Jose Rodriguez, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s brand new 22 year old midfielder gave his first interview to the Official Website and spoke about his goals with Maccabi plus how influential Head Coach Jordi Cruyff was in his release from Mainz:
“I had a number of offers but Mainz wouldn’t agree to release me. However, Jordi was the one who was able to convince them to let me come to Maccabi. It wasn’t a financial reason but more of the style of football that Maccabi plays.”
Controlling the ball:
“From the minute I arrived, everyone told me that Maccabi plays the same style as they do in Spain. This is because of Jordi’s philosophy and I’m a player that likes to control the ball. When I spoke to Jordi he said that I was exactly the type of player he was looking for because when I don’t have the ball I am always trying to get it back since my main quality is to control the ball.”
Time at Real Madrid:
“I played for Real Madrid when I was very young and even though I wasn’t able to play many minutes, I was with the best players in the world. It was a very important experience for me.”
The upcoming season:
“This is a very important season for me. I played for Malaga over the last few months and this will be a crucial month for me. I’ll give everything that I have for the club and I’ll leave everything on the pitch, every single match.”
Style of play:
“I’m a much more technical rather than physical player, but when I played in Germany I added the physical element to my game.”
Goals:
“It’s very important for me to play this season as much as possible. It’s been two years since Maccabi last won the championship so this will be a good year to win the league title and the cup and of course to play well in the Europa League Group Stages. At the end of the day, if we win I’ll become an even better player.”
