The 50-year-old Greek coach will coach Maccabi Tel Aviv after signing a one-year contract with an option for another season • Already yesterday, the Yellows' new coach met the team's players, got to know the training complex in Kiryat Shalom and even delivered his first training session.

• Donis. The new coach of the champion

  Photo: 

  Courtesy of Maccabi Tel Aviv

Maccabi Tel Aviv today (Wednesday) officially announced the appointment of Georgios Donis to coach the team. The 50-year-old Greek coach, who has coached Panathinaikos for the past two years, has signed a one-year contract with an extension option for another year.

Already yesterday, the Yellows' new coach met the team's players, got to know the training complex in Kiryat Shalom and even delivered his first training session. Tomorrow the champion will meet Hapoel B'Shlosha for the 2nd game as part of the Champions League and Donis is not expected to stand on the lines.

Donis will come to Maccabi with a team of assistants who have accompanied him over the years and will include Makis Aglinas (assistant coach), Mydrag Madan (second assistant coach and scouting), Georgios Georgiadis (analyst), Panayutis Maliaritsis (goalkeeping coach) and Gregoris Georgs).

Donis, a native of Germany, had a glorious career at Panathinaikos (91-96) in which he won two championships and three trophies, played for Blackburn Rovers (96/97), AEK Athens (97/98), Sheffield United (99) and Huddersfield Town (99/00) from the English league in the media also retired from active play. The Greek national team shirt was worn by Donis 24 times and in the media he scored 5 goals internationally.

Donis' coaching career began in 2002 at Ilisiacos, which led him within two years to a promotion from the fourth division to the second division. In 2004 Donis moved to Larissa and promoted them within a year to the first Greek league and a year later won the Greek Cup with it. In 2007/08 Donis qualified with Larissa for the home stage of the UEFA Cup and finished the season in sixth place in the table.

After six months in 2008 in which Donis coached at AEK Athens, in 2009 he was appointed coach of Atromitos which he led to the Greek Cup final for two years in a row but did not win the title.

In the 20012/13 season Donis coached Pauk Thessaloniki and a season later moved to Cyprus when he was appointed coach of Epoel Nicosia which led him to win the championship and the Cypriot Cup.

In 2014/15, Donis led Epoel to the home stage of the Champions League and was drawn for a house that included Barcelona, ​​PSG and Ajax. In 2015, Donis was appointed coach of the Saudi El Hilal team, with which he qualified for the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League as well as winning the Saudi King's Cup. In the 2016/17 season, Donis moved to the United Arab Emirates and coached the Al-Sharia team before returning at the end of the season for additional terms at Apoel Nicosia (17/18) and two more years at Panathinaikos (18/20) from which he joined Maccabi.