Right before Maccabi Tel Aviv’s final training session at Stamford Bridge, Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic answered questions from the local and Israeli press at the official pre-match press conference.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. Chelsea is part of my past and here I am once again. I was here at the beginning of 2015 when I was with Watford and we took a step to having the club promoted to the Premier League. I didn’t remain with the team after the season but as you see I found my way back to London, I had some great years in England and I’m happy to be with Maccabi Tel Aviv. It’s a great test to see how we will fare against a very strong opponent. I’m happy to see how Chelsea continues to advance and improve and I believe they have a terrific future ahead of them for decades to come.”

On his current plans:

“Right now I’m with Maccabi and we have achieved some good results and have improved as a team. I’m concentrating on enjoying testing myself and seeing how I handle the players and the Israeli league at this moment. It’s been 11 years since Maccabi has been to this tournament and I’m very happy to be here.”

On facing Mourinho and Chelsea:

“Mourinho is one of the greatest managers in the world, and I think that the cards he can play are a bit better than mine. We of course respect Chelsea, the club and the manager as they are one of the best in Europe, but we also have to respect ourselves and perform properly. We don’t just play with five players but a whole team. That’s how to play football.”

On the opportunity to play Chelsea:

“To play against Chelsea is always a great opportunity. It’s not my problem as to how Chelsea is doing in the Premier League. I’m surprised that they’ve only collected four points and I’m sure we won’t have many chances tomorrow night as they are going to come into the match with extra motivation to try and deal with the issues that they’ve been having. They have a game against Arsenal coming up and I’m sure they are dealing with it, but that’s not my problem.”

Prior to Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s veteran midfielder Gal Alberman looked back at his career with the Yellow-and-Blue from his early years to the present day, the changes that have taken place at the club, the Champions League, his International retirement and his goals for the upcoming season.

Gal Alberman, 32 years old, Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder and new father:

Yes, it’s a great feeling and it’s the most amazing feeling I’ve ever had in my life up until now. My wife and I had our firstborn child, a girl and I’m at a great place in my life right now.

You had some difficulties breaking in with the club:

This was a very hard period that I’ll never forget. One that’s also hard to let go of. I was pretty clam though because I believed I would get my chance with the club. Even with all of the difficulties the minute I came to Maccabi Tel Aviv something in my intuition told me that I made the correct choice and when I look back at this I understand that it was part of a whole process. I know that it wasn’t an easy time and it was rough, but I’m happy now and no one ever wants to go back to that place like where I was a few years ago.

Owner Mitch Goldhar and yourself have experienced many changes at Maccabi:

I think that it’s only natural because we came on board at about the same time and we experienced the same things, so we have a lot in common. We know how far we’ve gone over the years, from where we began and where we are now and we will never forget how far we’ve actually come with the club.

Jordi Cryuff, Maccabi’s Sporting Director has played a very important role with Maccabi:

When the management philosophy of the team changed and someone with the talents of Jordi Cryuff became the sporting director, he was able to look at the club’s standing not just at that moment but over a longer period of time. He has worked on many things with the club and from the day he started at Maccabi we all went on a different and new path. If we look back four years and you would have told me this is where we would be today, I don’t think I would’ve believed you.

Participating in the Champions League must be an amazing feeling:

One of the greatest accomplishments in my career is to take part in this competition, one that’s on the grandest footballing stage in Europe and perhaps in the world. It’s an accomplishment that I’m really happy I was able to reach and I can say that this is one of my career hi-lights. We can see that making it to the Champions League was in part due to raising our level of play and playing more difficult sides. As a team we have always challenged other clubs and we want to stand toe-to-toe with the best. For the supporters they want to see us challenge the top sides but for us it’s a professional challenge and one that we want to face and that we are looking forward to as well.

This is a video of just you on the pitch during a match, watching your every move:

This is the first time I’ve ever watched a video of a match when the camera is focussed just on me. It’s kind of strange and different than what I feel on the pitch itself. All of a sudden, to see just me is weird. A lot of times players set goals for themselves such as an amount of goals that they will score or making sure not to give up a certain amount of goals. But for me it’s just to play well on the field and to help my teammates so they can play even better. This is part of what you learn from the many years of experience that one has playing football.

You just announced your retirement from International football:

The decision was something that I’ve been thinking about for a long time and it wasn’t just on the spur of the moment. I started playing for the Israel National Team at a very young age, I think it was when I was 19 years old. Over the years because of injuries and other things I may have missed certain periods with the team, but I’ve gotten to a point where I’m nearing the end of my career and I decided to put all of my efforts into Maccabi Tel Aviv and for the club. I’ve had some ups and some downs along with some disappointments in my career but I’m at point where I am satisfied with my decision.

The New Year is here and you must be looking at both professional and personal goals:

When I do interviews I like to only discuss the professional side of things so for us it’s a new start for the club and a great step for Maccabi Tel Aviv. It’s our first appearance in the Champions League in a very long time and I hope we will do well and be able to play at these levels with not only Chelsea but also with the other clubs. I hope we will be happy with our performance and also make the fans happy as well. We can’t forget that we are also participating in the Israeli league which is also very important.

Maccabi Tel Aviv took off this morning for England where they will play their opening group stage match of the UEFA Champions League against Premier League Champions Chelsea in London.

The club will land in England this afternoon and will hold a press conference and final training session in the evening.

Over 2,000 Yellow-and-Blue supporters have secured their seats at Stamford Bridge and will be part of Maccabi’s second appearance in the prestigious UEFA competition.

All of the updates, reports and pictures from Maccabi’s match against Chelsea can be found right here on the Official Website.

Here it is. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. After over a decade, Maccabi Tel Aviv returns to the grand stage of European Football – The Group Stages of the Champions League. And you, the fans are a big part of why the club is there. But just before you head off to Chelsea to support the team, it’s important that we remind you of the UEFA rules of conduct in order for everyone to enjoy the competition.

Remember! The players represent all of us on the pitch, while all of you, the fans represent us in the stands and beyond.

Below are the rules of conduct of the Chelsea Football Club and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the areas of the stadium:

Every supporter who enters the stadium is subject to the regulations of the rules of conduct by the host club and are listed below:

• All supporters must follow the directions of the police and security services. Any supporter who doesn’t follow instructions will be subjected to penalties by the local authorities.
• Every supporter who enters the stadium must sit in their assigned seat listed on their ticket and may not move to any other area of the stadium without permission by the stewards, section ushers, security personnel or police authorities.
• There are no storage areas or lockers in the stadium and supporters may not be able to enter the stadium with certain objects and will have to forfeit them at the entrance.
• In case of postponement or cancellation of the match, a refund if any, will be made through the club’s ticket services.
• Standing is prohibited in all of the seating areas of the stadium and should a supporter be standing in a seating area during the course of the match this may lead to ejection from the stadium.

Pursuant to sporting events, the following violations could lead to arrest and conviction:

• It is forbidden to enter the stadium under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
• Entrance into areas designated for the opposing supporters may lead to ejection from the stadium in order for personal protection or for any other reason.
• Matchday tickets can not be transferred or sold without express written consent from the club. Any supporter who is possession of a ticket that is transferred and/or sold may not be able to enter the stadium.
• Any ticket that is put up for sale may be banned by a steward, usher, security officer or police authorities.
• The club reserves the right to ban entry or eject any supporter from the stadium who disturbs order or refuses to cooperate with an official.
• Racism and violence may lead to legal action against the violators to the fullest extent of the law by the local security forces and by the Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club.

After splitting the points with Kiryat Shemona in a 1:1 draw, Maccabi would prefer to look at the glass as half full and the terrific second half that the club played.

Goal scorer Gal Alberman summed up the match:

“We properly prepared for this match but we couldn’t implement the game plan in the first half. When we did execute what we had planned in the second half we looked totally different. Too bad. In games like this we have to really stick to what we have to do for the full 90 minutes and if we did, I’m sure the result would have been different.”

Did this match have any impact for the game against Chelsea:

“We’re experienced enough to distinguish between the two competitions. We have to understand that what we will face at Chelsea will be like nothing we have ever experienced before. I don’t think that today’s match will have any impact on the Chelsea game as we prepared only for Kiryat Shemona while now we will get ready for our next match.”

On the goal Alberman scored:

“I don’t score very often. I wish we would have had two other players score in order to win the game, but regardless I want to dedicate the goal to my wife and new daughter, that’s why I’m very happy.”

The Yellow-and-Blue came into the match looking to add to their 2:0 start to the season before the club heads off to London to face Chelsea Wednesday night on Matchday One of the UEFA Champions League Group Stages.

Head Coach Slavisa Jokanovic made a number of changes to his starting lineup with Carlos Garcia starting beside Tal Ben Haim in central defense in front of Serbian ‘keeper Predrag Rajkovic. Eli Dasa coming off an impressive pair of Israel National Team matches was the right back as Yuval Shpungin moved over to left side with Gal Alberman playing in his usual defensive midfield position. Midfielders Nikola Mitrovic and Avi Rikan along with winger Tal Ben Chaim, captain Eran Zahavi and Eden Ben Basat rounded out the starting XI for Maccabi.

The visitors made their presence felt early on as Dasa tried to get the ball to Zahavi in the 7th minute but Kiryat Shemona ‘keeper Guy Haimov was able to swat it away to safety. Ahmed Abed’s 15th minute opportunity didn’t find the back of the goal but Casio Fernandes did in the 20th minute. Rajkovic misjudged a Kiryat Shemona ball that went into the box and Fernandes was able to head it home to give the hosts a 1:0 lead.

Dasa again was the catalyst for a Maccabi chance as he set up Ben Basat but his close range header went wide of the goal. The right back was in the mix in the 39th minute handing the ball off to Zahavi but his shot went wide of the goal and the captain’s 45th minute free kick went off the crossbar as the sides headed into halftime with Kiryat Shemona holding a slim 1:0 lead.

Jokanovic tried to shake things up by making all three of his substitutions by the 62nd minute of the match as Gili Vermouth, Nosa Igiebor and striker Dejan Radonjic came on for Rikan, Ben Chaim and Ben Basat. Radonjic, the Croatian striker making his debut for Maccabi and Zahavi as well as Vermouth and Igiebor would all have chances but none would find a way to get past ‘keeper Haimov.

However, it would be Alberman that would send the Yellow-and-Blue faithful out of their seats as his 18 meter missile of a shot would cleanly beat the Kiryat Shemona ‘keeper and draw Maccabi even at 1:1 in the 72nd minute. Dasa’s intelligent pass from the right side of the box found Alberman open up top as he unleashed the booming strike at the hosts goal.Maccabi would continue to apply tons of pressure with Radonjic and Igiebor both having brilliant chances late in the match with one ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing away while another would be hit wide over the goal as the game would end with the sides splitting the points.