Press conference ahead of Maccabi Netanya. Mahran Radi: "We have targets we have to meet"
This coming Sunday at 8.55pm, Maccabi Tel Aviv will face Maccabi Netanya away and this morning the club held their traditional press conference ahead of the match, attended by head coach Pako Ayestaran and midfielder Mahran Radi. Understandably a great deal of the attention was focused on the transfer-day deadline deal to sign Hapoel Tel Aviv and Israel star Gili Vermouth. The coach had this to say about the veteran midfielder's arrival: "If he's here he's good for Maccabi and we expect him to add to the team and the squad. You know him as a player from many years ago and you have seen him performing at his club and in the national team. We think he's a player who has the quality, who's got the ambition to be in Maccabi Tel Aviv, because to be here it's not just the quality, you have to be ambitious, you have to take important decisions that he has taken. If he's shown this commitment I think it's going to be good for the future of the club".
The coach also had a word to say about the two young Maccabi players, midfielder Ben Reichert and defender Sean Goldberg, who went the other way on loan as part of the Vermouth deal: "I would like to highlight the commitment and the professionalism of Ben Reichert and Sean Goldberg. First because without their decision there wouldn't have been any possibility of making the Vermouth deal. It is not an easy decision for them because we liked both of them as players. But they were not going to have many possibilities this season, but we really believe they are going to be part of the future of Maccabi. But the best for them at this moment was to have the possibility of playing more regular football".
The Spaniard was asked if having yet another big name on the team would make squad selection even more difficult. Pako: "Names do not make football. Names are past. What Gil Vermouth is he will have to show from now on, today. Past is past, nothing. The important part of the player is what is Gili Vermouth at the moment and this is why we have signed him. Not because of the level he was showing in the last week, but because of the level we think he can show at Maccabi Tel Aviv. But when players like this take the decision it's clear they want to make one step forward. I had a similar experience with (Spanish striker) Fernado Torres. When he was at Athletico Madrid you remember he was a big name, he had no pressure, he always had good critiques from everybody. But he knew he had to make one step forward and move somewhere else and when he went to Liverpool I knew that this guy wanted to succeed". Asked if he thought Vermouth was feeling any pressure, the coach replied: "He's quite calm, he's quite sure about the decision he has taken and that's what's important for us. But I want to say as well that he's going to be one more in this team because when you arrive to Maccabi you know that the competitiveness is going to be at a high level. He's not going to get anything he doesn't deserve. From now on he will have to prove like Mahran Radi or any other player. When you come to a team like Maccabi Tel Aviv you have to know what even the coach doesn't need to tell you. You look around and you see the level of players you've got, you know you are going to have to compete to be in the eleven and even to be in the squad. But this is the only chance we have to get the target we set this season, the (league and two-Cup) treble. ".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIwXQV9a51g
And was the decision to sign Vermouth perhaps cover for possible future moves of other star players away from the club? "No. Future and present because you sign a player who can perform from first game on. In this case when you sign a player but he's already 29 you are talking about present and not only about future. But you never know. We signed (Roma and Spain defender) Amedeo Carboni at Valencia when he was 34 and the people said they are crazy, 34 years, an Italian guy, left back, he was at Valencia until 41. In this case it depends on them, how they look after themselves, how they look on the pitch. The career of a footballer depends on themselves".
Finally the assembled press were also curious whether Gili Vermouth would be making his maiden appearance in the forthcoming tie against Maccabi Netanya: "You know I never talk about the players that are going to be in the squad or are going to be in the eleven. I am a coach who looks quite close at the training sessions and the way they train. In this case we will see. Everybody has a chance to be there".
Mahran Radi also had a word to say about Gili Vermouth's arrival: "I gave him a hug and wished him luck, the rest I leave to others. He's a top quality player in Israeli football and I hope he'll succeed. The coach sets the standards and that applies to every player, in the squad or out, and that's ours to accept. Our job is to give all we have, it's up to the coach to make the professional decisions. There are 24 players wanting to be in the first eleven for every match because we have the best footballers in Israel. We can't be at our best all the time. We have rivals with their own targets. I don't think one player can change a whole team but but I'm sure he has something to add to the team".
As for his own future at Maccabi, the veteran midfielder replied: "I have an option for next season. I'm happy here and I know I'm appreciated here. I don't really want to talk right now about the future because right now we have targets to meet. The decision to substitute me at half time at the derby on Monday night was a professional one. The coach told me I played very well and I accepted the substitution as a professional decision. Okay, I was a bit riled but I accept the coach's decision and I see these things in a positive light. My job is to show the coach I deserve to play and even though I didn't think there'd be more opportunities for me to improve, I see myself getting stronger. I'm positive by nature and try to see the up side in everything. I hope to carry on this way and that we'll stay on top and win the Cup too".
Finally, Radi explained his reaction on the pitch at the derby to scoring from one of this season's most exquisite free kicks: "Running like that, it just happened. I hear the fans cheering and the affection they feel for me and I just wanted to acknowledge that on the pitch. Even when I'm on the bench I've always felt the support of the fans. I stopped listening to the negative stuff a long time ago. I'm sure that 99% of the fans just want to focus on the football and support every player no matter who they are. What's important is what he does on the pitch".
