Later today 21:45 Maccabi Tel Aviv face FC Basel in the return leg of the UEFA Champions League playoff round with the winner of the two-legged tie heading into the groups stages of the competition. Right before the match that will take place at Bloomfield Stadium, midfielder Avi Rikan spoke to the official website about the challenge that lies in front of Maccabi later on today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwLVCNrc3G0
There’s a big match tonight. Do you have butterflies in your stomach?
There is good feeling around the club and we practiced the way we should have since last match. I’ve had a ton of ticket requests for tonight and this whole situation gives me a terrific feeling.
How do you get ready for such a match?
I try to cut off everything else around me and just focus on the match itself. I’ll do what I regularly do before a match, but most importantly I’m going to enjoy a day like today.
In Switzerland, you saw how strong a side FC Basel were. Was this at all a surprise for you?
I knew how strong Basel is and I played against them in the past. The rest of our club knew as well that they are an excellent team. We will have to work very hard and play a full 90 minutes or more that hopefully will end in our favor.
How do you set up a game plan for a match like tonight’s when last week’s game plan worked perfectly?
That’s the responsibility of the training staff to make sure that we are prepared for the match as best as possible, while our job is to follow the coach’s instructions and implement them. We all have to listen to the coaching staff, follow his lead and work very hard on the pitch.
How will you feel when you walk onto the pitch in front of all of the Maccabi supporters?
The atmosphere at Bloomfield will be incredible with all of our great supporters. It will be a real experience and it should be a lot of fun. We know that they will be behind us and hopefully after the match we can all celebrate together.
