It is no secret that Maccabi Tel Aviv is going through a difficult period. The Yellows, who fired Yannis Sapropoulos last week after a streak of negative results, opened a new page until the end of the season with Avi Even as a man on the lines at the Hall. The person who came to the “Sports News” studio to talk about the last days of the Yellows is the team manager, Ami Bitton.
Bitton first referred to the pastoral affair of Jaylen Reynolds, James Nanley and Derrick Williams: “We took this matter very seriously. Things got completely out of context. What happened was that the players went to eat after the game. I found out, I called them for a call at my office “They understood why they were called for the call, but did not understand what happened.”
Bitton went on to elaborate: “They went to eat after the game, sat down to eat, and when it was time to pay the bill the restaurant was already closed, the waiters put on music, the players came to pay, left the restaurant and while they paid the bill and photographed them doing dance moves. “Very between what was actually, and what was implied from the video. They did not add that caption. The time was also not 04:40, it was an hour after the game.”
Finally, the manager of the team added about the treatment of the club towards the three players: “We decided to leave the matter inside. They will receive any punishment imposed on them.”
Last week, Maccabi Tel Aviv parted ways with Yannis Sapropoulos after nearly three and a half years in which the Greek was on the lines at the arena. For Ami Bitton, who has been with the club for 20 years, the procedure was not simple at all: “Yannis is a very valued man, very dear to us. When we said goodbye to him, we told him that he had the DNA of Maccabi Tel Aviv. He is a dear man, it was very difficult for us to say goodbye to him, but there was no escape. “
The team manager said of what happened inside the meeting where they decided to end the contract with Sapropoulos: “We talked about whether we could continue with Yannis, and in the situation that arose we could not continue with him. So we made the decision and informed him when we got home.”
Afterwards, Bitton referred to the challenging period at the end of which the coach ended his career: “It is a very challenging period. Losing three derbies and a title is no small matter. But with all the pain, and there is pain, we have to move on. We are still fighting for the top 8 in the Euroleague “.
With the streak of losses in the derby and the failure in the Euroleague, there were voices talking about the loss of the identity of the Yellows. Biton had a clear answer: “I do not think anything has cracked in Maccabism. But it depends on what you see as a success. There were years when we won the championship in a row, and there were some that did not. .
Last week, the relationship between the management of Maccabi Tel Aviv and the yellow fans reached a pit they had not known about the club for years. During group training, dozens of fans broke into the hall and disrupted the training. “Our fans are very dear to our hearts, very much,” Bitton said and continued, “I grew out of the fans, my heart with them. I understand what they are saying and connect to it. I do not think there is justice, but understand the frustration. This week they broke into training and I told them what I am. “Think. They are not violent fans, they are good fans and ours.”
As stated, after the dismissal of Sapropoulos, Maccabi Tel Aviv announced the appointment of Avi Even as the team’s coach until the end of the season. Bitton expressed confidence in Even: In the situation that has arisen we have called him to the flag, and real Maccabees like Avi Even come in these moments. He knows the players, trains them in personal training and he can get into that slot. He comes in as if it’s something he’s been doing for a very long time. The players received it very well. I very much hope that he will continue until the end of the season. “
The one who was also a candidate for the team is Oded Katash, with whom the Yellows’ management met: “Maccabi wanted him, we talked to him, we offered him a contract until the end of the season, but for his reasons he decided not to. We do not want to make decisions right now. Decisions. There is nothing against Oded Katash here. “
Ami Bitton went on to talk about the challenging period at the club, and also referred to Nikola Vujicic who was subjected to quite a few reviews: “I will testify about him as I testify about myself. We are going through a very difficult and challenging period. We do not sleep at nights, get all the reviews. “It’s easy, but we have to deal with the remaining four months. The message to the fans: Be with us, because you are our flesh and blood.”
Finally, the manager of the team spoke about the side of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the release of the yellow players to the Israeli team: “At the beginning of the season we had a meeting in the basketball association with the heads of the association Representation in the national team is important to us. We sent several players in previous games, when Alba Berlin did not do it at the same time. As long as we have no injuries or shortcomings, there is no reason not to be sent. “We did not break an agreement, it is not fair to come and say it. We said we would be sent if we were not harmed. We also sent players in the previous team window, and in the next one as well.”
