Chelsea soccer stars are in Israel for their match against Maccabi Tel Aviv set for tonight (November 24). Coach Jose Mourinho said all the players “wanted to come” to Israel despite British Home Office warnings about the current upsurge in Palestinian terror attacks.
“I had even a player who maybe tomorrow or after tomorrow, his wife is having a baby. And he’s here to play, because he knows how important it is for us,” Mourinho told a pre-match press conference.
“We can just focus on playing… The best way is to focus on football and the happiness you have to play football, the responsibility you have to play football. And leave security questions to people who know more than we do.”
The Chelsea players posted smiling photos from the airplane en route to Israel and sent out Twitter shots of their practice session at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa.
Chelsea’s owner is Russian-Jewish oligarch Roman Abramovich.
If Chelsea wins tonight’s game, the team can qualify for the second round of the Champions League.