Eli Dasa, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s right back is ready to kick off this evening at 20:00 in a tough match with Maccabi Petach Tikva at Bloomfield Stadium on Matchday 20. The speedy defender spoke about new coach Peter Bosz’s style, the fight for first place, stormy weather and coming back from injury:

“At least I wasn’t injured for a half a year, but thankfully for just a week and a half.”

Finding a place in the squad upon returning:

“Of  course, I’m not sure that I would’ve lost my place in the squad but I had to work hard and prove myself. There’s been a coaching change and I haven’t had a chance to play for him yet. So that also added to my frustration, that I had to sit onto sidelines.”

Style of the new coach:

“I’ve been training with the club and even when I was injured, I was watching from the side. When such a big coach like this comes to the club you can sit on the side and also learn a tremendous amount. The sessions are fantastic with a very good tempo, we’ve been working hard and I think you’ll continue to see this in the upcoming matches.”

Looking ahead to playing  Maccabi Petach Tikva:

“Maccabi Petach Tikva is one of the strongest and most difficult sides to play against in the league. There’s never an easy match against them. We will continue with the new style of play, but it won’t be easy. We have to take all of the points any way we can.”

Battling for first place:

“What I can tell you is that  Maccabi Tel Aviv doesn’t look at any other team. We look at only ourselves, Maccabi Tel Aviv. We come to work hard every match and do everything we can do for ourselves and do the best we can do and not deal with what any other team is doing.”

Poor weather conditions are expected on Saturday:

“In Acre, the weather was catastrophic and not ideal for football. But it’s part of the game.”