Former Maccabi Tel Aviv striker Roberto Colautti recently retired and settled in Düsseldorf, Germany after an illustrious playing career that saw him score over 100 goals in Israel, Argentina, Germany and Cyprus between the years of 2000-2015. Colautti appeared in 71 games for the Yellow-and-Blue scoring 20 goals between 2010-3013 before heading off to finish his career in Cyprus at Anorthosis and AEK Larnaca. The Israeli International had a chance to sit down and speak with the club’s Official Website about his playing career, Maccabi Tel Aviv, youth development in Israel as well as the upcoming Israel National Team matches:

You’re recently retired from the game of football:

“I retired on my birthday. It was not an easy decision but on the other hand with everything I had been though it was a natural process. Every player has his time and I was nearing my end. How much more could I push myself to continue. My battery was done and I said enough. I’m happy and I’m very thankful for the career that I had.”

Have you been following Maccabi:

“Of course, I do all the time. It was a bit harder in Cyprus, but I was able to keep tabs on them and I’m in touch with some of the players.”

You played with Maccabi when changes started to occur under owner Mitch Goldhar:

“It’s terrific to see what’s going on. It’s an amazing accomplishment when you begin with something at zero and you reach a goal. There’s nothing better than that and Maccabi Tel Aviv did it. No one believed that it could be done but when one person came along with a goal in sight and clear focus he was able to do it, and look where they are now.”

On the current edition Maccabi Tel Aviv:

“In the Champions League you play against the best teams in the world. But now there is nothing more that Maccabi can do. They have achieved the most out of what they have. If they want to be one of the top teams and really be considered one of the best clubs in Europe they have to do some totally different things. They may need more than five foreign players, a bigger budget and also more investment in the youth department. However, they are really working on it now. There will be more of a connection between the first team and the youth clubs and you will see some of the differences in 3-5 years from now.”

Thoughts on the current state of Israeli football:

“I always thought that the youth clubs are very important. A lot more needs to be invested into the youth. If you bring in people that understand the youth and know how to train and to totally upgrade the system you could see a huge difference in 4-6 years. I’m talking about all of the clubs here, where they should invest more in their youth system than the first team. This is the only way to advance and improve the level of the league.”

On his greatest moment in Maccabi Tel Aviv:

“It’s hard for me to just pick out one match as I had a couple of years that were totally catastrophic but then I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I saw it, but I wasn’t there. Now is when the light is shining bright. Sure, there was a goal against Olympiakos, but for me it was seeing the transformation of the club.”

The Maccabi fans will always remember your time with the club:

“I really want to thank the Maccabi supporters so much. I learnt a lot during my time with the club and I’m even happier to know that the supporters still remember me. That really makes me happy.”

Would you come back to play:

“I really don’t think so. I’m happy to be with my family and watch football on TV or at a stadium and of course to say hi.”

The Israel National Team plays Cyprus and Belgium this coming week:

“You have to be optimistic but it won’t be easy. I’m hoping for the best but remember I was part of the National Team so I know what it’s like, it’s not going to be easy. But for sure when Maccabi has 9 players on the team it shows you that things are being done correctly at the club. I wish everyone much success going forward.”