Lito Vidigal, the Yellow & Blue’s new Head Coach looked back at his debut on Matchday 23 of the Ligat Ha’Al after his side defeated Kiryat Shemona 3:0 thanks to a hattrick by Icelander Vidar Kjaratansson. The Angolan spoke about Kjartansson, challenges ahead and the match that was:

“We didn’t change the lineup up much because we only had a few days to work. We tried to change some small things and a bit of the way we think and the players had a good game. Our supporters were here and they filled up the stadium and pushed the team. It was very important and we took the 3-points.”

The Yellow & Blue fans:

“I have coached and played in front of big clubs before, but it was amazing. The fans and the players deserved the victory and they enjoyed the win. We may have won 3:0 but we have room to improve as we made some mistakes.”

It’s all for Maccabi:

“I don’t know. I think that we are a team and we have to work together. All we want to do is fight and win the end game. We are not thinking about ourselves but about the team and about Maccabi. It’s all for Maccabi.”

Focusing on the next game:

“The game is now finished and we have to start working on the next game. We won and it’s good for us and the supporters who helped us a lot today but now it’s time to begin to work for the next one.”

Mistakes in the match:

“We lost many balls in the last thirty meters and if we had played better in the first half then we could have scored earlier goals. We have to work on this and maybe we would have a chance to score more goals.”

Working for one cause:

“This is football and it’s my life. Sometimes we win and I won’t use the other word. We all have to work for one cause which is now Maccabi. This is what is most important. If we do this we will have a chance to do big things.”

Challenge in coming to Maccabi:

“I have a big challenge here and Maccabi is a big club. I always choose big challenges to do. I was with a small team and we did amazing things taking a small club to Europe. In Israel, Maccabi is the biggest club and we want to do big things.”

Differences between Portuguese and Israeli football:

“There are some big differences but football is universal. Today we had a full stadium and we enjoyed it as the fans helped the players. We had an amazing football game. The most important thing is connecting with everyone.”

Jordi’s instructions:

“He told me to work hard and improve our football. To make the players better and better and go from game to game. If the players continue like they did today and fight like they did, then maybe we will have some big things at the end.”

About Vidar Kjartansson:

“He scored three goals today but I kept pushing him to score more. When he had two I wanted him to score three. Next game I want him to score four.”