a very positive start for him personally and certainly for us as a team.”

Just this past May, less than two months ago, Maccabi took home the State Cup over Beer Sheva at Teddy Stadium and then captured the Super Cup in quite a short period of time which was something special for Abu Farchi.

“It’s an incredible feeling. Like I said, it’s been my dream since I was a kid to win trophies with Maccabi. I’m really happy that I’m making that dream come true and doing what I love most in the world. Personally, the only thing I have left is to win the league title. Hopefully we’ll do that this season.”

With Sheriff Tiraspol on the docket for Maccabi which will be the club’s focus for the next two weeks, Miller talked about how he views European football and its importance for the club.

“Of course it will be a challenge. European matches are different from domestic league games. We also have logistical challenges with frequent travel and playing away from home, but we’ll be ready for it. When you represent a big club, competing in Europe is essential. The expectation is to reach the group stage, first by getting past our next opponent, and then making sure we’re in the group stage, because the club wants to continue progressing in Europe and take significant steps forward.”

“That’s part of how you measure your progress, not only by domestic trophies, but also by the way you perform and compete in Europe. That’s one of our goals this season, among many others. At the Super Cup match, the objective was to win a trophy because we want to compete for every title. The next challenge is Europe and no matter who we face, we’ll be ready. If we show the same spirit, quality and togetherness that we showed against Beer Sheva, I’m confident everything will be fine.”

Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters travel in large numbers and regardless of the match is in Israel or in Europe, the club will always have the fans to rely on to cheer them on. Prior to the Super Cup match, the yellow-and-blue faithful kept chanting Abu Farchi’s name and continuously gave the youngster a tremendous amount of encouragement which will be something that not only delighted him but will be something he will need to get used to.

“It’s great to be back playing and we were very emotional seeing the 7,000 fans who came to support us. We’re happy we sent them home smiling and wanting more. I’m glad we gave them some joy and happiness and I hope we can keep doing that all season long. Thank you to them.”