Maccabi Tel Aviv faces Viktoria Plzen at Bloomfield Stadium on Tuesday night at 20:30 in the first-leg of UEFA Champions League third round qualifying matches. One of the central and veteran players on Plzen is midfielder Daniel Kolar who has graced the pitch for the Czech Champions since 2008.
Kolar (29), played most of his youth career with Sparta Prague before moving to their senior side in 2003. His big break occurred when he transferred to Viktoria Plzen in 2008, then coached by current Czech National Team manager, Pavel Vrba. Kolar developed into an integral part of the club and helped Plzen become a dominating force over the past 7 seasons. In over 175 appearances for Plzen, Kolar has registered 55 goals while also representing the Czech Republic on 23 occasions.
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The Club's Official Website had chance to have an exclusive discussion with Daniel Kolar about his upcoming trip to Israel, his expectations and what Maccabi can look forward to in Plzen.
Q: What do you know about Maccabi Tel Aviv?
A: Maccabi Tel Aviv is a traditional team from Israel. They won three titles in the last few years and have very good players as well as some members from various national teams. Maccabi have a very good team and it will be a very tough fight against them. What I do know from our scouts is that the atmosphere at the stadium was amazing last week – but fair at the same moment. I'm looking forward to playing there.
Q: Viktoria Plzen has visited Tel Aviv in the past and played Hapoel Tel Aviv. What was your impression of the city and Bloomfield Stadium?
A: We have really good memories of Tel Aviv. Of course we saw basically just the airport, hotel and stadium but just from the bus the city looks very nice, historical and friendly. Bloomfield Stadium is a nice stadium, we had everything we needed and the atmosphere was very impressive – but I suppose this time it´s gonna be ever better. And first of all – we won both matches against Hapoel that´s why the memories are good for me.
Q: Will the fact that you are playing the first leg away and the return leg at home be an advantage for Plzen?
A: I hope so. We love to play at our stadium, our fans are going to help us a lot. But both matches have the same importance. I have played rounds when we started away and we didn't go through. We will see what happens on the pitch.
Q: Similar to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Plzen has also dominated the Czech league with 3 titles in the past five years – what is the secret?
A: Both teams have good players and the clubs try to do their best to stay at the top. I think for both teams the biggest motivation is to play in Europe – and therefore you need to be successful in the domestic league. It´s a very interesting comparison between Czech and Israeli football.
Q: Both Maccabi and Plzen have a similar amount of national team players (5-6). How signifiant is that?
A: It just confirms the quality of both teams. It´s a big honor for the players to be part of the national team – and it´s a big honor for the teams to have so many players represented. Even from this point of view it´s going to be a very interesting game.
Q: Even the two stadiums seem to be the same, at least as far as the size, (14,000 capacity). What type of atmosphere should Maccabi players and fans expect at the Doosan Arena?
A: We have great fans who support us even when things go wrong. The atmosphere in Plzen will be stormy, but I expect the same in Tel Aviv. I can't wait for the matches!
