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After winning the Israeli Premier League title, Maccabi Tel Aviv head coach Paulo Sousa was overwhelmed with satisfaction but still knew where so much of the credit belonged: "The players believed from day one in what needs to be done to achieve this"
After 33 matchweeks of league play, the moment has finally arrived to say it out loud: For the 21st time in their illustrious history, Maccabi Tel Aviv are the 2013/14 Israeli Premier League champions! After nineteen years, Beer Sheva's Vassermill Stadium was once again the venue for Maccabi Tel Aviv's championship celebrations, and this time the ecstatic Maccabi fans remained in the terraces to celebrate along with their beloved MTA players. Maccabi Tel Aviv owner Mitch Goldhar, himself a spectator at the championship match, said of them after the game: "The fans really do make it special. Having a connexion with the fans and seeing everybody, both sides, fans and management, celebrating together, it's a powerful feeling. It's very mutual. It's special, it's a really unique experience, the feeling. So yes, it's very personally satisfying. To me it's their team, it is the fans' team, absolutely, so really it's our job to make the best decisions that we can for the long run to protect their team. So in those moments it's obviously very special and I'll cherish them forever".
Maccabi's Canadian owner was queried about what his vision was for the future of the club: "This is not an end point, in a way it's a starting point. The vision is really not complete. It's fantastic, the winning of the championship is a great accomplishment, it's very satisfying. But it's certainly not the end of the original plan so we continue on with the project and that's the part that I'm focused on. And to enjoy these moments of course as well".
Asked if he ever expected to see the team win two league titles in a row, Goldhar responded: "I don't think in those terms. I was really interested in going step by step and I believed that eventually the results would start to come, so I didn't think in terms of us being back-to-back champions at this moment. But I'm more focused on the changes so I believed the results will come and they're starting to come".
Head coach Paulo Sousa took time out from the joyous celebrations to sum up the championship season: "It was an amazing season for all of us, for our whole family, but especially for the players because they believed from day one in what needs to be done to achieve this level. To achieve this level you need a lot of consistency, to improve individual performances, to put it in the team. For me it was amazing to feel them coming every day with joy, to try to understand all my demands. It's always very, very difficult for them but you know it's the happiness on their faces, looking to perform, to understand, to listen. Sometimes in weather like this it's too warm but then you need to keep chasing because we're not dealing just with today but also with tomorrow and after tomorrow and this is something I keep saying. This is the consistency we are looking for. Hopefully we'll keep growing in the coming days, in the coming years to have this kind of consistency in our results in the coming years. It was a difficult achievement, especially for us. When you have part of the season, the beginning, performing in Europe and getting the results we got and the performances we got against really competitive clubs, it's a process you need to encourage and to keep investing in knowledge, attitude, commitment, everything we want to create as a culture, as a football philosophy, to get this consistency".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPd7pkVccMo&list=UU-oWQqnf8B8a_TsmVi0mTUg
When asked if he was already preparing for next season, Sousa replied: "For me I started the first day I was here because I always want to progress. I've always said from day one that the first challenge needs to be inside the team, inside of the squad. This is something we want to keep improving, where a high individual level will help competition which also helps to improve the player, and when you improve the player you also improve the performance of the team, so we can be competitive not only here but also in the two (European) competitions, as it was this season. It's not easy to repeat but we're looking to progress and to compete in this way".
Rade Prica, celebrating his second consecutive championship with the club, was asked by reporters if he agreed that the displays of this year's squad were less exciting than last year: "No, when I played in Norway and we won the people also said we didn't play attractively enough but in the end it's about winning and this year we've been the best team so far and no-one can argue about it". Now that the league title has been won, the Swedish striker was asked about the next challenge: "Hopefully the Champion's league next year. I think we showed this season in Europe that we can do well. Last year we were a bit unlucky to get Basle in the qualifying round. Hopefully we will be a bit luckier next year. It's going to be difficult but I know it's possible".
Midfielder Eran Zahavi, who scored both goals in Maccabi's championship match, was also full of praise for his team and the season they've produced: "It's an unbelievable feeling. We're thrilled. We've waited a long time for this moment and we're very proud of the season we've had, proud of the club, of the coaching staff that's seen us through it. And a big thanks goes out to the fans, all five thousand of them who came to Beer Sheva tonight to create the most fantastic atmosphere. They deserve every minute of this celebration with us as well". As for the future, Zahavi had this to say: "You always have things you aspire to, whether it's retaining the title or getting to the group stage of the Champions League, which would be a huge step for us. It will be very difficult, there's an element of luck involved so far the draws are concerned but we also have to improve our performance. But I believe in this team and in the club, who really deserve the experience. You don't get to the Champions League by talking about it, you do it through hard work. But we'll think about that later. Right now we just want to celebrate the championship".
With 23 goals Maccabi's top goalscorer, Zahavi also put a more personal perspective on this past season: "This is without a doubt the best season in my career so far, I think my abilities really came into play this year, the balls went into the net and everything worked. But I couldn't have done it without my teammates helping me, it was their support and help that made it possible for me to perform as well as I did. I would never have had such a great season without them and I want to thank them, and the fans too, and the whole coaching staff. Let's just hope we have many more seasons like this".
