“I said that this match would be totally different despite the fact that we controlled the possession. They scored even though they had few chances and definitely not as many as us. We are used to playing against teams who bunker and we had chances today but we didn’t have anyone who could put the ball into the goal.”
On his part in the defeat:
“I am always critical about myself. We assumed that they would be aggressive like they were against Beer Sheva in the Cup. We started off well, especially in the midfield. They didn’t surprise us, but we just weren’t good enough. We may have dominated the play but we didn’t deserve to win this title. I feel that I have failed since becoming the coach.”
About his departure:
“This was my last match at Maccabi. I am going to Ajax. Marc Overmars spoke to me on Thursday and we went from there.”
The effect of departure on the players:
“The Maccabi players are used to coaches coming and going and are also used to winning titles. I don’t think that this had any effect on the players. My head has not been in Ajax whatsoever.”
His time with Maccabi:
“When I first began I had a specific way that I wanted to play and I spoke to Jordi about it. It wasn’t easy, but after a month I could see my influence and the way I wanted to play. It’s simple to say that just because we didn’t win the Final the method wasn’t good, but I as the coach analyzed all of the games and I believe we played well.”
Summing up his Maccabi experience:
“The city of Tel Aviv is wonderful and unique. A lot of people have a misconception about Israel and Tel Aviv. When I was named coach many people asked me if it was safe to be here. Maccabi is a great club with an excellent staff, good players and Jordi Cruyff. I leant a lot from all of you and I hope that I have left something with you as well. I will tell all of the coaches that it’s a privilege to work with Jordi and he has many interesting ideas about how to mange the Club.”
