Ofir Marciano is in fine form for Hibs - he explains reasons why and how passionate he is to play for Israel
There is little doubt that when Scotland face Israel in the Nations League on Friday night, they are coming up against a goalkeeper in top form.
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Hide AdHibs stopper Ofir Marciano has yet to concede a goal from open play in six Scottish Premiership matches this term. Only a sumptuous free-kick from Kilmarnock’s Chris Burke and penalties from Aberdeen’s Lewis Ferguson and Lyndon Dykes, then playing for Livingston, have beaten the 30-year-old since Scotland's top flight began at the start of August.
Of course, new Queens Park Rangers striker Dykes may get the nod in attack for the Scots, so there may be an omen that he is one of the select few to ripple Marciano’s rigging. But while Hibs’ defenders have taken many of the plaudits for their strong start to the season, Marciano's contribution cannot be underestimated.
Once again on Sunday – and even in defeat – the former Ashdod keeper proved his worth to Hibs. He made three excellent saves against the Dons, all down to his agility and strong hands, and each week he is improving taking cross-balls. Kicking has never been a strong feature of Marciano’s game, but it is more than made up for by his reflexes. He has three clean sheets to his name already and is a reliable, quality last line of defence for Hibs.
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Hide AdHe is driven to transfer that club form to country. Marciano openly talks about Edinburgh as a second home, but he is fiercely patriotic. His main competition for the Israel gloves is Ariel Harush and considering he is currently a free agent and not even playing right now after his release from Sparta Rotterdam, Marciano is a stick-on to start at Hampden.
"It's going to be special to see the boys because we haven't met since November,” said Marciano.
"It's good to catch up, first of all, and obviously it's good when you represent your country and it's the same group of players. Most of them, I have known for a while, and it's good, it's exciting. And we have an important game to make it better."
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Hide AdIsrael and Scotland know each other pretty well. They were in the same Nations League group last time out in the 2018/19 campaign, with Israel winning 2-1 in Haifa before Scotland exacted a 3-2 revenge in Glasgow. Acquaintances will be renewed further at the tail end of this week and then next month, when Israel return to Hampden for a match with higher stakes, the play-off semi-final for next summer’s European Championships.
Regardless of the competition, Marciano relishes pulling on the Israel shirt and says he has no qualms about giving his coaching staff and team-mates some inside information on Scotland.
"In my experience, every international game is always important and as soon as you wear the national team shirt, I cannot describe how proud you feel,” said Marciano.
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Hide Ad"You are always doing your best. You always stretch yourself to play, to perform, and that's massive to play for the national team, so I don't really care if it's Nations League, play-off or whatever, it's about representing my country and being as good as I can.
"We played Scotland twice last year so we know their quality. We know that we will face a tough opponent, a physical opponent. There is probably a different style of playing between the teams. But basically in football, you win matches with your heart, how you perform out there and how you use the momentum in the game to win.
"I hope they will count on my intelligence! Listen, today in word football you basically know everything. You can see the games online. But it's good to have someone that plays in this league and knows the small bit of the game. Everything that I can give to help our staff to prepare for the game, I will give. Of course it's always good when you know your opponents."
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Hide AdMarciano has won 16 caps for his country and knows that in order to add more, he must make sure he is playing well on the domestic front. Now in his fourth season at Hibs, he admits to making some tweaks to his diet and personal habits in order to get the best out of his game.
"I'm just focusing at the moment, trying to work hard and upgrade my game,” added Marciano. “It's quite boring, but you need to enjoy the boring stuff, to come in every day and work on simple stuff and that makes you eventually able to help the team in those situations. That's something that I would like to improve in my game, in my career, and to become a better goalkeeper.
"And when I say my game, it's not just out here on the pitch, it's also mentally ... stuff that I am trying to work on and being able to deal with harder times out there on the pitch. And obviously physical stuff, trying to be stronger, quicker, leaner.
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Hide Ad"I just tried to have a good lifestyle - good food and just trying to focus on the things that I am doing during the day, if it's football or other stuff. I'm trying to be in the moment and enjoy as much as I can from my life.”
Hibs have benefitted hugely from Marciano’s recent form and changes. Now the danger is that Israel might too, much to Scotland’s detriment.