Football will finally return to Rajko Mitić Stadium on Tuesday when we host FK Spartaks in the UEFA Champions League First Qualifying Round. There were no goals in the away leg, but El Fardou Ben Nabouhane wants to make it better.
“We’ve had our chances over in Riga, but we were poor in front of their goal. We will have to do much better when we meet again in Belgrade. I’ve missed a good chance, it’s so frustrating. There were other chances too, but we couldn’t finish them off. It happens sometimes. We must ensure it doesn’t happen again. We must do better on Tuesday.”
Zvezda’s Comorian believes all the hard work the team put in during pre-season will pay off.
“We were working very hard over the past month or so, we beat some good teams during the training camp in Austria, so we know we can play better. Competitive matches are different, of course, but we’ve done so much work that it simply must show. If we get out there as a team and work hard for each other I have no doubt that we will get the win that we need.”
Along with first leg experience, Crvena zvezda players will have an extra boost because they will play at home.
“Spartaks will again try to defend and frustrate us, but it will be different because the game will be played in front of our fans. They give us a huge lift every time we play at home and they also make it difficult for the visiting team. I hope there will be many fans in the stands to support us and enjoy the start of this new campaign. They are so important to us.”
Ben also spoke about the new players who joined Zvezda over the summer.
“We’ve got some quality players in. At this stage every training session makes us know each other a bit better. The team will be stronger because of it.”