Vladimir Ivic is already history in Maccabi Tel Aviv and in Israeli football, but his surprising departure from the Yellows in the middle of the season is undoubtedly the most dramatic story so far in Israeli football. The Serbian coach, who arrived with a huge contract and with great fanfare for a second term in the summer, abandoned the Yellows after the first round, and signed in Krasnodar.
According to reports coming from Russia in the last day, it seems that the story was dramatic behind the scenes, and even included a personal letter from the Serbian coach to Mitch Goldhar, in which he threatened not to show up for the game if he was not released. All this, before the round of 16 against Bnei Sakhnin.
According to the report in Russia, after Ivić had already agreed with Krasnodar, he encountered the refusal of Maccabi Tel Aviv to release him. A few hours before the round of 16, he sent Mitch Goldhar a personal appeal: “Release me to Russia, or I won’t stand on the lines in the game.” It was this threat from Ivić that eventually convinced the Canadian owner to release him. In the game as you remember, Maccabi Tel Aviv won 0:5, and it was also the Serb’s last game for the Yellows.