Behind the Scenes. Most of the time we get the bottom line – after the publication of negotiations, an official announcement is made: the player has signed with the team for X years. Behind every such signing there are months and even years of behind-the-scenes work, courtship, professional analysis and personality structure of the acquisition All this in a competitive world, with the budget in most cases playing a major role. Following a peek inside the youth department of Maccabi Petah Tikva, it’s time for the people who lead the procurement team to speak.
“We are spread all over the country,” said the department director and chief scout, Ophir Luzon To the sports channel, “Our power comes from the field, there are 15 team members who check everything on players and invest a lot of time in it. We burn the pitches and divide our team members by ages and geographical areas.”
“I get into the activity at a more advanced stage of the deal and the person who centralizes all the data and is responsible for the people in the field is Yuval Mintos – this is a child prodigy,” Luzon reveals. The 19-year-old Mintos serves as Luzon’s right-hand man and is in charge of staff on the ground. “It’s a name that is marked with us,” he said Omar Golan, The professional manager of the senior team for the driving force behind the addition of the prodigy from Maccabi Haifa, Uri Azzo.
From the notebook to the negotiating table – how do you choose and sign a player in Petah Tikva?
“There’s a lot of work behind the scenes,” he said Mintus, “I know what I need for Maccabi Petah Tikva, goes out into the field to examine the relevant player and fills out an initial report. Write down the pros, cons, his body language on the grass. I centralize all the data and then another professional arrives to watch the child as an opinion “Second. He focuses on him without prior information about him, fills out his report and then we do crossword puzzles.”
“There are cases of a third opinion, sometimes the player comes to train with us,” Mintos continued, “and after the screening I choose the player according to categories: long-term potential, cost, agent representation and geographic location. At this stage, the professional manager Lior Redler and the coach of that yearbook go into action and together we choose the player. ”
“After the initial meeting and as we get closer to the conclusion, the parents or agent also meet with the director of the youth department and close a deal,” Luzon’s right hand man said, “even after the signing our work is not over. him”.
Budget and agenda: “Fighting what we have”
The focus of Maccabi Petah Tikva is at the age of 15 and under. According to the law in the Football Association, a player of this age can switch between teams without transfer fees. “Bringing a player aged 16-17, when we have so many home players, is something that does not usually happen. Under the age of 15 it is attractive both in terms of cost and in terms of its design and development. He will absorb the club for 3-4 years and cook enough to reach the seniors, “Mintos shared.
So what sets Maccabi Petah Tikva apart from the rest? “Professional horizon, these children know that we produce players for the adult team as a real agenda,” Luzon clarified, “We invest and give them the best professional conditions and of course warmth and sensitivity as human beings. This is what sets us apart from others, there is no distance. It is a home for better or for worse. ”
“25% of the players in the youth department have joined from other teams. Players come here from all over the country. There are 10-year-olds from Eilat who come on flights every day. We can’t beat Maccabi Tel Aviv or Maccabi Haifa with money, so we go out and fight with the tools we have. The budget of the youth department is around five million shekels. Significantly lower than the big clubs, but high compared to the other departments. ”
Selection of coaches and winner on the grass
“We follow up and bring in the best players, but at the end of the day Lior Redler’s professional program is what keeps them here,” Luzon admitted. “It will bring them the best achievements. Redler is the youth department of Maccabi Petah Tikva. We have been sitting on this chair for many years and we have created stability here. “
“We have formulated good player material and we are less frantically looking outside as in the past. We have changed attitude. The goal is to keep ours and attach a little. However, in the football world things always change and always have to be with the hand on the pulse.”
Beyond selecting players, Luzon also spoke about how coaches are selected: “Our team has been here for a long time and is amazing. Stability is important in the youth department. On the other hand, even after coaches are tracked. After we sign a coach, a team member comes to see him in training and games. “We check how he speaks, what his style is, what his professional language is, we measure him in times of stress. Personality plays an important role, beyond principals or coaches, we are educators and that is first and foremost.”
