Avi Rikan, played his final match at Maccabi Tel Aviv as the 34-year-old midfielder made a second half substitute appearance in the 2-1 victory away to Ashdod which ended the 2022/23 season. Moments after informing his teammates in the dressing room that this was his final match for Maccabi, Rikan revealed what went on in the dressing room: “I have been through a lot in my career and gave plenty of interviews, but this was the most emotional moment so far. I struggled, my speech wasn’t flowing, these are my teammates and people who spent time with me from morning till night over the past eight years. It is a period which had come to an end and we will move on from here.”
Rikan, who joined Maccabi at the start of the 2015/16 season and won 8 trophies, added: “I lived this dressing room and the life on the pitch every day. I worked around the clock for this profession I love so much as I am fully committed on my day to day conduct” he revealed, “I did everything for this club in the last 8 years, there were more successful moments and some less but I think I could be proud of what I gave the club. I keep saying that the club gave me a lot and made me who I am now, but I also think that I gave the club a lot, on a daily basis, with my conduct. So I am proud of that journey.”
To sum things up, Rikan said: “It is not easy to summarize a period of 8 years with all these people, with this club and I told my family beforehand , that I still struggle to believe that this is my final day here. In the last couple of days I had time to try and prepare for that, but one simply can’t prepare for such a moment. People here embraced me and the fans did the same out here as they turned up in big numbers despite a complex season. I would like to use the opportunity to thank them for their relentless and unconditional support over the past eight years. The support I got wasn’t just from family and friends but the fans have a large part in that as they deserve a lot of credit for turning up here tonight and voicing their support. I was touched. They will always have a special place in my heart.”
