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Official: Yorgos Donis has been appointed coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv
There is a replacement for Ivica: The 50-year-old Greek coach who left Panathinaikos has signed a one-season contract with an option for another season in the ranks of the Israeli champion. After the signing he said: "had to fight for that to happen"
Tags- Maccabi Tel Aviv in football
- Yorgos Donis
Yaniv Tuchman
Wednesday, 12 August 2020, 08:02At a good time, Maccabi Tel Aviv has a new coach in place of Vladan Ivic: Yorgos Donis, the 50-year-old Greek who left Panathinaikos, was appointed today (Wednesday) as the champion coach in place of Ivic, who left after two impressive championships. To Donis, whose candidacy was first published in Walla! Sports, there is not too much time to adapt and his first task will be qualifying for the Champions League next week. Already last night, Donis delivered his debut training with the team and talked to the players for the first time.
"First of all, I want to thank Mitch for introducing me and for giving me the opportunity to coach Maccabi Tel Aviv," Donis told the club's official website. "It is a great honor to work at such a great club with such a rich history. My goal is to work hard to achieve all of our goals this season. My name is Yorgos Donis, which is a Greek name, but I prefer to be called coach."
On the initial contacts with Maccabi Tel Aviv: "I talked to Jack Angelidis and Goldhaar. There was a good conversation, I was surprised to hear what they think about football and Maccabi Tel Aviv. I realized that we have to fight for this cooperation to take place. I had a really good feeling and everything "It really went well. Now I think about the pitch and the need to work."
"Hello to all Maccabi Tel Aviv fans," said owner Mitch Goldhaar. "We are in the midst of a difficult and strange period and it is important that we do everything necessary to protect us and the environment."
"I am happy to introduce you to the new coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Yorgos Donis and his team," Goldhaar added. "Yorgos coaches with impressive data with character traits that are very important to this organization. During the interviews for the position of coach, Yorgos expressed his desire to join the club and it seemed that he spent a considerable amount of time learning the club's history to this day. I know you will all join me to welcome Yorgos and his team to the Maccabi Tel Aviv family. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Patrick for all the work he has done to date, when he prepared the team for the season. "The news. He did a great job. Finally, I look forward to the day when fans will already be able to enter the pitches safely. Come on Maccabi."
More on Walla! NEWS
The locomotive is already beeping: Meet Yorgos Donis, the intended coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv
To the full article
A new era in Kiryat Shalom. Yorgos Donis and the new team (Photo: Courtesy of Maccabi Tel Aviv)More on Walla! NEWS
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Donis has signed a one-season contract with an option for another season and will earn 400,000 euros net per season. Maccabi Tel Aviv would even have the option to be released from the contract after one season, as it was with Ivica. His team will include assistant Macis Angelinas, goalkeeping coach Panayiotis Mliaricis and Montenegrin analyst Miord Madan.
It should be noted that Donis expects a difficult challenge in trying to get into Ivica's big shoes and win a third consecutive championship, given the fact that significant players such as Dor Micha, Omar Atzili, Andre Geralds and Jair Amador have left the team.
The 50-year-old Donis, now considered the top coach in Greek football, had a fine career as a footballer, and was the first Greek to reach the Premier League when he moved from Panathinaikos to Blackburn in 1996. He then returned to Greece and played for AEK Athens, and later returned to England and played for Sheffield United and Huddersfield.
As a coach he won two championships with Apoel Nicosia and qualified with it for the home stage of the Champions League, and also won two trophies (in Greece and Cyprus). He made his debut as a coach in the lower leagues in Greece, when he promoted Ilisiacos to two leagues. He then moved to Larissa, and after a season promoted it to the Premier League, finishing its first season in the Super League in eighth place. In the second season, he won the cup with her, defeating his youth team Panathinaikos 1: 2 in the final. In his first attempt at European settings he defeated with him another past team of his, Blackburn.
In 2008 he was appointed coach of AEK Athens, but was fired after six months. In 2009 he was appointed coach of Atromitos, qualified with her twice for the cup final, and lost twice. In 2012 he was appointed coach of Pauk, but was fired after a season. In October 2013, Donis preceded Roni Levy and Ran Ben Shimon and was appointed coach of Apoel Nicosia. In his first season he won a double, then led it to the home stage of the Champions League - but at a lethal home with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Ajax he managed to score just one point. In January 2015 he left after a major decline.
From there he moved to Saudi Arabia and won the Al Hilal Cup, from there he moved to coach in the UAE. He then returned for a second term at Apoel Nicosia, but did not live up to expectations and was fired. In July 2018 he returned to Panathinaikos, but after two years the parties agreed to leave due to budget issues and relationship problems with management and owners.
