The Nigerian legend spent two years as a player for tonight’s opponents Maccabi Tel Aviv.
He became immersed in football culture there between 1998 and 2000 and as he tells the official Chelsea website, although not considered one of the world’s traditional hotbeds for the sport, passion for football in the Mediterranean country runs very deep indeed.
‘People all around the world have the same notion about Israel when it comes to football,’ Emenalo says.
‘You don’t expect the big interest before you get there and I was the same. My playing career was tapering off and I was in Belgium, trying to decide what the next stage would be and a friend and Nigeria national team-mate who was playing in Israel asked me to come out there because his team might be interested.
‘I thought it would not be a good end for my playing career but when I got there I was pleasantly surprised, first by the society because my only impression of it was from a distance. It only sounded like biblical stories until you got there and felt the warmth of the people.
‘In terms of football, I remember going to my first training session and I was impressed by the technical level. In Israel the emphasis is always on the technical.
‘It took me a while to realise that football was a very core part of Israel’s society. As we all know, Israel is a country that has often been involved in conflict and they are not many distractions from that but football is the one main distraction, so it is very important to the people and they take it very seriously.’
Emenalo informs us that although basketball is also a major sport in Israel, football is still predominant and when it comes to one of their clubs playing in European competition or a national team match, everybody comes together. The Nigerian predicts a big atmosphere in the Sammy Ofer Stadium tonight.
‘I have travelled with Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to away games in France and they were spectacular and I was impressed with the support they brought to Stamford Bridge,’ he notes.
‘This is such a big game for them. There is huge level of interest as it is Chelsea Football Club and it is Mr Abramovich’s club and Jose Mourinho’s team. Also everybody watches the Premier League. Ordinarily they would want the game to be played in Tel Aviv but it makes sense to play it at the new national stadium.’
This is Maccabi Tel Aviv’s second season in the Champions League and first since 2004/05, and simply making this far is considered a success there reports Emenalo.
‘They are working on a low budget and they have difficulty attracting talent and for those combination of reasons, to be in the group stage of the Champions League is already an unbelievable achievement and that is what will make the game difficult for us, because they are playing for their pride.
‘They are not playing for fun, they are playing to express themselves and as a footballer you are always at your best when you are self-motivated and wanting to show your talent. I think they will be a dangerous opposition because of that.’
Culled from Chelseafc.com
