Maccabi Tel Aviv arrived back in Israel last night (Thursday) from England after their first match in the group stages of the Champions League where they came up short against Chelsea, the Premier League Champion. Even though the club landed just last night this morning they are back to work preparing for the Ligat Winner Matchday Four matchup against Hapoel Raanana at Bloomfield Stadium. Dor Peretz who played in last night’s game coming in as a second half substitute, talked about the experience of playing at Stamford Bridge, his relationship with Coach Jokanovic and the transition between playing in Europe and Israel.

“As of today this was the greatest experience for me as a footballer. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to play at such an terrific stadium against such a big club. I was really excited and happy. Putting the result aside it was a great learning experience. There’s something special in the air at Stamford Bridge that creates an incredible atmosphere.”

On his new role on the pitch against Chelsea and his relationship with the coach:

“I’m not so familiar with being a right back but I did the best that I could. I see this is as a vote of confidence from the coach and I’m very happy about it. I have the same relationship like all of the other players with the coach but I’m really excited that he has faith in me and I feel very appreciated.”

On transitioning from Europe back to the domestic league:

“We have a lot of respect for Chelsea but the match is over and we have to move on. Today we are already training and preparing for the match on Sunday against Hapoel Raanana. That was also the case after the last match we played, we’re happy when it’s over and enjoy the moment but the following day you’re already thinking about the next game and we’re getting ready for the next challenge. It’s important for us to begin a new winning streak.”