Yossi Benayoun, the Yellow & Blue midfielder spoke to Lior Timor and Asaf Shemesh on the Official Podcast of Maccabi Tel Aviv about his season up to now, bidding adieu to Shota Arveladze as well as looking ahead to the Tel Aviv Derby on Monday night:
“I’ve been lucky to have taken part in many big Derbies over my career both in Israel and in a number of other countries. Any Derby is special in any case and I was fortunate to score in the Toto Cup Derby this season; it was a very special moment for me. We also had the 5:0 Derby which I didn’t take part in but was extra special for the Club. Every match is a new contest and you always have to go into every game ready to go in order to get the most out of it.”
Saying goodbye to Head Coach Shota Arveladze:
“It’s never a good feeling when a coach or anyone else loses their job but that’s how it is in football. The Club wasn’t doing well and the person that paid the price was the coach and that’s how it works. You can always change a few players but not everyone. Unfortunately, we went through a rough time and the Club made a decision to do what they did. We have to work hard and put in our best effort on the pitch. The last few matches you can see that we have more energy and hopefully this will continue over the next few games.”
The season to date:
“We had an excellent start to the season and we were at the top of the table along with advancing to the Europa League Group Stages. Everything was nice and rosy. But some players including myself didn’t get a lot of minutes and we started to not play as well as we should have. The whole situation became a snowball that just kept rolling down the hill and getting bigger. It’s hard to explain all of the reasons as to why it happened but we have to learn from this and continue to improve.
I’m also feeling better about myself as I’ve taken the opportunities that I had been given with both hands and made sure to capitalize on them. But we all still have to work hard and what was against Raanana and in the State Cup is now in the past. We have to continue to do the best we can when given the chance to do so. I’m sure that there will be a rotation so each one of us has to show our worth to get back onto the right track and change up the season.”
Regaining confidence:
“That’s for sure and you can see that from the way we played. We ran hard, played tough and showed Bnei Lod that we came to win the match. Raanana is a tough team and they are a team that beat Hapoel Beer Sheva 1:0 recently so we knew that they would be a difficult opponent. But we also knew that if we came into the contest and raced after every loose ball then we would show them that we were there to take the three points. Once we do those types of things the pressure lessens and the balls begin to go into the goal. Confidence is something that needs to come from a string of good results and I hope that we are now where we want to be and not go back to where we were.”
Importance of pressing:
“A lot of times once you score one goal you lay off a bit as you feel that the game has already been won. So it’s important that after each goal we press again and go for a second and third goal in order to never give them a chance to get into the game. We have to go into every match raring and ready to go so the other side knows that we are coming to win. That will be the same case in the Derby on Monday.”
Benayoun’s current status with the Club:
“You’ve never heard me complain about my situation with Maccabi at all. It may be something that a reporter comes up with but I am here to work hard and take advantage of the opportunities. Just like every player who wants to get a chance to perform it’s just natural that we all have that itch to play. I tried to work hard and prove that I deserved more minutes and I’m happy that over the last two games I was given that chance and if I don’t, I’ll still work hard. I will always give it my all. My teammates are great and we have a great lockerroom.”
Working with the younger players:
“It’s part of my personality and I did the same with the other clubs that I was with. Whether it was Liverpool or Arsenal, I always worked with the younger players to try and help them out as much as possible. We also have plenty of guys that do the same.”
Preparing for the Derby:
“We have to concentrate on our own game and not at the situation that Hapoel is in. We prepared this way for Raanana and if we continue to do what we did, pressing for the ball and working hard then we will win no matter what team will play against us. We have to just work on ourselves and go into every game exactly with that attitude. A Derby is always hard and we have to be ready.”
Expectations for the balance of the season:
“I hope that we will all be healthy, enjoy the rest of the season, succeed, win matches and take home some trophies.”
