The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Vladimir Ivitch in an exclusive interview: "My daughter said: 'Dad, I'm scared.' It broke me" - Walla! sport

2021-12-23T08:07:08.016Z


The reason why he rejected Maccabi Tel Aviv's comeback offer, the advice he gave Mladen Krastic and what he thinks of Patrick van Leven. Vladan Ivic breaks a silence of over a year


Vladimir Ivitch in an exclusive interview: "My daughter said: 'Dad I'm scared.' It broke me."

The reason why he rejected Maccabi Tel Aviv's comeback offer, the advice he gave Mladen Krastic and what he thinks of Patrick van Leven.

Vladan Ivic breaks a silence of over a year and promises: "My door has not been closed to return."

Exclusive interview

Yaniv Tuchman

23/12/2021

Thursday, December 23, 2021, 10:00 p.m.

  • Share on Facebook

  • Share on WhatsApp

  • Share on Twitter

  • Share on Email

  • Share on general

  • Comments

    Comments

Summary: Maccabi Tel Aviv - Bnei Sakhnin 1: 1 (Sport 1)

When he left Maccabi Tel Aviv a year and a half ago, Vladan Ivitch gave an exclusive interview to Walla! sport. One of the headlines from him was: "Maccabi Tel Aviv can find a new Ivica. I am not the best coach in Europe." Yesterday when we started the first and exclusive exclusive interview he gives us after a year and a half of silence, I could not help but return with him first to that sentence. The trial was then intended to reassure Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who were in great pain after two years, including two championships.



So what, Maccabi Tel Aviv has not found a new Ivica in the last year and a half even though you predicted it would happen.



"Maccabi Tel Aviv brought in Georgios Donis after me. For me at that point in time it was a good choice because Donis was the best Greek coach for me. He is a coach who did things in football in Greece and Cyprus. Maybe the connection between him and the team was not good enough. They asked me about Maccabi and me. "I said he was a good choice because his resume was worthy. I believed that Donis would succeed at Maccabi. Sometimes you can be a good coach in one place and less good in another. The initial connection is very important and unfortunately it did not happen."

More on Walla!

Will Ivica's boyfriend follow suit?

The expectations of Maccabi Tel Aviv from Krastich

To the full article

Maccabi Tel Aviv is still looking for a worthy successor.

Vladan Ivic (Photo: Danny Maron)

"I am no longer alone. I have a wife and I have children. What can I tell my girl who saw these missiles on TV? She grew up in Tel Aviv and now she is so scared."

Patrick Van Leven who replaced you managed to take a trophy but this season was also sacked. Then Maccabi said we would try to bring back the old Ivica instead of looking for a new Ivica. It's time to hear from you why you did not return to Maccabi this season.



"After Patrick Potter, the phone call came from Maccabi and I was in Thessaloniki already after I left London at the end of last season. I had five other offers from Maccabi before the offer and I preferred not to go for all sorts of reasons, especially professional. With Maccabi it was not professional. It was due to the family's great fear to return after what happened in Israel last May.



We were still in London then after months of not working because I was fired from Watford and then they started shooting at Tel Aviv and all the cities around Gush Dan and even north. Open to reports from Israel, out of concern, out of concern for what we went through in Israel for two years with all the friends we had left in the country.Then came a lot of pictures and video articles.



"We were fascinated by the screen in London with what was broadcast from Israel and we were very worried. For two years we lived in Tel Aviv, one of the most beautiful and advanced cities in the world, which is attacked by missiles and bombed day after day with missiles landing in all sorts of places. Look, I know what a bombed city is. 1999 in Belgrade. I have experienced such bombings day after day for three and a half months, but I am no longer alone. I have a wife and I have children. What can I tell my girl who saw these missiles on TV? She grew up in Tel Aviv and now she is so scared. "In great pain and deep sorrow, I said no to Maccabi Tel Aviv. If it weren't for these missiles and what happened about six months ago, I would be Maccabi Tel Aviv coach again today. But as soon as my daughter said: 'Dad, I'm scared.' It broke me."

"I know what a bombed-out city is."

Operation The Guardian of the Walls (Photo: TPS, Photo: Eitan Elhadz / TPS)

"I very much hope that you will have peace in Israel and that you will live in security and maybe in a while, if Maccabi wants me again, it will be easier and more comfortable for me than for my family to return."

Have you thought about coming alone and leaving the family in Thessaloniki?



"I still have small children and I prefer to be with them and my wife. Maybe if they were 15 it would have been different. Today they are still small and I think they need both mom and dad next to them."



So the memory was very fresh and it affected?



"Exactly. I know that for you in Israel it is something to live with and I also went through it in Serbia, but you will explain to small children that it is normal for missiles to be fired at you and you hear alarms."



The people from Maccabi who talked to you, tried to convince?



"Everyone knows and recognizes me as the one behind my decisions. I took a few days to think. Talk to my wife and children. I told Maccabi that I would give a final answer a few days later and Maccabi fully understood me."



So the door closed?



"No, not at all. My door is not closed. Maybe in the future it will happen. Just now my family's memory of what they saw on TV is very fresh. I very much hope you have a quiet Israel and that you will live in security and maybe in a while, if Maccabi wants me again, "It's easier and more comfortable for me than for my family to return. I love Maccabi. For me, this is the biggest club in Israel."



Was it a mistake on your part to leave a year and a half ago?

After all, Mitch Goldhaar tried to convince you to stay until the last minute.



"At that time it was right to make a decision and leave. We finished two very successful years and I wanted to test myself in a stronger league. Like players who finish contracts and want to advance to better leagues, so did I. I told Mitch I thank him very much for the offer to stay, but I want To move forward and experience a new place. "

"Agree that this was a bad choice of mine."

Ivica at Watford (Photo: GettyImages, Marc Atkins)

"Money does not lead me in life. I am not afraid to sit at home. I do not run after money. I have made enough money in life so that I can make my choices according to what I feel."

People did not believe that you were leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv without a contract anywhere. It took you a long time to find Watford.



"Before I came to Maccabi I took a trophy with PAOK Thessaloniki after 13 years they did not win. I had a contract for another season but I broke the contract and asked to leave and sat at home for a year. I had a contract and I myself decided to leave PAOK. That's me. Money does not lead me in life "I'm not afraid to sit at home. I do not run after money. I have made enough money in life so that I can make my choices according to what I feel."



The choice of Watford was not successful for you and in December you were fired.



"I agree that it was a bad choice of mine but before I signed there I did not know it. There may be coaches who would have suited them what was going on there. For me it did not suit."



A whole year since you were fired and you have just reached a financial settlement with them and you are getting almost everything you deserve for last season.



"It's accurate so I also feel free and open to being interviewed now. I sentenced myself to a long silence of more than a year because I was with them in various moves in order to get what I deserved. Now everything has worked out and you can talk."

"Everything we agreed on was iron."

Mitch Goldhaar (Photo: Yossi Tzipkis)

"There were times when I asked Mitch to talk to the players. When I felt he could help us if he talked to the players, it happened. The connection was good even when he was in Canada."

In an interview you gave me when you left you said that every coach dreams of a husband like Goldhaar and a player like Schechter. Let's talk about Goldhaar. Some Maccabi Tel Aviv fans are already less satisfied with him.



"My positive opinion of Mitch Goldhaar has grown since I said things to you a year and a half ago and I will explain. Mitch was an excellent owner for me. Everything I talked to, everything I asked for, everything we agreed on was iron. , But for me it was enough. His word is more than anything. He gave me the keys to Maccabi Tel Aviv and never asked why such a player plays and such a player does not. "Whoever comes after me enjoys the same freedom. Mitch let me do everything I think and that's the best thing that can happen in a football club. He put my full responsibility in my hands and allowed me to make changes at my discretion. And that's the best situation for a football club coach."



Isn't it a bad situation that he does not come to Israel to be near Maccabi Tel Aviv?



"He did not come even when I worked for Maccabi Tel Aviv and that did not stop us from winning the championship twice. He came to my mind three times in the two years I was. I can tell you that there were times when I asked him to talk to the players. "It happened. The connection was good even when he was in Canada."



So as long as Goldhaar is the owner of Maccabi Tel Aviv, is it good for Maccabi Tel Aviv fans?



"I am convinced of that. He is a man who loves Maccabi Tel Aviv and wants its very success. He is a successful businessman with a lot of responsibility and part of his responsibility is this club. He has given a lot to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the past and I believe he will succeed in the future."

"Slowly he showed me what a winner he is."

Itai Schechter (Photo: Danny Maron)

"Two losses in 72 games? Those are not normal numbers. It's obvious. Sometimes I sit and watch our games because I'm not working right now and it's really crazy."

The second part of the sentence you said referred as stated to Itai Schechter. How do you explain that Maccabi Tel Aviv released him?



"I do not know what made Maccabi decide that way. When I came to Maccabi, Schechter was often out of the squad in the qualifiers in Europe. It was the beginning of both of us in the team and I did not know him well enough. I made decisions based on what I saw in training. "He, and he started to start in the squad. Even when he was on the bench, he did not create any problems for me. Schechter is good for the team. Why is he not at Maccabi? I do not know. I love Schechter. I like players who are fighting for their place."



Jack Angelidis was the man who brought up your name. You had a great relationship with Mitch. You and Ben Mansford were like a married couple and even with Barak Yitzhaki an amazing connection was created that is preserved to this day. Why is the only man you did not connect with at Maccabi Tel Aviv is Patrick Van Leven?



"I am a person who respects everyone. But if I feel that someone does not respect me, it is over. I will not say anything beyond that."



Maccabi Tel Aviv is very bad this season and is absorbing so many goals.

During your time the team had only two losses in 72 games.

How did you do that?



"It's really a crazy number that may never happen again. Neither for me nor for Maccabi. I think it's the result of hard work and previous professionalism of the players. They are the ones who deserve everything we did then. These are not normal numbers. It's clear. Sometimes I sit and watch our games "I'm not working right now and it's really crazy."



The secret is what you did all week in Kiryat Shalom?



"I do not want to make a comparison between my period and the periods of coaches who came after me or those who were before me. Maybe the players can tell what we did so that we only recorded 2 losses in 72 games."

"If I feel like someone does not respect me, it's over."

Patrick Van Leven (Photo: Official website, Maccabi Tel Aviv website)

"Krestajic knows how to work under pressure. It's not something he does not know. I also told him that the Israeli league is very difficult. It is not like the league in Serbia. It is not a partisan in Belgrade and the red star in Belgrade and that is it."

Alongside the great success in the country with the two championships, it was a failure in Europe. In the first season you came you were close to the home stage but in the summer after the first championship it was a shameful dismissal.



"As for the first season, it's something I still think about. Even today. We were really close but then that penalty came against Sarpsborg from Norway in Netanya. We were already in the Europa League but we suffered from a penalty that was not. Believe me I think more about failure than success. In summer "After we were eliminated again, we acted really badly. I take responsibility for what happened. We did not prepare well for the games in the qualifiers and we did not come right."



After Donis Van Leven and after you refused, Maccabi Tel Aviv went for Mladen Krestic, whom you know well and even played with. Will he be able to make the change and bring Maccabi Tel Aviv back to its great days?



"I wholeheartedly wish him and Maccabi to win the championship again. We played partisan Belgrade together. He is a great person. He has an excellent character. I know him less as a coach but as a person and as a professional I have only warm things to say about him. "Good, one that can bring success to Maccabi. I will be for him and for Maccabi in everything."



You talked.



"We talked after he signed. Not before. He called and asked to know things. I told him everything. I gave him a full report on each one."



What advice did you give him?



"I told him that Maccabi Tel Aviv is a huge club with a lot of pressure. He knows how to work under pressure. It's not something he does not know. I also told him that the Israeli league is very difficult. It is not like the league in Bessarabia. Netanya is strong, Maccabi Petah Tikva is making problems, MS Ashdod is dangerous. Maccabi Tel Aviv will not be able to beat these teams if it does not come prepared. The league in Israel is difficult. There are strong rivals. There are no big differences between Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Hapoel Haifa, Kiryat Shmona or Ashdod. Maccabi Tel Aviv lost to Umm al-Fahm in the cup. Forgot? I did not forget. "Let no one at Maccabi tell him who to put in the squad. That it is a good club for the coach."

"We talked after he signed. Not before."

Mladen Krestajic (Photo: Berni Ardov)

"We went through everything, Jonathan and I. I think in the end he understood me and I understood him and he played for the team first of all. I am very pleased with his progress."

Let's talk a little bit about actors. Were you surprised by the impressive leap made by Daniel Peretz as a young goalkeeper?



"Absolutely not. Daniel would train with us and my goalkeeping coach told me he would go far."



Are you surprised that Dor Peretz failed to put a stake in Venice's squad?



"Dor Peretz is an excellent player who made the right decision to move to Serie A in Italy. He is in one of the five strongest leagues in the world and this is a place for him to show what his potential is. We need patience."



Yonatan Cohen went to Pisa from the second division. You had a complex relationship.



"We went through everything, Jonathan and I. I think in the end he understood me and I understood him and he played for the team first of all. He showed that he is a player who can give maximum in both conquests and cooks. I am very pleased with his progress. Pisa in the second division in Italy is not his last stop "In Europe, he can go further."

"There are things that are beyond football for me and the first value is family."

Vladan Ivic (Photo: Berni Ardov)

Orosh Nikolic is an open wound?



"It hurts me. What happened to him hurts me a lot because he had to be a player that everyone in Israel would love. He was an outstanding player when we brought him in but he got injured. I can only wish him to overcome his problem and come back one day to play football."



Apparently for many more years in Israel your name represented a character of a tough, uncompromising, unsmiling coach and one that can not be faked in front of him.

But there are other sides that your players knew and the public did not.



"Everything you said is true but it is also true that there are things that are beyond football for me and the first value is family. I have always made it clear to players that family is something to respect and if a player needs a day off or even two days to be with his family for something important, I expect him to concentrate on family "When Sharan Yeni asked not to go to training camp to be with his pregnant wife, it was the most natural thing in the world for me. It might also explain more why the opinion of my family and my daughter was important to me in the decision not to accept the offer from Maccabi Tel Aviv."

  • sport

  • Israeli soccer

  • Super League

Tags

  • Maccabi Tel Aviv in football

Source: walla

All sports articles on 2021-12-23

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.