Bordeaux momentum awes Bellion

David Bellion reflected on a remarkable Group A campaign for FC Girondins de Bordeaux after a 1-0 success at Maccabi Haifa FC, telling uefa.com: "We kept on winning and winning."

'Icing on the cake'
Jussiê's 13th-minute goal at the Ramat Gan Stadium made it five wins in a row for Bordeaux, with striker Bellion seemingly struggling to believe how well things have gone. "We drew against Juventus and we kept on winning and winning," he told uefa.com. "In Munich we won, we beat Juventus which is fantastic; we can't want more than that. Today's victory was the icing on the cake because we had a chance to play a game without a lot of pressure yet knowing that we wanted to win. For those who don't play a lot it was a good run out."

Useful exercise
Haifa lost all of their games in the section without scoring, but Bellion did not feel they were a pushover. "It was a hard game for us because Maccabi Haifa kept the ball and we had to wait to hit them on the counterattack," said the 27-year-old. "It was really tough because a lot of our players had not played for a long time. I am even happier for some of our youngsters who at the age of 18 and 19 gained valuable experience in the Champions League."

Fond farewell
Tuesday's game also marked the 66th and final European game of Alon Harazi's playing career, but the 38-year-old did not feel deflated after the final whistle. "I wouldn't call it a sad end because for me its a happy ending," he told uefa.com. "My career has finished and I had the opportunity to be at a great club with great players, great coaches and a great owner so I can take only good things from this. I couldn't have dreamed of a better ending on a personal note.

'In the stars'
"When I was thinking about retiring back in the summer I discussed it with the owner, and told him: 'There could be no better end for me than having the opportunity to play in the Champions League.' He wanted me to play my final game in Europe and I told him that it was written in the stars that we would reach the Champions League group stage. It was the second time for me and a great honour indeed."