Maccabi Tel Aviv landed back in Israel Thursday morning following their huge victory in Plzen and the players went straight home, exhausted but very excited. Even having not slept very much and having a lot of celebrations, Yuval Shpungin spoke to the official website on the team bus about the tremendous day the club had in Plzen, the opening of the season and his personal feelings about having grown up through Maccabi's youth system from when he was just a boy.
"We had such a happy evening and now we're pretty tired and worn out. We slept for only a bit on the plane, but I hope we have more more nights just like this one. We're so happy that we were able to give the fans plenty to celebrate. We could feel the supporters on the pitch with us in Plzen and they helped give us that extra push when we needed it."
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Have you had a chance to revisit your assist to Eran Zahavi for the second goal?
"I haven't thought about the assist to Eran, but I can tell you that we discussed this exact situation the day before the game and I'm happy that everything worked out. My compliments to Eran, he's a tremendous scorer."
Did you understand that when you assisted on the goal it brought the club to Champions League playoff round?
"When the goal was scored I was just very happy that we actually scored but quickly I realized that we were one step closer to advancing. At that point we all just wanted to keep the score as is and finish off the match. These are the most critical moments of the match and I'm very happy that we were able to win 2:0 and not give up a late goal.
How much did the win last night bring the players even closer together as a tight knit group?
"We are already a very close group of guys. We have a terrific locker room, good people who care about each other and this is very important for the team to succeed. So when we do win it just brings us even closer together."
Three weeks ago the Maccabi players were under a lot of scrutiny after losing to Hibernians in Malta 2:1. Can you explain what happened the last few weeks?
"I don't want to even think about where we were three weeks ago. We were embarrassed, but that's football and things change very quickly. We grabbed the bull by the horns and we have to continue to do so going forward."
How does it feel to experience all of this, especially since you went through Maccabi's youth department?
"What's going on right now is very important for me because I grew up through the youth system and I'm so connected to the club. As a 6-7 year old you dream about these moments and I'm so happy that I came back to the club. Last year didn't exactly go as I had planned but I accepted it. We all have to continue down the path we are on and take another step forward."
The last time Maccabi was in the Champions League you weren't even on the first team yet. How much do you want to be able to play and feel the excitement of the Champions League?
"The last time Maccabi was in the Champions League I was in the stands at Ramat Gan Stadium. It's a dream for any footballer to have this opportunity, but right now we aren't going to deal with percentages if we will advance or not. We just have to continue working very, very hard.
Have you figured out whose goal you'll assist on next game?
"I just want to win, if I can assist on another goal it will just be a bonus for me."
