Maccabi Tel Aviv’s number 11 and excitable winger Tal Ben Chaim sat down for a frank chat about who he really is outside the field of play. On it we already know that he is a fireplug, dynamic and scintillating, let’s find out a little more about the player who lays it all out on the pitch for his club:

“I’m tired, the baby gets up early but doesn’t cry anymore, just gives a big sigh! But make sure to put down that this interview was done after not having slept too much.”

Tal Ben Chaim signed a 4-year deal with Maccabi after having played with Hapoel Tel Aviv and was the first player to make theme directly from one club to the other:

“It certainly wasn’t easy and it wasn’t simple but it was a big upgrade for my career. I don’t even want to think where I would be today if I hadn’t made this move. It’s fun to come play football here everyday and that’s not something I had earlier on in my career.”

The secret of Maccabi’s success:

“Our lockerroom is not the standard lockerroom you would see with any other club where players that play the same positions are close friends especially when one might play instead of the other. I think that this is one of our big secrets that make us successful as a team.”

What happens to Tal Ben Chaim when the opening whistle is blown?

“I don’t think that it’s such the big deal that everyone makes it out to be. A footballer has both good things and some things that are not as good. There were plenty of matches where I kept telling myself not to get upset and then the whole match I would be concerned with just this and I didn’t play well. I believe that I along with my family and the Maccabi fans want to see the Tal Ben Chaim that plays with a lot of energy and passion when I play football. That’s me for the good and for the bad.”

Battling for the League and the Cup:

“When you win one championship then you want to win another. When you win the Cup you then want to win another Cup. Last season we won the League, the State Cup and the Toto Cup, so the minute you do something like that you want to do it again. That’s why our goal is exactly that, even though it hasn’t been an easy year, not just because of Hapoel Beer Sheva but due to the intensive European campaign that we had. If we want to make it into the Champions League again we will have to have a successful year just as we did last season. But all in all we are happy with where we are right now.”

Will your son Sean celebrate the league title with you at the end of the season?

“It’s time for him to make it to Bloomfield and I already have a vision that he’ll be running on the pitch celebrating with everyone.”