Maccabi Tel Aviv advanced to the Europa League Group Stages after a 2:2 home draw and 3:2 on aggregate thanks to goals by Vidar Kjartansson and Sheran Yeini. With the draw tomorrow, Friday in Monaco the Head Coach Jordi Cruyff summed up the match from his point of view:
— Maccabi Tel-Aviv (@MaccabiTLVFC) August 24, 2017
“We knew that one goal for them then the story was finished, the team was tired and the legs were tired and we had to defend every millimeter. I must say a big thank you to the fans today. It’s not easy to drive here on a Thursday and then suffer, but there are moments when they are there and they pushed the team forward when we were down 2:1. They were our best player tonight.”
Being in Pot 2 for the Europa League Draw:
“Pot 2 is really amazing to be in, honest as a lot of clubs from 1 & 2 were knocked out, some big clubs, so it shows that it’s not so easy. We finished with 7 wins and 1 draw and we are in pot 2 and that can give us hope for a good draw but there are good teams in pot 3 so we can’t underestimate anyone.”
Rumors about his status as coach:
“The fans already know me good by now. And they don’t have to pay attention to those rumors and that they know better.”
Bringing in new players:
“Arrivals of some players will mean goodbye to others and those are tough decisions. But in order to grow those are things we have to do. I can assure you that Maccabi Tel Aviv has made some big offers to some very good players. They haven’t leaked out and the amounts offered have been on the higher side over the last five six years. We hope to make the last week of August the best week for the club.”
The defense:
“If we lose the ball football is a game of mistakes. I am more angry when we make a mistake when we aren’t playing football and not during the buildup. If you analyze the games you can see the defense has been good. When we gave up a goal we sometimes get a bit shaky. We made it into the group stages and you can see that the players showed character. We had a clean sheet last week and the defense saved us.”
The timing of bringing in new players:
“The registration for Europa League has a different date than the Israeli league so we would want to close deals before that and have them for an additional 6 matches.”
Improving over the next few weeks:
“It was the Maccabi we wanted to see and we had enough chances in the first half. There are things we still need to work on and after Kiryat Shemona on Sunday we have a little break so we can work on some things and we will Ave some time to work on ourselves. The two week break will hopefully help the players recover such as Golasa and Dasa.”
About Aaron Schoenfeld:
“When you have difficulties in the buildup and winger Tal Ben Chaim won a lot of headers last season, so we are using him in a position that is not his natural habitat and we all appreciate his effort.”
On Tino-Sven Susic:
“He is a player that is hungry and he suffered from the heat the first week that he was here. It’s really tough to train in the midmorning. We know what he can give and when he knows his teammates better he will be even better.”
Steve McClaren’s role this evening:
“At halftime he came down and the first half he was in the stands. He was able to see the football on a totally different level from upstairs. He gave us information that we were creating chances and gave a few small things here or there.”
His father Johan Cruyff’s influence:
“I think my father was always proud of me and the level of our football conversations was raised over the last few years. I am always looking to do better, so when we drew today I wanted to win. So it’s good that Steve was here to say to me mission accomplished.”
6th season at Maccabi:
“I never thought I would start my 6th season here and also be a coach. I thought I would be here for 2-3 years. But I have always had a good relationship with Mitch and Jack even though sometimes we disagree and I’m not the easiest person but I’m still here and we are doing good things.”
About tomorrow’s draw:
“I have wishful thinking but sometimes the opposite happens. I think Beer Sheva was extremely unlucky not to go through to the Champions League and it’s very important to have two Israeli clubs in Europe this season.”
