CSKA's main left-back - Angelo Martino - will most likely miss the long-awaited rematch against the Israeli giants Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League tournament.
The news of the Argentine footballer's injury caused serious concern in the headquarters of the "army", despite the comfortable 3:0 lead after the first match in Batumi. Martino suffered an injury in the 18th minute of the convincing 3:0 victory over Septemvri Sofia in the First League, which necessitated his forced substitution with Andrey Yordanov. Although the head coach of “The Reds“ Hristo Yanev demonstrated calmness at the official press conference and announced that there is clarity about the lineup, the medical staff is categorical that no unnecessary risks will be taken with the health of the left-back.
However, the defensive shortcomings will be compensated by powerful support in the stands. As of 20:12 on August 12, 2026, over 15,000 tickets have been officially sold for the match at the “Vasil Levski“ National Stadium, with the number of fans expected to exceed 20,000 by the starting referee's signal on Thursday at 21:00.
Special event for the “Army“ supporters
To properly warm up for the decisive clash, the organized supporters of CSKA is preparing a special pre-match event. Fans will gather hours before the match around the stadium area to organize the traditional procession and charge the players with champion energy. The club's management and fan factions have called on all attendees to wear red attributes and turn Sofia into a real “red“ hell for the Israeli rival. The opening of extraordinary sectors of the stadium guarantees that the atmosphere will be festive and historic for this year's European campaign for the team.
Hristo Yanev: “If we decide that everything is over, we will be wrong“
Despite the huge lead of three clean goals, coach Hristo Yanev remains alert. In front of the local media, he emphasized: “Maccabi Tel Aviv is a pretty serious team and showed it in the first match. The fact that we have a good result should not make us "we underestimate what we have to do on the field". There are also interesting developments in the opponent's camp - their striker Said Abu Farhi is expected to play his last match before completing a record transfer for $ 6 million to the American Colorado Rapids.
In the event of a possible and fully expected elimination of the Israelis, CSKA will face the Greek OFI Crete on the way to the group stage of the Europa League.