Ivanir sacked by Mac TA

Less than a year after returning to his boyhood club as a savior, Moti Ivanir is fired.

By ALLON SINAI
Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Moti Ivanir 311 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Moti Ivanir 311
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Less than a year after returning to his boyhood club as a savior, Moti Ivanir was sacked by Maccabi Tel Aviv on Monday evening following the team’s dismal run of form.
Ivanir seemed to be the man for the job after Maccabi began the season with five wins from its first six Premier League matches and advanced to the Europa League group stage for the first time in club history.
However, it all began to unravel after that, with the yellow-and-blue winning only one of its last eight league games, falling to its fourth straight defeat at Hapoel Haifa on Sunday night.
“I appreciate Moti’s efforts since he joined,” Mitch Goldhar told the club’s website. “Moti is a very honest, decent and classy man. He has integrity and was loyal to Maccabi Tel Aviv football club.”
Ivanir, who admitted he is struggling to find a solution to Maccabi’s meltdown following the defeat to Hapoel Haifa, was surely hoping for a little more time to turn matters around.
“I would like to thank Mitch Goldhar for giving me the chance to realize a childhood dream and coach Maccabi,” he said.
Goldhar will not want to wait long before bringing in a replacement for Ivanir, with Itzhak Schum, Roni Levy, Guy Luzon and even outgoing Israel coach Luis Fernandez among the early candidates for the job.