Erran Zahavi Expresses Disappointment Over Maccabi Tel Aviv's Lack of Contact
Former football star Erran Zahavi revealed he was deeply hurt that Maccabi Tel Aviv did not contact him about the vacant professional manager position last summer. Zahavi, who completed a prestigious UEFA professional management course, believed he was a strong candidate after the club parted ways with Ben Mansford and searched for a replacement. He expressed his disappointment in private conversations, stating he was not even considered for an interview.
Zahavi's departure from Maccabi Tel Aviv as a player was also contentious, marked by a dispute with coach Zarko Lazetic and the club's request for him not to announce his exit publicly to avoid disrupting the championship race. Despite this, Zahavi was instrumental in the team's title win that season.
"I was hurt that Maccabi Tel Aviv didn't even talk to me in the summer about the possibility of me being the professional manager, and that I wasn't even on their candidate list," Zahavi shared. He believes he could have handled the responsibility, despite the club's policy of hiring foreign managers. This snub has fueled his motivation to succeed in a similar role at another Israeli club and prove his capabilities.
"I am sure I will be an excellent professional manager," Zahavi added. "If Maccabi Tel Aviv chose not to include me even on the list of candidates, it disappointed me, but I will be somewhere else. There are other clubs. The last few years have proven that Israeli professional managers, like Almog Cohen and Lior Refaelov, are no less good than foreigners who came to Maccabi Tel Aviv. With all due respect to all the candidates Maccabi considered or chose, I am no less than anyone."
He concluded, "It only makes me now go crazy to succeed elsewhere and beat Maccabi Tel Aviv. I am not one of those who sit at home and wait for a phone call only from Maccabi; there are other teams in the country and I am not thinking about abroad at this stage. I will yet show them they were wrong in their treatment of me, when it comes, it will come. These are things that ignite my desire to succeed more than anything else, and I already have my plans."
