Hapoel Tel Aviv arguably made the biggest basketball signing not only in the history of the Israeli league but also in the Euroleague, as Vasilije Micic will don red for the upcoming three years.
Head Coach Dimitrios Itoudis’s team has made quite the splash ahead of what will be its debut season in the continent’s top competition, with not only the inking of Micic but a number of other top-level players, from Elijah Bryant and Daniel Oturu to Tyler Ennis and Colin Malcolm.
Owner Ofer Yannay, who would have liked to have been granted a Euroleague license, did the next best thing by building one of the strongest teams on paper to ensure that they have the best chance of making the playoffs and then staying put in the No. 1 league in Europe for an additional campaign. With that, Yannay spoke about a myriad of topics that have consumed the club over the past number of months, while also shedding light on how the Micic signing came about.
“The possibility of signing Micic started two months ago,” Yannay began. “I became very close with him, and what I saw is that he has a very special personality as well as being a very talented player. But I said then that a deal wouldn’t be realistic and that the numbers didn’t make sense, so we couldn’t move forward, and the negotiations were over. But when I was in Abu Dhabi, I met both Vasilije and his father. Then the missiles from Iran hit Israel, but I received a message from Vasa, and he wrote to me that both he and his father are Serbs and that they are writing to me as those who are familiar with war and hope that we are okay. I told George Hinaa and Dimitrios Itoudis that this moved me, and to take a look at what type of personality he is.”
“At that point, I said we would submit a new offer and stay in the game, but it was still something that wasn’t realistic because he was the biggest name in the European market, and teams like Fenerbahce lost stars, Olympiacos wanted him, and Real Madrid is a prestigious club. At the end of the day, what decided Vasilije to sign with us is the personal connection, but there was also something else. We all have a certain attitude towards the mystical things in life – not all of us are connected to the mystical – and when our conversation ended, I told Micic and his agent that perhaps this won’t work out and I understand that, but that they had to know I had a very strong vision that I saw Micic’s future at Hapoel.”
A mystical moment
Yannay continued: “After it was all over, Micic asked if I remembered that I had told him about the vision and I said yes, and he told me that his girlfriend had the same vision. She had a dream that he was playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv.
It was an amazing moment with him, a mystical moment. It’s not about the money – what we did is that he will receive some of the funds in the form of shares. He understands that and sees this deal as a business too. If he has a million dollars in shares, it could be 30 [million] down the road. That is something that Fenerbahce and Real didn’t offer him.”
With Micic locked up, Yannay and his team have a number of critical goals ahead of them for the upcoming season.
“In the current model, we took into account that the most important goal we have as a team is to make sure that we make at least the playoffs,” Yannay began. “This was even before signing Micic, as it wasn’t clear that he would even be an option. The second goal is winning the championship in Israel, so we thought about how we could create a situation where we could reach both goals.
“A normal team, for example Panathinaikos, plays a game in Greece, and after a few days there is a Euroleague game that is also in Greece, another game in the country, and then they may fly to Madrid for another Euroleague game. In this case, there is one significant flight every two weeks.
Once we are based in Sofia, where, for the time being, our Euroleague home games will be, it will be very costly in time. In reality, we are one big team with every player being a part of the rotation, so this way not every player will have to fly for every game. Coach Itoudis will hold practices both here and there.”
Yannay was a proponent of increasing the number of imports that can play in the Israeli league from five to six, but that will not be the case – something he feels could have been good for the fans.
“We will have five foreigners in Israel for every game, which is really a disgrace. What, the fans don’t deserve to see six of them? Look at the players we have. I believe that at some point the games will return to Israel, and I would imagine that the chance of getting a ticket is zero. I want to see a full arena of red fans—and maybe a little more if we get carried away. I want to see a crowd that is united and not with all that we saw last season. This is solvable, and it’s possible.”
“The fans want us to reach the goal of finally seeing a championship in Israel. I think everyone understands the special journey that this club is going through – everyone is connecting to the history, the values, the community – and every player who played for Hapoel remembers this all in a positive way, and it resonates with everyone who comes here. We need to continue working and connecting with them, but there is also a role for the fans to be there for the players.”
The Israeli contingent will have a crucial role with Hapoel Tel Aviv this year due to the number of games and travel the team will be experiencing for the first time. With that, Yannay has brought in many new Sabras and will also bring back some of the younger players who have been out on loan.
“We have a very strong base returning, and we have added Iftach Ziv and Itay Segev. We also decided that we would keep Eyal Harel, Ari Amiel, and Ilay Dolinski with the team this coming season and not loan them out, as we need everyone. We have given the Israeli players a greater role in the domestic league, and I expect everyone to rise to the occasion, because we must meet all of our expectations.”
As for those expectations, Yannay was clear and to the point about the goals ahead.
“Winning the Israel league championship and finishing between first and eighth place in the Euroleague. Perhaps now that Micic has signed, we can aim for more. The goal three years down the road is to be a club that is at the top of Europe.
“I believe winning the Euroleague for Hapoel fans will be an out-of-body experience, and we want to make the club as healthy as possible in terms of revenue, which we are working very hard on.”
Much of the behind-the-scenes work Yannak speaks about has already been done. What remains to be determined is the reaped fruits of that labor.