Tiberius Darau, Maccabi Tel Aviv's French fitness trainer in 2008 passed away earlier today

The 72-year old fitness trainer, Darau, worked not only with many clubs in France but also with some of the world's top athletes. He came to Israel in 2005 and joined Beitar Jerusalem's professional staff where he would train future Maccabi players Barak Itzhaki, Gal Alberman and Yoav Ziv.

Barak Itzhaki told the Official website: "I was in touch with Darau outside of the football world as well, and the news of his passing hurts a lot. I can tell you that I was able to know a man who was an amazing person and a top professional in his field. I not only had the privilege to work with him at Beitar for a year-and-a-half, but I also attended a 10 day training camp with him in France.

Tiberius was truly a colorful and exceptional person who will be missed by many footballer's from around the world."

Gal Alberman said: "This is very sad news. I had the opportunity to work with Tiberius Darau, a person who not only contributed so much to me personally but to football in Israel as well."

Yoav Ziv shared his feelings too: "Tiberius was a special person who brought in high standards of training that many Israeli fitness coaches have adopted. We got the sad news right after our evening practice session and memories from our time working with Darau came flooding back. I last saw him two years ago in Cannes, France and he was as jovial as ever. No words can describe how we are all feeling right now."