Recap: Maccabi Tel Aviv - Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0:3 (Sport 1)
Elon Almog went through a difficult season. At first he asked to leave on loan to try his luck at Austrian side Hartberg, but soon realised he had to stay at Maccabi Tel Aviv, returned at the end of the January transfer window and only in recent weeks began to get opportunities from coach Aitor Karanka. Last Monday against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, he also scored his first goal this season as a player for the Yellows.
Yesterday (Thursday), Almog stood alongside Aitor Karanka at the press conference and spoke for the first time about the difficult period he went through, but first of all referred to his goal against Be'er Sheva: "It's always fun to score goals, from a young age I do it and I have the passion for more and more goals. I grew up in Maccabi Tel Aviv, my dream was to succeed in the first team and this is where I want to be. I'm hungry for more and of course next season I want to show how good I am."
First goal, maybe not the last this season. Almog (Photo: Ariel Shalom)
On the decision to go to Hartberg and the quick disappearance in Austria: "From the age of 10 or 11 I have been at Maccabi Tel Aviv and I always dreamed of succeeding at the club. My moves to Beitar Tel Aviv/Ramle and Hapoel Hadera were also in order to return and succeed at Maccabi Tel Aviv. After three seasons with the team I thought I needed to play more minutes and show myself more, so I chose Maccabi's agreement to go out on loan. I also dreamed of success abroad and there was a situation here that I wanted to go for, but it didn't work out even though I started well and thought it would be a fantastic season. Sometimes things don't work out the way you want and I did everything to come back, glad it happened and appreciate every minute here."
On the little credit he has received in recent years from Maccabi Tel Aviv's coaches: "I don't look at the coaches who were, but only at myself and know that I can improve on a lot of things. I don't know how to put my finger on something, I just know that I have to work hard and prove myself every minute they give me. I believe in myself and really want to succeed."
Training alone for about three months after returning from Austria: "It was a difficult and challenging time. I returned from Austria to Israel in mid-November and trained with personal trainers also because I had an injury, so I was alone for almost three months, but from the moment I returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv and worked with the fitness coach Ilan who pushed me to the edge, I had only one goal - to return to Bloomfield and score. The coach from the first moment he talked to me and looked at me, even when I was training alone, motivated me and I just wanted to come back, just like a kid going up to adulthood. I wanted to repay the coach for trusting me and this is an opportunity to say thank you, I feel he believes in me and I really want to help the team."
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Wants to repay Karanka for trusting him (Photo: Ariel Shalom)
Almog also said of the training alone: "My goal was to finish the season abroad no matter what happens in order to return a more mature and significant player at Maccabi Tel Aviv, or to get better offers and the Austrian league is amazing for those who want to advance. Things didn't work out and I wanted to go back. I didn't finish abroad, I learned a lot about life and career in half a season and it was a welcome step that I suggest the players do. I went from a big club like Maccabi Tel Aviv to a relatively small club in Austria, everyone has to make the right decision for him."
The fans' disappointment and lack of faith ahead of next season: "I grew up and was educated at Maccabi Tel Aviv to win titles and win every game. It's not a successful season, because Maccabi Tel Aviv has to fight for every title and win everything, but that's the situation and we, the players, give everything and know that we have to deliver the goods and bring results. The crowd is part of us, our 12th player, and we will do everything to be better and stronger and fight for all the titles next season."
- sport
- Israeli football
- League
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- Maccabi Tel Aviv Football
