Today the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad will depart for Germany ahead of their Europa League tie against Eintracht Frankfurt. Defender Carlos Garcia: "We'll be playing to win"
This morning, the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad held their final practice before their departure to Germany ahead of their third group stage Europa League encounter against Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt. The team are expected to land towards evening and tomorrow to hold a final practice at the venue of Thursday night's match, Frankfurt's Commerzbank-Arena. Prior to the team's departure, defender Carlos Garcia and young international striker Munas Dabbur spoke to the press about the upcoming encounter: "We feel very confident because we know what we've accomplished so far and we're going to Frankfurt to get a good result", said Garcia. "You want to know what I mean by a good result, well, that means winning. Of course if they get twenty shots on goal and we don't get any, a goalless draw would suit us, but if we start out talking about the Maccabi mentality we're talking about a winning mentality. Even if we were headed for the Bernabeu (where Real Madrid play their home games) we'd be playing to win, that's our mentality. Perhaps we'll be on the defensive for 95 minutes, but we'll always be out there to win, and that's the way it will be in Frankfurt".
Garcia does not feel overwhelmed by the three goals Frankfurt have scored in each of their first two Europa League games against APOEL Nicosia and Bordeaux. "We can win it with one goal, we don't need a lot of goals. We have the greatest respect for Frankfurt and know they're a great side, they're a big club but again, our mentality is to go out there to win. We're not going to Frankfurt to lose, or to have a good time, if I want to have a good time I can stay home with my wife and daughter".
As for the state of play in Maccabi's Europa League group F, Garcia added: "So far I was concerned even before the first match against APOEL Nicosia, the objective was to get to the next stage. Before the season started we had hoped to be playing in the Champions League and make history, but now that we're relegated to the Europa League the idea is to get to the next stage. Right now we have four points, we're doing well, but we have four more matches to play, two of them against Frankfurt who are very strong at home. If we don't take points from our next two matches and Bordeaux win then it's going to be difficult. Anyway, even if we win in Frankfurt it doesn't mean we're already home and dry".
Garcia also talked about the fact that the team have yet to concede a goal in league play so far this season: "Like I said to my teammates as well, if we're not conceding goals it's not just down to the defenders and the goalkeeper, I think our midfielders and strikers have been working very hard as well. They've been putting our opponents under pressure, they're doing a lot of work and you can see it at every match. When we lose possession, they're the first ones in action to get it back".
The Frankfurt tie will be Garcia's thirteenth competitive match since the start of the season, but he's not complaining: "I'm very happy to be playing, what's important is to rest properly, to eat well and do everything possible to come fit to a match. For me it's been relatively easy because I've had a fortnight's rest. For (fellow central defender) Eytan Tibi it's been a lot harder, playing with the national team and travelling a lot. Personally I've made use of this last week to recover, not only physically but mentally as well and what I want now is to play again. For me it would be much more tiring to travel all the way to Frankfurt and sit on the bench".
Young international striker Munas Dabbur preferred not to speculate too much but to focus on the upcoming match in Germany: "We have to concentrate on this specific game. Up until now we've had good results and earned four points, on the other hand we mustn't forget that we'll be facing a world-class outfit. Frankfurt are a great side so we're entitled to set our sights high and hope we can get a good result and afterwards look ahead. It's always joy when our fans are there to support us, here or abroad, it's a great feeling. Even if there aren't a lot of them it's always brilliant to see Maccabi fans in the foreign terraces and I only hope we'll leave them smiling when it's over".
The striker also talked about his own personal performances of late: "I work very hard at every practice and give one hundred percent to this club and I can only hope that I'll continue to get as much time on the pitch as possible. A football player has to learn to deal with sitting it out on the bench, and that applies particularly to a big club like Maccabi Tel Aviv. For us young players we're learning a lot even when we're on the substitute's bench, it only makes us stronger. They work with us at trainings so that even if we don't play we don't lose our edge. The rotation system is good for Maccabi because we have a lot of good players who could all be starters at every match".
