Jordi Cruyff, the Yellow & Blue boss spoke prior to the Club’s Europa League Second Round First Leg Qualifying match against KR Reykjavik from Iceland tomorrow at the Netanya Stadium, 18:00. The Head Coach discussed the lengthy season, Vidar Kjartansson, Icelandic football and about Thursday’s contest:
“I don’t believe in easy games. All games are hard. I hope we can improve week by week and reach the level that we want to be at. We will come with our plans and hope that we can stick to the plan.”
Icelandic football:
“Iceland has produced some good players over the last few years, both on the club and national team levels. Their football has been improving and we will respect them. It’s a small country but it’s growing. Remember that Iceland was in a big tournament and Holland stayed home.”
Match time being at 18:00:
“That’s how it goes sometimes and it will be difficult for everyone. We are ok with that. Most of the season we train in the morning and the rest of the time in the afternoon around 18:30.”
An evolving squad:
“We lost some players and brought some in and we are in the middle of rebuilding the squad.”
About Cristian Battocchio:
“He played for two years in the English Championship which is a physical and demanding league as is Ligue 2 in France. He has also played in Serie B and played a while ago for the Italy Under-21s. We expect him to play as Argentinian players perform, with character and give a little extra at the end. He’s not ready yet for the squad and we will give him time to adjust like we do with every foreigner.”
The absence of Dor Micha:
“We miss him and we hope he will be back as soon as possible.”
Vidar Kjartansson:
“Part of football is to know what your strengths and weaknesses are. So you need to know where to put the balls, if it is in the box or down the channels as they say in England, everyone has their strong points and we have to make sure to take advantage of that.”
The lengthy season:
“I believe very clearly that some players had 62 plus games and there isn’t one player that we can believe that can play every game and that we have to play a rotation. In Israel you play for almost 11.5 months and you need to use your whole squad.”
Final thoughts:
“I think it’s clear that my passion is in football.”
