Maccabi Tel Aviv FC CEO Ben Mansford introduced the Club’s new Head Coach Vladan Ivic together with Owner’s Representative Jack Angelides at a press conference held at the Netanya Stadium:
Ben Mansford spoke about the process of Ivic being appointed as Head Coach:
“From the first meeting I said to Jack (Angelides) how impressive he was being confident and what he did at PAOK by finishing second and winning the cup. He has traits such as work ethic and not being bigger than the club itself. He had what Mitch is passionate about Maccabi and what we as well want to have as we move forward. Vladan ticked all of those boxes.”
Mansford also looked forward:
“The plan for any Maccabi season is to prepare hard and challenge for every title and perform well on a European and domestic level.”
Owner’s Representative Jack Angelides:
“I met Vladan when I was at PAOK and was impressed with his approach, the seriousness he had in his work and had a good relationship with him. He was on our long list and then our short list and had an excellent interview with Mitch. There was a lot of alignment with the approach and there was a lot of interest in discipline and work ethic. We all agreed that Ivic was the right candidate for the next step.”
Vladan Ivic spoke about the challenge ahead:
“Finishing second is not success. I feel very good about the challenge ahead. I took the decision to leave Greece after my last season at PAOK. I followed various competitions during the last year when I wasn’t working. I found that Maccabi was a interesting challenge for my next step.”
Knowledge of the Club:
“I know the club for many years as I’ve been in the football world. They have won many titles and I know the challenges which is something that brought me here. When I began speaking with the people at the club I watched many games and I have information about all of the players as well as the loaned players. Now we have to make some decisions for the upcoming season.”
His staff and the desire to speak to Jordi Cruyff:
“You will receive information about my staff over the next few days. I didn’t speak to the former coach and if I find the time to have a conversation or meeting it would be my pleasure as that’s the best thing to do in order to get further information about the Club.”
Predrag Rajikovic, fellow Serbian:
“I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I watched him this past month and I have an opinion about him. I hope he will be part of the success of the National Team and I hope he will stay.”
Competing and budget:
“We spoke about competing and budget but perhaps this is what has to be during this year and we will find a solution. We have a lot of good players and players on loan. We will have to make a decision as to those players.”
Preparing for the upcoming season:
“I have to prepare the preseason and this is something very important to me. We have to work like a team and make the correct choices and I’m sure if we work together and go for the same target we will achieve it.”
Targets at Maccabi:
“You have big targets at Maccabi every year and I like to play attacking football. I have to see the team and the players and after that I have to decide. What’s most important and difficult is what goes on during the game, but we will be playing attacking football.”
Players within the club that can help:
“I know that Maccabi has a good Academy and the U19 side won the championship. We have players who have played well and I am a coach that likes to give young big players a chance. But you need to have a good mix of veterans and younger players.”
Battling for all the titles for the fans:
“I am hungry as well and it’s normal for the club to fight for the League and the Cup. We have to battle for all of them.”
The mental approach:
“This is a process and something we have to work on from the first day. I’ve seen that the team has quality players and they can achieve even more. The psychological side is something you have to work on from day one and continue to work on it throughout the season.”
Mansford spoke about the squad:
“I think we’ve been in Europe for the last three years and July comes quickly so we have to be competitive and consistent in those ties. If there are any players that can help us before July 12th then we will look at that. We have some good players coming back to Maccabi. We have four players at the National Team, Omer Atzily is like a new signing as he came back recently and we’ve signed Itay Shechter. Anything we add will be to help the team.”
Moving ahead without a Sporting Director:
“I come from a footballing background as a lawyer and an agent and I can add something. We will only succeed at Maccabi if we work hard. We made it clear that there is no Sporting Director for the foreseeable future and we will do with what we’ve got.”
Jack Angelides spoke about the Financial Fair Play situation:
“The Financial Fair Play are regulations imposed by UEFA and when a club exceeds the amount of money that is designated, there are questions out to the Club and they have to answer them. We are in discussions with UEFA that we have exceeded the limit over the 3 year period and we will find an arrangement to work with their terms. Maccabi will still be able to find players to improve the club.”
Angelides continued about playing in the Netanya Stadium:
“It’s a fact that revenues from tickets have been affected. Anytime a team has to play away from a home stadium and any time it inconveniences fans, then it will have an impact. I don’t use it as an excuse not achieving certain things but it certainly plays a factor. It can be a big factor for a team to obtain a result where the may not have gotten one. We have to prepare, use our resources and have the fans stay behind us, support us as this is important for our success.”
Round 1: Ujpest (Hungary), Shamrock Rovers (Ireland), Tallinna FCI Levadia (Estonia), Partizani Tirana (Albania).
