Both Head Coach Jordi Cruyff and Carlos Garcia addressed the media ahead of the Club’s Matchday 16 contest against Bnei Sakhnin on Monday, 21:00 at the Acre Stadium.
Head Coach Jordi Cruyff spoke about the decision to bring in Carlos Garcia as an assistant coach:
Timing of bringing in Carlos:
“I knew it was an option about 6-7 weeks ago so we started to think forward. We started to look at profiles and it takes time for someone to get to know the DNA of Maccabi. We had an option in the summer for Carlos but it wasn’t yet the right time.”
What Carlos brings to the table:
“He was a demanding player and he was able to shout at the big players and they would accept that. He has the character and respect to be an authority, the players will fight for him. He knows the players and opponents and the strong points of Carlos are exactly that.”
More on the addition of Carlos:
“We still have to improve and sometimes people who have 20 years of experience won’t see something a new coach will see. We know what we are getting with Carlos. All the players will tell you that he was aggressive, closing angles and knows how to close the defensive line. We know that these are things that he can bring us and he knows the team and what’s needed as well as what the fans and club expect.”
Steve McClaren’s contribution:
“He enjoyed it very much here and I want to thank him for his contribution. He knows me and we worked well together. We had approached him a while back to become the head coach, but he ended up signing in the Premier League. He still has the blood to be a head coach and he was a gentleman and informed us 6-7 weeks ago so we began planning. It was an honor to have a coach with a profile like him here at Maccabi. He enjoyed the club and the country and left with a good feeling about Tel Aviv and the people. All in all, it was a win-win situation, I’m sure that our paths will cross again.”
More about McClaren:
“He brought in many important things and mainly calmness when things were difficult or intense. His experience was important. He kept insisting on keeping calm and maintaining the path, he was a positive guy for the players and the staff.”
Looking ahead to Bnei Sakhnin:
“We have a history of tough games against this opponent and we have to play to win, gain points and keep our momentum. We know that they will be a difficult opponent.”
The upcoming transfer window:
“We don’t know yet, but tomorrow we must win to close the gap. After that, we will have time to focus. We will have to look at it if there will be 5 or 6 foreigners for next year as it will impact the team and budget. We have players with options so we can look at that in May.”
Carlos Garcia, the former Yellow & Blue central defender is back at Maccabi as an assistant coach after retiring from active play and spoke about his decision to retire, becoming a coach and what he can offer on the sidelines:
“I’m very happy to come back and I want to thank Jordi that he believes that I can help the team. It has its identity and we will work hard to try and make the players better.”
Being a Maccabist:
“I’m already a Maccabist, We are champions or we will die. We are Maccabi. It’s a championship of nothing. There is nothing in the middle.”
The spirit of Maccabi:
“First is the spirit. Either you have it or you don’t have it. The team won the Toto Cup and I saw the Beitar win which was in a tough stadium (Teddy). I believe the team has this spirit. Some may say it doesn’t, but I believe it has.”
Ambition:
“I had a bad experience in Turkey and I could’ve kept playing but when you are at the moment when you play just for the money then I couldn’t live like that. You need to work and have ambition for more than just the money. I am in good shape still and I’m happy about that.”
A future in coaching:
“I finished my UEFA A license many years ago and when you like football you want to stay in the game. You want to feel the players and the ball and stay close to the field.”
Helping the team improve:
“If I see things that we can do better, I will say what I think and how we can improve.”
About Jordi becoming Head Coach:
“It was a good choice for him. He had done the job of Sport Director but he felt that perhaps he needed to be closer to the game and decisions.”
