After not being invited to the Israeli national team following the Kedar incident, Eran Zehavi Find time to interview Maccabi Tel Aviv’s official website for the New Year. The star spoke extensively about returning to the Yellows, the relationship with coach Vladan Ivic, his acclimatization in the team and the similarities between the team he left and the current one.
Zahavi opened and talked about returning to Bloomfield in a PSV uniform against Maccabi Tel Aviv: “It was amazing and exciting, the players and team at PSV were shocked, they didn’t know what kind of aura there is around me in Israel and Maccabi Tel Aviv, they don’t see This kind of thing every day, not every player gets it. That played a part in my decision, but that’s not the point I decided I was coming back. There was some kind of conclusion before that, there were talks in January, both sides knew that it could happen and the significant decision was where you want to finish, what kind of final picture you want in mind. It’s like asking where you want to die, you want to die near the people closest to you. This is the metaphor I saw in my head.”
On returning to Maccabi Tel Aviv: “It was strange. You have a kind of déjà vu feeling but you’re not in the same class, you’re not the same age, it’s not the same. You have to connect with the new players, you have to prove on the field, off the field. You ask yourself what is going to happen now. To be honest, I told them that I felt the dressing room was a bit tight, I don’t know if it’s because of the return of Ivic, although I know he was really tough and people were afraid to breathe, I remember a dressing room that was looser, happier, a mess even, and today there are a lot of good kids , I feel they are afraid. I told them that they should let loose, we are coming to have fun.”
On the relationship and the compliments from Ivić: “It was very important for me to know if he had heard of me and knew me, it was important for me to know if he understood that I am a ‘star’ who does not act like a star, with a player who is a bit stronger and more dominant than he was used to at Maccabi, he told me ‘Eran, I’m not afraid of any player’, I like players who work hard and I know things will work out between us.”
On the first game and the goal against Ares Thessaloniki: “I was under pressure before the game because I was not in shape to play at a European level, the conclusion was that I would play for fifteen minutes at the most, after fifteen minutes I was panting because it was so hot and I had not been on the field for a long time. The goal was an outburst of emotions, with all the goals I scored in China and Eindhoven, here it’s different, everything revolves around me, I made a lot of people happy and it made me feel relieved.”
Zahavi added: “Nowadays I have other goals besides scoring goals because I think I need to represent and bring other things. I don’t want to hurt my killer instinct, but if it’s possible to get another player involved, I’ll try to do it, cheer on the players so they get involved, but there are a lot of things that have changed, but the spirit of the club is greater than anything that happens here.”