Maccabi Tel Aviv introduced the club’s new coach, Oscar Garcia, at a press conference yesterday. The former Barcelona youth team coach, speaking in English and Spanish, said that he had received more lucrative offers, but “preferred to come here and bring about a change. I’m very proud to be Maccabi Tel Aviv’s coach. I’ll work hard to bring success to the club,” said Garcia.
“I’m very pleased I could bring a coach like Oscar to Maccabi Tel Aviv,” General Manager Jordi Cruyff, said. “He’s fits the team: He’s young, ambitious and want to work hard. He has a vast knowledge of the game, and I’m glad we managed to make this difficult move,” said Cruyff, adding that he hoped “that a year from now we’ll all be sitting here with a broad smile.”
Garcia experienced some of the local game’s less glamorous sides yesterday. As general director Jack Angelidis was introducing him, a power failure knocked out the lights and the air conditioner. It’s to be hoped the new coach will be quick to grasp that that isn’t the only difference between Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Garcia tried to parry suggestions that he might fail. Language barrier? “I’ll talk to the players in the language of soccer, which is universal. I hope to have a local assistant coach but we haven’t wrapped up that issue yet.”
The first time he’s coaching a senior team? “I played in senior teams, and I feel I’m ready to coach one. If discipline problems arise, we’ll take care of them.”
Huge expectations that always come to naught at Maccabi Tel Aviv? “The past doesn’t matter. The good future begins now. I can’t promise titles, but I promise to do my best.”
Cruyff then continued: “Oscar is one of the most exciting coaches in soccer. I know him very well, I’ve seen his progress, and he was chosen by Maccabi because of his ambition, passion and will to work. We completely trust his abilities as a a coach, and within five or 10 years we’ll be proud to say he began his way here.”
Cruyff added that, “We thought that the best thing now was to present the new coach, and in the near future we’ll see the next few steps. The club is close to signing several players. I want us to do things, not talk about them.”
