When asked at the Press Conference on the future of coach, Mladen Krstajic, Barak Itzhaki, Head of Maccabi’s Football Derpartment, replied: “The initial discussions we had with the coach regarding the contract were clear. We will wait for the end of the season and take a decision. Obviously the decision is mutual. The improvement is clear for all to see and the results clearly show that. This was our aim, as we didn’t expect to start the season in such a bad way. The results are currently better and we hope it continues this way until the end of the season. For the moment it is looking good”.
Answering a question about the changes the squad underwent in the summer and in particular the departure of Etey Shechter and Eytan Tibi and the signings of other player as replacements, Itzhaki replied: “Etey and Eytan had amazing years here and contributed a lot to the club, but ultimately a decision was taken, we moved and signed other players. It is true that we refreshed our squad at the start of the season but we are happy with the decisions. Sometimes one just has to refresh the squad and move on. One can sit here and analyse every decision we took from the start of the season, but it can go on forever. At the start of the season we built the team when Patrick (Van Leeuwen) was here as coach and sometimes when a coach is changed, the style changes as well – but these things occur on the move and we must react accordingly. For the moment, the team is stable despite the fact we are far from satisfied with the position we are in. To be third in the table is something we would never set as a target at the start of the season as Maccabi is a club that aspires to win all titles. We will draw our conclusions as I am somehow in the middle of a learning process I began when Ben (Mansford) was here. I am also learning and trying to improve. We will continue working hard to ensure this team returns to challenge for all the titles”.
On the level of Maccabi’s squad, Itzhaki said: “There is no doubt that over the past couple of years a few significant players left us, but our target is to bring the best Israeli players back but on the other hand develop young players at the youth department and make sure they fit into the first team. Mitch Goldhar invests a lot in the Youth Academy and we would like to reap the benefits in the first team. This is something we intend to focus on in the next few years as our main target is to have the best Israeli players at Maccabi Tel Aviv”.
On the signing of Djordje Jovanovic and whether this is some sort of statement, Itzhaki answered: “At the start of the season we also signed players, for lower prices but still a lot of money. We are on the look out for players and when we find find a new player, especially one the coach knows really well, this is something that helps. Maccabi always strives to be at the top and I don’t think that a signing of this player or another is some sort of a statement. Maccabi will always be built to try and win the Championship”.
On the Youth Academy which is one of the departments he is in-charge of: “We place a lot of focus on the Youth Academy as some of expectations are for some of the players who were raised in the youth department would reach the first team. There are some players who are currently in the youth department, some very talented players who have a bright future at Maccabi’s first team. I hope that some of them will do that in the near future”.
