Ahead of tomorrow's match against Santa Coloma, Maccabi head coach Oscar Garcia had nothing but compliments for his team's opponents. Team defender and namesake Carlos Garcia is determined: "We'll have to play our very best"
After arriving in Barcelona and training at FC Barcelona's renowned training complex "La Masia", the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad yesterday continued their preparations for tomorrow night's Champions League 2nd round qualifier at Andorran champions FC Santa Coloma. The team travelled first to Andorra and there conducted a final practice at the local Estadi Comunal d'Andorra la Vella where tomorrow night's match will take place at 9pm Israeli time. Tickets for the match will be on sale for €15 tomorrow night at the stadium in Andorra la Vella starting at 6pm local time.
After the final practice and ahead of the match that will officially open the Israeli champions' 2014/15 season, Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Oscar Garcia and central defender Carlos Garcia spoke to the local press: "Santa Coloma are a good side" Oscar began, complimenting his team's rivals. "They have a lot of quality foreign players and they're very good on the break. We've done a lot of preparation for the match and since the Israeli Premier League hasn't started yet, so far we're concerned this is the opening match of the season. Our objective at the moment is to advance to the next round and as always our eyes are only focused on the match at hand, tomorrow".
Maccabi's veteran Spanish defender Carlos Garcia was also present but his first thoughts were for the security situation back in Israel: "My family and I feel very comfortable in Israel. Despite the difficult circumstances the team trained and the lads feel very confident. It's at trying times like these that you really want to do something to cheer up the fans back home, who deserve all our support even when we're playing abroad. It's the first match of the season and it's essential for us to get a result. We always have respect for our opponents and we have to stay focused because in Europe there are no easy fixtures. We'll have to play our very best to take the advantage into the return leg, which we all hope will be played in Tel Aviv".
