In his seventh season at Maccabi, Ofir Davidzada, is facing tough competition for a regular place on the left side of defense. The 32-year year old full-back who made 13 appearances in all competitions this season, is showing the fighting spirit and camaraderie which seems to have led Maccabi to where they are now. “We are in a really good spell right now” Davidzada said, “We even manage to win matches when we are not playing so well which is extremely important. Our aim is to improve our ability from game to game and obviously collect the points as well. We have a tough match ahead of us” Davidzada added ahead of Beitar Jerusalem (Bloomfield, 20:30), “But our target is still to win”.
Under Robbie Keane, Maccabi have a comfortable six-point lead at the top of the table and are in unbeaten after 10 matches. Davidzada, who in seven years at Maccabi played under several foreign coaches, identifies the changes introduced by the current regime: “The credit should go to our coaching staff and especially our head coach. Everyone knows Robbie as a footballing legend and the winning mentality he brings in as a coach. We had a few occasions where we were trailing at halftime and went into the dressing room. He just knew how to say the right things, lift us up, raise morale which was all evident in the second half. Robbie’s winning mentality has seemingly stuck to us, and we just need to know how to take it forward.”
Davidzada who is no stranger to the competition for the left-back position at Maccabi, revealed: “Even at my second season at Maccabi when Enric Saborit joined the club, I always used to say that competition is a healthy thing for a player. It is all a matter of choice if how you take things. My choice is to take the positive aspect where I like to push myself and improve every day. This way I don’t just push myself to improve but also push the player competing with me for a place to reach his best ability.”
The 32-year-old Israeli international who joined Maccabi in 2017 from Gent, where he didn’t play too much, said how the experience in Belgium helped his development: “During my time in Gent, I didn’t play too much, but that year taught me a lot. With a lot of hard work mostly mental training, I learned that if I am mentally strong, everything is possible. This is my attitude in football and in life.”
Besides trying to impress Keane and his staff, Davidzada revealed to have taken another role as well: “This is my seventh season here and I am 32, so my role is also to push the youngsters to take my place in the future. Roy Revivo is a player with great potential. Obviously, I would like to prove that I deserve to play and that is the coach’s decision to pick the side, but I would still give a 100% both on and off the pitch. I am a team player, always have been and always will be.”
