Itay Shechter, the Maccabi Tel Aviv striker looked ahead to Wednesday night’s first leg second round Champions League qualifying at the prematch press conference:
“The Romanian team is very strong as they are the league champions. They are both very organized and experienced and their attackers can be very dangerous. We need to come into the match very well prepared.”
Romanian heritage:
“My father is Romanian and my grandparents were born here in Romania. It’s coming back to my roots. My family isn’t here with me and they will watch from their home.”
About Cluj:
“We saw both matches between Cluj and Astana. We know that Cluj is a very strong team at home and they did a very good job. We will have to be ready bring back the best possible result.”
More about the Romanian side:
“Cluj have a number of dangerous players up front including the striker and left winger. They have a very experienced midfield and they are just strong in general.”
The two legged tie ahead:
“In these types of matches there is no real advantage of playing the first or second contest at home. We have to be ready every single minute of the game because both sides are very even and whoever makes mistake may pay for it by not advancing. We have to make sure we are prepared to play from the first minute here until the last in Israel.”
