Mike Stowell has arrived back in Israel and is keen to continue the strong start made by his new team.
The record-breaking goalkeeper has recently spent nearly a week at home in Bristol over the international break, but games start this weekend, and soon he and his teammates will begin to play every Thursday through Sunday.
His team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, advanced to the upcoming group stage of the Europa Conference League after winning four and drawing two of their six games.
Additionally, they have won both of their games in one of Israel’s cups and both of their domestic league matches, leaving them in a promising position in three competitions.
Stowell told us, “It’s a pleasing start, but we feel we will know much more about where we are in a few weeks.”
“We haven’t faced the most favored teams likely yet, and our European draw includes Gent, a team we anticipate being challenging.
“Our group also includes teams from Iceland and Ukraine. Since we don’t know very much about them yet, if we believe Gent to be the favorites, we may need to try to score enough points against them.
Maccabi’s second Conference phase begins with a home game against Breidablik on Thursday, followed by a trip to Belgium to face Gent on October 5.
“Sunday and Monday tend to be the main match days over here, so it won’t be too big a change of routine for us,” he continued. But the workload will undoubtedly be heavy.
“However, one distinction from England is that the distances between cities for league games are typically shorter. Overnight trips aren’t common because kickoff times are later as well.
Robbie Keane is in charge of Stowell, and the majority of his English and Irish staff live nearby in apartments four miles from the club’s practice facility, which is less than a mile from Bloomfield Stadium.
The stadium, which is shared with Hapoel Tel Aviv, has a capacity of roughly 26,000. Our team colors are yellow and blue, while theirs are primarily red, and we typically draw around 21,000 spectators, with more fluctuating numbers for away games.
“There is a lot of energy here. Due to the warm weather, some spectators remove their shirts while singing for 90 minutes and using drummers to increase the volume.
Because we are close to the sea, some aspects of life over here are quite western, with bars, restaurants, and a thriving tourist business. However, because practice and games go on until very late here, we have our sessions, then sometimes go out for a drink as a staff in the evening before going to bed and resting up for the next day’s activities.
This fall will bring more overseas travel, and Stowell anticipates a visit from his wife and daughter around Christmas.
On Sunday, Tel Aviv will host Maccabi Bnei Raina at home. Tel Aviv placed third last season.