On June 25, 2012 a Spanish defender named Carlos Garcia signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv. On Sunday, after four years, three championships, a State Cup and a Toto Cup along with appearances in the group stages of both the Champions League and Europa League and after 160 matches in Yellow & Blue, Carlos Garcia leaves Maccabi.
The central defender held an emotional press conference where he spoke about his departure from the Club:
“First of all I want to thank all of you for coming today and I wanted to speak to all of you and the fans and that’s why we are doing a press conference, the last one that I am a Maccabi Tel Aviv player.”
Why are you leaving the Club:
“It is very difficult for me to leave the Club and now I am a fan of the Club. In life you have to make hard decisions and I don’t know if I have the power that I once had. I don’t want to feel that I am cheating the fans. It was a tough four years, but the happiest in my life, but we all have to make decisions. I prefer to go now and I hope that people will have good memories of me.”
How do you know when it’s time to leave:
“There are many things that are the sign when it’s time to leave and it wasn’t because Eran Zahavi was leaving. I can’t tell you exactly the moment when, but if I stay here I would be selfish. I am in a good position, I know the league and my family is happy. When you leave your home to work abroad you can do it once but twice is hard. I need a new challenge to make me feel alive and I want to fight again. I just feel that it’s finished. I want to thank the Club and Jordi who understand me and that they gave me the option to come to Israel. The first time I came I was scared you see things in the media, but it was great to be here.”
How will Maccabi cope:
“I hope that Maccabi will be even better. We have many examples from the time I was here. Avi Nimni was a great player and he left. The fans were sad and didn’t know what was going to happen. When Guardiola left Barcelona everyone thought, what will happen now with the Club. But everything was ok. Maccabi Tel Aviv is the biggest team in Israel and that will always be. I will watch the matches and I hope the team will achieve what I know they can achieve.”
Memories:
I have a lot of memories, not only in football but also personal. My daughter was born here in Israel. She can give me her ID card so I can read where she was born. I have a lot of good memories in Israel. The happiest time as a football player was here.”
Thanks:
“I want to say thanks to everyone, to all of the fans and all of the people who sent me messages. I can’t handle all of the love that they have given me. I said the first day I arrived at Maccabi that I may not be the best player or that we will win, but I am sure that I can fight until the end of every game and give 100%. I can tell you I spent all of my energy for Maccabi.”
Comparing Carlos to Shura Uvarov:
“It was an honor that people have compared me to Shura. He is a person that we all wish to be like and see that figure in the mirror. I am proud that people say this about about me.”
Leaving at the right time:
“It really wasn’t about the money and I had another year on my contract here. Places offered me more years but it’s not just about that. I think that now is the moment to leave. Maybe it is a mistake, maybe not. I got everything that I dreamed about and more at Maccabi. When you leave with good feelings it means that maybe it’s a place that one day I will come back to. You never know if Maccabi will come and say that you can’t stay anymore because of your level and I didn’t want that to happen.”
Other options:
“Chicago made a very nice offer, but it’s very far and it’s also a decision that I make with my family. If I would’ve gone there it’s because I know the coach and I wanted to help him. There you fight for playoffs and you aren’t relegated. But it was a tough decision to choose between the two places, but in the end you have to make a decision.”
Relationship with Jordi Cruyff:
“My relation with him may be better now then it was before. We argued a lot. Sometimes he didn’t like things that I did, but maybe it was good that I had the confidence to tell him what I thought, but he was my boss. Now may be the time I’ll have a better relationship with him. It’s a difficult day for him as well that I am leaving and he is with me even though he is not physically here.”
Leaders in the dressing room:
“I hope that they will be able to mange well. Gal Alberman and Yossi Benayoun are in the club and there are people in the dressing room that need to take a step forward. They may be a good player but they have to step up. I know that they have it inside of them and now may be the time when they feel that they must take that step. I have something to say about Yoav Ziv and Sheran Yeini who showed everyone that arrived to the team what Maccabi is all about. How to work, how to train and how to behave like a Maccabi player. Gal Alberman knows how to pass that along and there will be others who will be able to show the way.”
Leaving the dressing room for last time:
“If you had a bet that I would cry or not, well it’s been very emotional. Sometimes we may look stupid when we say to the media that we are family. But we are. There is crying and fighting but there is also tension and we make up afterwards. I wanted to say 100 things but I forgot 98 of them. I want to thank all of my teammates and even though I didn’t speak Hebrew they made me feel at home. I want to thank every player, the coaching staff, Ofer, the medical staff and the other teams. I also want to thank the referees and I was lucky that they didn’t understand Spanish. Critics are part of the life but they make you strong. We are human beings and we make mistakes, but I want to thank you the media who are our conduit to the fans.”
The fans:
“Thanks to fans. I didn’t expect even half of what they gave me and I hope they understand why I am leaving and one day if I reach the level to be able to help Maccabi I’d be happy to be back here. I don’t want to say goodbye, because I’ll see you again.”
