Eran Zahavi: "I had talks with Maccabi Tel Aviv already in January"

The striker was interviewed on the club's official website: "PSW people were shocked by the love I received here. When I came back, I felt the dressing room stopped. Ivić told me 'I'm not afraid of any player', that's all I need."

Yaniv Tuchman

25/09/2022

Sunday, September 25, 2022, 4:31 p.m

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Summary: Maccabi Tel Aviv - Beitar Jerusalem 0:4 (Sport1)

Eran Zahavi had the privilege of holding the holiday dinner in Israel this year after quite a few years abroad, and in honor of the occasion the striker gave an interview to the official website of Maccabi Tel Aviv, in which he shared his feelings about returning to the club and life in Israel.

"It's strange, I haven't done a holiday in Israel for many, many years.

Even when we had the opportunity to do it, I was in the national team or something like that," Zahavi said.

The 35-year-old actor recalled his visit to Bloomfield as a PSV Eindhoven player last February: "The finish was amazing, exciting. The players and staff at PSV were shocked. They didn't know what aura there is around me here in Israel, especially in Maccabi Tel Spring. They don't see that kind of love every day, not every player gets it. It had weight in my decision, but it's not the point where I said 'I'm coming back.' There were talks in January as well and there were very good talks. Both sides knew it could happen. To do this was based on the final picture I wanted in my mind. If you die tomorrow, where do you want to die? Where the people closest to you are. This is the metaphor I see in my head. Football has been the most significant part of my life for the last 35 years, so you have to choose where to do it It".

"The ending was amazing."

Zahavi receives love from the crowd in Bloomfield as a PSV Eindhoven player (photo: Bernie Ardov)

The striker described his first days in his current term in yellow as follows: "It was strange, there is a feeling of Zedja Vu but things are not the same. You are not in the same place, the same status, you are not the same player and you are not the same age. Suddenly I am the oldest in the team, except for Sharan. You have to make contact with the new players and rebuild your status, even if you come in a high status - you have to show it on and off the field."

On his initial impression of the new Maccabi Tel Aviv, Zahavi said: "During the training camp, I told them that the dressing room was a bit tight. I don't know if it was because of Ivitch's return. I heard that in the first two years he was really tough and people were afraid to breathe. I remember a dressing room that was a little more relaxed and happy, Even a 'blaganist'. Suddenly there are a lot of good kids, I feel that they are scared. I told them 'guys, we need to break free'. We are not at war, there should be a good atmosphere. We come to have fun."

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Ivitch and Zahabi at the training camp in the Netherlands (photo: official website, the official website of Maccabi Tel Aviv)

The yellow star referred to the compliment he received from coach Vladan Ivić for his work ethic, at the end of one of his first games after returning: "It was a compliment that even I was surprised by. We spoke before I signed and it was very important for me to hear how he sees things, if he knows me and what He heard about me. All in all, I don't like this definition, but I'm like a 'star' - which behaves completely differently from a star. It was important for me to know if he knows and understands this, and is not afraid to face a player who is a little stronger than what he is used to seeing Here in the two years he coached at Maccabi Tel Aviv, because there was no such dominant figure. He told me that he is not afraid of any strong player, but loves players who work hard and he knows that I am one. For me, that's all I need to hear from a coach."

About the return match, in which he scored an important goal against Aris Thessaloniki, he said: "I was under pressure before the match and after it, because I was still injured and I didn't trust myself 100%. I'm not in the shape I need to be to play at a European level right now. By the way, this It wasn't according to the summary. We agreed that I would play for fifteen minutes at the most. After fifteen minutes I was already panting, it was also so hot and I wasn't on the field for a long time."

Zahavi talked about the emotions following that goal: "Six years, it was an outburst of emotions, because in the end all the goals I scored in China and in Eindhoven were in an amazing atmosphere, but the atmosphere here is different. Somewhere everything revolved around me on this day. I made a lot of people happy and it made me feel relieved." .

Didn't come back just to score.

Zahavi with Maccabi Tel Aviv players (Photo: Ariel Shalom)

His role in the current version of Maccabi Tel Aviv: "Today in the club I have other goals beyond scoring goals and breaking one record or another. I need to represent and bring something different to this team. There are other good players here, who know how to take responsibility and score goals. This club was six Years without me and he's won championships. It hurts my character a bit somewhere, and I don't want to hurt my 'killer instinct', so I'll continue with it and try to score as many goals as possible. But if it's possible to get another player into things, then I'll try to do it. And if I scored two goals and there is someone in a better position, I will try to cheer him on. I can adapt to any style. There are many things that have changed at Maccabi Tel Aviv since I left, but many things have also remained and you feel the spirit of a club, which is bigger than any player. Coaches come and go Maccabi Tel Aviv is something beyond that."

At the end, the striker said on the eve of the holiday: "The thing we missed the most was the family. Even the smell of the holiday and childhood, these are things that give you memories and a different nostalgia."

• sport

• Israeli soccer

• Super League

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• Maccabi Tel Aviv in football

• Eran Zehavi