"Last year we were a better team than Maccabi Haifa"

The mistakes ("need more talented people alongside Yitzhaki, I would do anything to keep Schechter and Tibi"), Ivitch ("what worked in Israel did not work in England") and the criticism towards him ("I gave my all").

Nick Blackman recalls the two terms in Israel and is sure: "We should have taken the degree"

Refresh Baranowski

28/01/2022

Friday, January 28, 2022, 1:00 p.m.

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Nick Blackman is in no hurry to get anywhere.

He is at home, in Barbados, with family and has no special plans at the moment.

"I haven't seen them in a long time because of the corona and the fact that I played in Israel. So I actually fill in gaps and quite enjoy life."

After leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv at the end of last season, the 33-year-old did not find a team.

"I had a very difficult time with a knee injury. I actually played the last two years with excruciating pain and really suffered. In my last two seasons at Maccabi you did not see the real Nick Blackman. The knee finished me and did not allow me to play the way I wanted and aspired to play. .

A sense of missed opportunity.

Blackman vs. Maccabi Haifa (Photo: Maor Elkelsi)

"The professional team did not make the necessary changes and continued with the same method. If something does not work, time after time, then why not change, why not try something else?"

Do you even want to play football, or are you already thinking about retirement?

"Retirement? What the hell. I'm a free agent right now, I'll be back to play for sure. I do not know where and when but I did not retire from football. I'm looking for a real challenge for myself.

"Israel is an amazing place, I enjoyed every moment in this country. I say this wholeheartedly, but I am already looking for other challenges. I feel that the football episode in Israel is over for me and it is time to look for something new."

"I left immediately after winning the trophy. I did not play in the final, but it was an amazing feeling to finish in good taste, with the celebrations of winning the title. For me the season ended with a huge disappointment, because I really think we should have won the championship. I felt it was in our hands. It's a really accurate explanation for why it did not happen, but I still think we are the ones who should have taken the title. "

"I think in a sense we ran out of ideas. We did not show stability and lost too many points in the beginning. I think there were things that did not work, and yet the professional team did not make the necessary changes and continued with the same method. If something does not work, time after time, then why not Change, why not try something else? We lost too many important points, we did not win four games in a row from the middle of the first round of the playoffs and here we actually lost momentum. I think we were a better team than Maccabi Haifa, even when they played better football. We had a psychological advantage. "Because they did not beat us in any game last season. They took the championship without beating us."

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The ideas are over.

Patrick Van Leven on the lines last season (Photo: Udi Citation)

There are quite a few who say that you actually missed the championship in the 1-1 draw with Sami Ofer, in the first round of the playoffs.

A game where you looked good in the second half, equalized and then you were sent off after two yellow cards, pretty stupid.

How did you feel in that game?

"Do you think the dismissal was even justified? You saw the second yellow I got, it was never yellow in life. Obviously we were in momentum, after a lag in the first half, we came to this game with a very lacking staff, dragged equal with the beginning of the half and really looked good and the momentum was with us. "We did not lose the game, so I am not convinced that that was our problem. I generally think that we actually got confidence from this game."

"Nobody said it directly, so I do not know who spoke and what they said. In the end we also did not lose the game. Red? Such things can happen and the talk after the game, it is something quite common. When not going or when losing, it is easier to blame. "Foreigners. It's like that almost everywhere in the world. When you lose, the pressure on foreigners is greater."

The 1: 1 summary of Maccabi Haifa with Maccabi Tel Aviv (Sport 1)

"Reminds you of the semi-final against Maccabi Haifa, in Haifa, last season. Schechter won this game himself. For me it was a very strange decision that it was decided to release him, he had to stay."

What do you think about this season of Maccabi Tel Aviv?

"Maccabi lost a lot of players last summer. Yonatan Cohen and Dor Peretz left and moved to play in Italy, Eitan Tibi was also released, but I think the biggest loss of the club is Itai Schechter. He is an amazing person, far beyond another player in the team. His experience and contribution in the locker room, Along with the fact that he always provided a good atmosphere in training and games. There is no substitute for his hunger and leadership. The contribution of such players is sometimes much greater behind the scenes. His importance to young people is enormous. The same player he was ten years ago, but now he has learned to play differently and always knew how to contribute.

"Reminds you of the semi-final against Maccabi Haifa, in Haifa, last season. Schechter won this game himself. For me it was a very strange decision that it was decided to release him, he had to stay. If I was Barak Yitzhaki, I would do everything to keep the "Both Tibi and Schechter in the team. They would help the next generation of players to adapt and be absorbed into the club and would also take on the pressure if something did not work. When so many important leaders and dominant players leave at once, the team is hurt."

"Maccabi Tel Aviv is in a period of transition. This is a period of player exchanges, of bringing in younger players who need time and confidence. I think there are some very good players in the team. For me, Eyal Golsa, when he is healthy and plays, is the best contact in Israel. "Good, even though the new coach hasn't really believed in them lately. It's football, a coach comes and he's the one who decides."

"To nurture the young people and let them play. They have to rub shoulders and gain experience and that way they will grow to be leading players. If the foreigners are not influential enough, better players need to be brought in. And one more thing - I think Barak Yitzhaki must be in the system as Maccabi Tel Aviv's sports director. He is one of the most talented people in Israeli football. He learned a lot during his years at Maccabi Tel Aviv, especially from the time he was with Jordi Cruyff, and he has the abilities to be an excellent sports director at Maccabi. I think one of the problems is that the managers above him are not good enough .

How do you give up on such a player?

Schechter (Photo: Berni Ardov)

You played for the team in two terms, the first in the Jordi era and the second in the championship season with Ivica and last season.

What was the difference in the club?

"I came to Maccabi after they lost the championship to Be'er Sheva. I think Jordi was closer to the players and the atmosphere was different. Jordi had a lot of connections throughout Europe and it definitely helped the club. He had a very large team and everyone had their role. With Ivica, he seems to have decided almost everything and I think players were really afraid of him so they did everything he said, but Vladan always had material considerations. On the other hand, what worked for him here against the Maccabi stars did not work for him in England. "To Watford and tried to do things in front of the stars there, Troy Dini came and turned the team over and in the end he lost his place. In England the players have enormous power, here in Israel usually the coach is the strongest man in the system."

"Of course. Ivica was an excellent coach, you could see that from the way the team won two championships under him. One of the things that stood out was that the team was never based on one player. Honestly, Ivica did not count anyone, for him the best star "Big or earning the highest and the boy from the youth were in the same status. Whoever was good at training, got the team shirt. For him every training was in the intensity of a game. It was crazy. He always stretched us all to the limit."

"I have to be real and say I did not really know the details, when this whole affair came out. I heard like everyone else what it was about. No one told us anything. The owner made his decision and that is what happened in the end. I really think Mitch Goldhaar decided "According to what he thought was right for the club. When an owner makes such a decision, no matter what the others think, he is the owner and he is the one who determines."

"I think his influence last season was not so great or decisive. I think that this season, Noble's contribution to Haifa's championship fight is enormous. He scores, cooks, dominates, is exceptionally fit. We saw his huge goal two weeks ago against Beer Sheva. "He's a player who wins games alone."

In England the players have more power and they have turned on him.

Ivica (Photo: GettyImages, Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA)

I want to bring you back to your years at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

You came as a glittering purchase from England, you were even defined as an answer to the Wakma of Be'er Sheva.

The feeling is that the expectations from you were enormous, but did not really realize your potential.

"First of all, comparing myself to someone else is a mistake. I really tried to do my best to be successful and help the team. I may not have reached my full potential, but I gave my all. I really enjoyed Maccabi and was happy to play for the club. We did not win the championship in my first term. "Here, too, that's probably part of the impression. Of course sometimes there are hard moments or things don't work and you can always give more and do more, but overall I really gave it my all."

"Are you really asking? Obviously I have encountered manifestations of racism. There have been quite a few games where I have heard growls towards me or other players. Racism is a global problem, not just in Israel. I really hope UEFA or FIFA do much more about it. Once people pay. "Large fines and will feel the blow in their pocket, it will reduce the phenomenon. When it hurts in your pocket you understand the severity of the act better."

"I came across it in almost every stadium in Israel, especially against the big teams. It's a real shame. In the first year I tried to fight it. I remember there was one game in Teddy, against Betar Jerusalem (in 2017, Maccabi Tel Aviv won 1: 2, RB) and I heard for sure growls and also words and curses that I do not want to elaborate. I remember that after I won I signaled to the audience "quiet" with my finger on his mouth and what happened? "I really hope one day it will be out of our lives."

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