Midfielder Dan Einbinder can't wait for the new campaign to get started after signing a 3 year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv: "I'm very keen on being a success here".
After one season with Ironi Kiryat Shmona, Dan Einbinder became Maccabi Tel Aviv's first signing of the 2013/14 season. The 24 year-old midfielder is determined to see the success of his new club continue and, for the first time in his career, to win a title of his own: "I'm very keen on succeeding here, I looking forward with determination to the stage where we're working hard to give the fans the joy they deserve during the season, and of course at the end of the season as well".
When Einbinder understood that Maccabi had taken an interest in him, it didn't take him long to respond positively: "I was on holiday abroad when I got a phone call that Maccabi had been monitoring me for a while and were interested in me. To start with I was very flattered and it took me a few moments just to take it all in. From the moment there was an offer on the table I knew that that the only thing left to do was agree but of course I had to wait for Izzy (Shratsky, owner of Ironi Kiryat Shmona) to give his ok, because I still had two years on my contract at Kiryat Shmona. This is a really big challenge for me, Maccabi are the champions, a club at European level in every respect. You couldn't possibly ignore the work that was going on at Maccabi this past season, the team looked great, it was being managed professionally and obviously that makes it even more attractive to play for a club like that".
For the first time this coming season Einbinder will be playing under a professional staff and a head coach from abroad, Paulo Sousa, with whom he has something in common: "To work with a non-Israeli coaching staff, well that just adds to the challenge, it'll be an additional new experience for me, it'll be really interesting working with him, especially because he played the same position as me and he can really improve me as a player". Einbinder sees improving his performance as a player as his number one goal and he's confident he has a lot more to show as his career unfolds: "My major goal right now is to carry on improving as a player. I'm still relatively young and I still have to improve in lots of ways. From the moment I got my first opportunity to play I've been working very hard, so far I myself am concerned there are no compromises. I want to prove what my worth is because football is my profession and it's what I like doing. I still haven't managed to show enough of what I'm capable of, what I know. Apart from that my greatest ambition is to get a call-up for the national team and of course to win titles, something I've only had a taste of at Beitar Jerusalem when we won the State Cup at a time when I was just joining the senior squad and wasn't playing much".
Einbinder hopes to play a lot but he's ready to compete for his place in the line-up: "At Maccabi there have always been a lot of good players in every position, in midfield in particular, and there always will be. But facing challenges like that is in my blood, I came through the youth setup at Beitar where excellence was an important value, where they talked about staying on top all the time, winning titles and also competing for your place in the starting eleven. I've competed with a lot of players, Israelis and foreigners alike, and I expect here at Maccabi there will also be a lot of healthy competition, and the ones that show the best form will be out there playing".
Einbinder's determination and toughness on the pitch don't reveal much about his character off it: "I'm really quite modest and introverted, I like to laugh and make other people laugh too, just to be very sociable in general. I always made sure I was well liked both inside the dressing room and outside and I'm sure once I settle in here my presence will be felt in the dressing room here too".
Einbinder has made acquaintance with Maccabi fans playing for a rival club and he's looking forward to renewing that acquaintance from this side of the fence: "I'm sure that at the first open practice in the run up to the new season we'll already be getting that special feeling from the fans. It's always a pleasure to see Bloomfield Stadium full of fans, it's a unique experience to feel how much they urge the players on, how they sing and how much support they always give, that's also one of the reasons I wanted to play here". And now that he's ready to go out and meet them on the pitch, Dan Einbinder wishes to set the Maccabi fans a task that will surely put them to the test: "Here's my challenge to the fans: Make up a song with my family name. I'm sure that won't be easy . . ."
