After a successful debut season as the sports director of Maccabi Haifa, which ended with winning three titles and qualifying for the home stage of the Conference League, Gal Aberman Hosted Oren Yossifovich on the podium “Podium” and talked about everything in a fascinating interview. Following the non-exercise of options on Mikael Alphonse and Goodsway Donio, Alberman made it clear that the Greens are “focusing on upgrading right-back and striker positions,” but also stated that the team is looking for another player to replace Jose Rodriguez.
Alberman Explained the situation with Jose Rodriguez: “Jose Rodriguez had an option to exercise an agreement with Maccabi Haifa for another season. He asked to cancel the option to explore more options, and once he chose that option, we also strategically, not as punishment, chose other options. “Relatively, quite open to both sides – he will examine his options, we will examine our options and in the end we will see if we find the launch point or not. The issue is very simple and clear.”
Listen to the podium
On the work alongside Yaakov Shachar: “This is truly an extraordinary man, full of emotion, full of knowledge, full of intuition, any hesitation or any decision related to football I use his instinct and try to implement. I do not know what this club is without Yankele, I think credit goes to Uzi (Moore) who is a right hand man, also in light of his son who is very involved today in the decision making, but Yankele is really a personality that is hard to say in words . I think we are all lucky to work under him and follow the path he outlines, I am in any case very proud to be a partner in this huge and huge thing called Maccabi Haifa. “
On the way Mahmoud Jaber went: “Jaber went to the first question year in the Galilee landscape in the national league and I personally followed him and honestly it seemed he was still having a hard time; he suffered injuries, played intermittently. We had contact with the Galilee landscape, at the end of the first year they told us they were very happy and wanted To continue with him for another season, even though he had a mediocre season. During the second season he made an extraordinary leap. I saw his ability to steal balls, his enthusiasm, his movement in games – in one second he is here and in another second he is at the other end of the field.
“His ability to cover areas, he is very diverse, he plays at a high pace, he plays in small areas and that is actually the DNA of our team. I thought there was something in hand here, and this year a lot of players were called up and before the first training I asked Barak and Guy to keep an eye on him. There was a dilemma as to who to take out to training camp and I came to them and said he deserved a chance – he was on loan for two years in the National League, his progress is fantastic and I recognize something in him. This season and he swam like a fish in water in the first performance after which we had no doubt he was fit.It is a player with exceptional work ethic, intelligence, hardworking, with amazing abilities and in fact he is our great success as a club.We hope for him that he will continue this progress graph because If he continues, we will gain a fantastic player for Israeli football. “
On Barak Bachar: “Barak is actually the first character I started working with in collaboration. He is amazing. From the first meeting there was a kind of click. We are personalities that fit very well with each other, we understood each other’s place, working with him is really amazing, he gives me the freedom to work and produce “Alternatives. Everything is done in collaboration with him. When we are looking for a player, I sit with him and ask him to explain to me exactly what he is looking for, along with the lists I make for myself during the season.”
It’s harder for a professional manager after championships or it’s harder for him to get there and have to bring the first championship, where are you more busy? “With all due respect, I am still not experienced enough. I have not gone through too many processes in teams, however I was a leading player on many teams, I had no idea what it is like to manage a football team at the professional level, and today I was first exposed to difficulties. There are players who are interested in new agreements, there are players who are interested in selling abroad, there are those who think they deserve more and there are those you should try to push to the edge all the time. It is challenging for the job and I, for my part, try to do my best so that this team remains good and competitive, on the one hand it will be refreshed and on the other hand it is important to remember that there is a desire to maintain the base. “
The competition against Maccabi Tel Aviv In the market: “I do not know what their needs are, for that matter – we are looking for a striker, they are quite closed in this position. I think these clubs have different goals and they are looking to strengthen in different positions. Of course when there is a good Israeli in the market then he generates interest 75% of the players on the staff have to be Israelis following the regulation, this creates competition for almost every Israeli in the market. On the one hand you try to be aware of the needs of your rivalry. This is the league you compete in, and you have to be vigilant and know, on the other hand In the needs of your team. “
To be a professional manager at Maccabi Haifa: “The basis of my job is to understand the demands of the Shahar family, the demands of the coach and to know how to somehow connect all these factors together and lead everything in the same direction, and even if there are disagreements to know how to ultimately be the mediating factor so we understand how to cause everyone in the end It’s a matter of going the same way, going in the same direction and marching to the same goal. “
AHow are you Preparing for the new UEFA reform: “It’s important to understand that we are heading towards a reform that is going to come in soon that will replace the age of the fair play, which is actually a kind of salary cap. “From people who come from outside to pour available and fast money that then leaves big and glorious clubs with debts and financial problems. One of my jobs as a sports director is to know how to prepare for reform years in advance, promote the team from the professional side all the time and ask how to improve and increase revenue.”
Subsidiaries: “I think the ideal is to allow sub-teams for those who want and not to rape teams to set up a reserve league because not everyone is interested in it. Played in youth and the level of competitiveness was not really equal.It is important to note that players need minutes of play, but should push them to as much competitiveness and as much as possible a league that actually simulates. “Of course not to force them to do that, but to allow them the choice to have a real subsidiary group.
Complete the faculty construction early: “Strategically, my I believe and the ideal is to put the team together as early as possible. In the end, some of the crucial games of the season are at a very very early stage and already there you want to get ready, both to achieve the goals and to enter the momentum at a relatively early stage. In fact, it’s not always possible, but for me it’s the ideal, even if it means getting a player a little less good – if he meets the definitions we set, we’ll go for it early on to put together the squad in the best way, both for training camp and games. “A decision in the European factories and also to start the season as it should be. Last season we managed to keep it.”
Working around the clock: “I’m really on the phone all day. Calls, messages… When I was an actor, I would see Jordi or the sporting director of Mönchengladbach at the time, Christian Ziga, hikers on the phone and back and forth, and you say to yourself while training ‘Who the hell is he talking to? What is he doing on the phone today? ‘ “Today I became one.” I talk on the phone, I see the players looking at me and I say, ‘Buena, I was there, I was completely there.’
A professional manager is an asset: “I do not see how a club is run without a sports director and Jordi Cruyff was the first example of this in Israel, I began to understand how a football club is actually run on a daily basis. Zubizarreta who was Barcelona’s sporting director in the big years, and he says that when Puyol retired, then he clung to him to understand the role. He thought you came, saw the training and went home. He could not understand how much you mess with agents, with parents, with Players, with communication… You just live all day around the team. Jordy exposed me to it on a daily level. Until he arrived I only knew the character of the coach, no professional will run the business then at the level of after the game. Not just I think it’s a role Which is an asset. Clubs understand this. A sports manager today is a very very significant asset to the club, also financially to try and provide a better product to increase income, also to know how to manage this thing not according to the here and now or desires of a coach… I do not Understand how a football club can run without one. “
Champions League: “A lot of times when there is a qualifier for the Champions League, it starts with a bit of luck, a qualifying automatic round, a dismissal of one team or another, a goal in the 90th minute, it always feels very close and falls and gets up on the small details. I really hope we can push ourselves to the edge And to squeeze this thing to the end and if we do not qualify, we will know that we have done everything in terms of preparation and building a strategy and get there as prepared as possible. “
Active or passive scouting: “You try to be as active as possible, because through activism you are really better able to find exactly what you are looking for. Suppose you are looking for a left defender whose head game is fantastic, and who joins the attack very quickly, and he puts in fantastic balls from the side – what an agent is likely to offer you exactly “What are you looking for? It exists, but it is not big. Through active scouting you follow leagues and you analyze and understand what your living areas are, you are able to create a lot of options for yourself.”
acclimatization: “It took me a while to adapt to Spain, it took me a while to adapt to Germany, I do not think it’s something extreme. Yes, when you come to a high profile team like Maccabi Haifa, Betar Jerusalem or Maccabi Tel Aviv, a lot of players even if they play in senior leagues It takes a while to figure out the level of interest this thing generates.It’s an anomaly, and it might be equivalent to big teams on an Israeli scale like Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Barcelona… at the local level of course, in terms of level of interest, discourse and reviews and that’s something maybe “I need to get used to it a bit. I think if the players have strong character traits and you make them a few preliminary calls to explain to them what they are heading towards – it might help a little bit.”