Welcome to our first league match of the season against Beitar Jerusalem. It is a pleasure to be writing these notes as the CEO of the most successful football club in Israel. I thank Mitch Goldhar for the opportunity to become a part of the Yellow and Blue army. I am looking forward to working closely with Mitch and Jordi Cruyff in his new role of Head Coach and doing all we can to bring silverware to Maccabi this season and beyond.
As part of the process that saw me join Maccabi, I went to spend some time with Mitch. I asked him what he wanted from his involvement with Maccabi and he explained that he wanted Maccabi to be the best in Israel, both in terms of winning titles and as a commercial organization as well as being a recognized force on the European stage every season. It was abundantly clear to me that Mitch is a winner, cares passionately about Maccabi and is committed to Maccabi working closely with the local community. Mitch values work ethic, selflessness, things being done properly with thought and care without cutting corners. Mitch expects and demands that the Club is put foremost when making decisions. All these expectations resonate with me. I am determined to fulfill and hopefully exceed these with the help of everyone connected to Maccabi and the supporters.
The game on Thursday was a performance of a team. A performance where everyone played their part and it resulted in an important win. We have already played 7 matches in Europe and 4 in the Toto Cup. The summer was a relatively short one for the players, especially those who have been on International duty but I believe you have already seen how committed this group is. I thought the dedication and professionalism of the team was highlighted in the second leg in Athens against Panionios, when under strong pressure from the home team and fans, the team stuck to their task, won the game and qualified for the next round. These early games have also given chances to the younger players such as Dor and Eliel Peretz, Yonathan Cohen, Sagiv Yehezkel, Sean Goldberg and Daniel Tenenbaum. It was also exciting to see Eden Kartzev and Fadi Najar make their Maccabi senior debuts last week against Hapoel Raanana.
We have added quality to the squad to date with the likes of Omer Azili, Ophir Davidzada, Matan Baltaxa, Cristian Battocchio, Tino Susic and Nick Blackman as well as retaining Barak Itzhaki and the evergreen Yuval Shpungin and Tal Ben Haim. We have also extended the contracts of young talents such as Mavis Tchibota, who continue to develop while on loan. We are working very hard to continue to add quality to the squad. Mitch is firmly committed to the Club and ensuring we have the best possible squad for the season ahead. Mitch, Jordi and I are working together to ensure that we identify the right players who will make the group stronger and that will give you a team to be proud of. I am confident that we will add a number of further signings before the transfer window closes. You will read about all the confirmed news on our website and Application first.
Off the field, the staff at the offices have been working just as hard. We have sold over 10,000 season tickets. The own brand new jersey is proving popular and the training range has been well received. The commercial team have been working closely with our existing sponsors and attracting new ones and this season will see us have an unrivalled family of leading companies working with the Club and truly behind us as we push for success on the field. I would like to take this opportunity to thank HP, Hisense, Nivea, Kopell Group, Fritz, Issta Sport, Eurodrive, Pizza Prego and Ibbls for their support as we begin the new season.
The Maccabi Tel Aviv Foundation continues to go from strength to strength. It is hugely rewarding to see the good work the Club and the Players do in the community. Mitch is very passionate about this and I am sure we will continue to do more and more over the course of the next few seasons.
Finally, I would like to thank you, our amazing supporters. I have been made to feel very welcome by all of you I had the opportunity to meet thus far. The passion and noise I have witnessed so far has been superb. I can only imagine what the noise would be like when we kick off the game this evening. You have supported the Club again in huge numbers. Everyone at the Club, especially the Players and Staff truly value your support. We also look forward to seeing all of you back here on Thursday to roar the Players to victory.
We might not win every match but I believe you’ve got a Head Coach, Staff and Players that will give you everything and if they don’t win, they’ll leave everything out there on the pitch. We will only succeed if we are united from top to bottom and we work as one cohesive team from the Boardroom to the Stands. I know we are that team and I know you will be the proverbial 12th man for the season ahead. Thank you again.
Yalla Maccabi!
