The Yellow-and-Blue is about to enter a new era. Peter Bosz, the club’s new coach will land at Ben Gurion Airport tomorrow afternoon and will officially take over the team. The Dutchman who is arriving from Vitesse Arnhem was able to find a very special person to discuss his new adventure in Israel with, Sheran Yeini.
Maccabi’s former captain left for Bosz’s team in Holland this past summer a
nd was able to enjoy a half a year under his tutelage. In this exclusive interview with the Maccabi Tel Aviv Official Website, Yeini spoke about his experience under the coach, how he would characterize him, a personal conversation he had with Bosz upon his arrival in the Netherlands and more: “I can tell you outright that Bosz was a huge help to me on a personal level.” Yeini began.
“I started the season with an injury and it put a lot of pressure on me especially as a new player with the club who wasn’t playing. He came over to me and said, ‘relax and take your time healing because we’re counting on you for the long term’. This made me feel much better. He continued to tell me that when he went to France as a player he had been injured and he wasn’t received very warmly because of it. But when they did begin to treat him properly it helped him recover.”
How would you describe him as a football coach?
“He is a tough coach. He keeps his distance from the players, but when he opens up after a practice he really goes all the way with the guys. He’s very serious and I think he’
s an excellent coach. He presses a lot and plays an aggressive game. He pressures the other team the whole match and it plays into the type of offensive style of football that he enjoys. Controlling the ball is very important to him and at Vitesse we controlled the flow of play in most matches, even against some of the big sides.”
You’re very familiar with Maccabi. Can he upgrade the team with his style of play?
“Certainly. He can really take them to the next level. I know that his style is not easy and the players will have to get used to it. Physically, his game is very demanding. In the match that I ran the least, which was 11.5 km, it was much more than what I had run with Maccabi. They will have to get used to it physically and also to some of his ideas. Everything he does is very thought out to the point of knowing which foot one should be passing from and which foot one should receive the ball. His training sessions are very organized and I enjoyed them very much.”
How did the Vitesse players take the news of Bosz leaving them?
“The players were very surprised. Most of the players are not Dutch and don’t pay attention to the local media, so most didn’t even know where he was going. No one thought that he would leave mid-season. From my understanding everything happened very quickly. However, Vitesse is a very organized club and his assistant will take over as the Head Coach, so the same style of play will continue.”
What did you tell him when he told you that he was heading to Maccabi?
“We primarily spoke about Tel Aviv. About life in the city and the different weather that he’s used to in Holland. I had to explain to him that even though he arrived in Tel Aviv the day that there was a shooting, that it’s not a dangerous city. I told him that when my wife travels to Tel Aviv, I am not worried at all. That made him feel pretty good. I also told him that the food is terrific, that the people are very warm and that he’ll enjoy it a lot. I’m sure we will speak again soon, not about specific players but about the nature of the Israeli player.”
Will he adapt well to the club?
“Every player that came to Vitesse adapted to his style very quickly including the coaches. It will take time for the team to look the way Bosz wants it to, but when it will it will be absolutely amazing.”
