Tal Ben Haim is returning to one of his former stomping grounds in his illustrious career and he was also at the official press conference at Stamford Bridge prior to Maccabi Tel Aviv’s final training session.

“I’m very excited to return here and coming back with Maccabi is extra special. I learnt a tremendous amount during the four months I played under Mourinho. It’s too bad that I was only at Chelsea for a short period, but that’s football. I’m sure Mourinho is preparing his side very well for the match against us. I saw some of my friends that are with Chelsea and that I played with at Charlton just five months ago. It will be fun to see them tomorrow.”

On Chelsea’s fitness:

“Everyone must be surprised about Chelsea’s poor start to the season, but I’m sure they’ll get over it quickly and begin to win some games. Hopefully it won’t be against us. This will be a difficult match for us and we can watch video of them for a whole day, but we have to be ready on the pitch.”

On the feeling within the club:

“Everyone at the club is very excited. The team had won three straight championships and wanted to continue to move forward. We’re all really excited.”

On Zahavi’s form:

“Zahavi has shown in his last few European matches that he can score and score on any pitch and in any stadium. After he scores he doesn’t let up and continues to work even harder”.