Tonight at 21:45 Israel time, Maccabi Tel Aviv will play their return leg against Viktoria Plzen in the third round of UEFA Champions League qualifying. But before the match the club wants to celebrate two birthdays. Gili Vermouth turns 30 years old and winger Tal Ben Chaim celebrates his 26th birthday
At the end of last night's final practice both players spoke to he official website about the importance of the upcoming game.
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"We have to play smart football," Vermouth said. "We have a result that we must achieve and first off we can't let in any goals. Other than that the coach has prepared us technically for the match."
Vermouth also talked about the home support that Plzen will receive at the Doosan Arena. "I'm optimistic. We are as good as Plzen is and if we can make sure we capitalize on our chances in the first half Plzen will be under pressure. Again I'm very optimistic."
Tal Ben Chaim who is celebrating his 26th birthday also knows what need to be done in the match. "I hope we can score a quick goal and then try to get the result that we need. Even if we don't score early we have to play well on the pitch and not give up any goals. I'm hopeful that we can advance to the next round."
Ben Chaim also talked about the difficult challenge that the players have in front of them. "Playing in the Champions League qualifiers is something we worked on all year long. It wasn't easy to win the league championship and it's not every day that we have a chance to make it to the Champions League group stages. This the the goal of all of the players and as a team we want to achieve this. Last week's match was not easy but I think we have a chance to advance today."
