Goodes gone as coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv

The inevitable became official on Monday morning when Maccabi Tel Aviv fired head coach Guy Goodes. After 17 months as head coach and more than six years as an assistant coach, the longtime pairing of Goodes and Maccabi has come to an end. It was only a matter of time until Maccabi made his firing official after the team suffered yet another humbling defeat on Sunday night. Maccabi fell to 3-2 in the BSL with a shock 88-83 loss to Maccabi Ashdod at Yad Eliyahu Arena, dashing any hope Goodes may have had of retaining his job. Goodes entered the game in an impossible position, with Maccabi already searching for a new coach. Israel national team coach Erez Edelstein admitted earlier Sunday that he turned down the option to replace Goodes as he is unwilling to take charge of a team mid-season. Former Maccabi guard Sarunas Jasikevicius of Lithuania reportedly already rejected the opportunity two weeks ago. Only discord in the club's ownership saved Goodes from already being sacked a couple of weeks ago. Goodes's hours, not to mention days, at the club looked to be numbered after the side opened a Euroleague campaign at 0-2 for the first time since 1998 before dropping to a humbling BSL defeat to Hapoel Jerusalem at Yad Eliyahu. However, with the different factions in the team's ownership failing to agree on the identity of Goodes's replacement, the coach remained at the helm, although that couldn't save him following the defeat to Ashdod, which had lost its first three games of the campaign. Maccabi dropped to 1-3 in the Euroleague for the first time in 17 years on Thursday after losing 77-66 to Brose Baskets Bamberg in Germany and faces Darussafaka Istanbul in a crucial continental contest on Thursday. Assistants Avi Even and Rafi Bogatin will guide the team on an intern basis until a full-time replacement is hired. “After long and painful consideration, Maccabi Tel Aviv held a meeting today with head coach Guy Goodes at which it was decided that he will not continue to serve in that role,” read a club statement. “Maccabi has great respect for Guy as both a person and a professional. Guy is a part of the Maccabi family, a player with a glorious past, an assistant coach and coach who has been part of the club for 15 years. We wish Guy good luck in his future endeavors, and we are convinced our paths will cross again in the future. “We must continue to do whatever it takes to get back on the track to victory which has been the path of Maccabi Tel Aviv for dozens of years, and the burden of proof is also on the players who wear the yellow and blue.” The 45-year-old Goodes was the obvious successor to David Blatt last summer after spending four years as his assistant. Goodes played for Maccabi for eight seasons between 1990 and 1998, retiring in 2004 following an injury ravaged career. He moved straight into coaching, guiding Maccabi Rishon Lezion for two seasons (2004-06) before returning to the yellow-and-blue as an assistant for two years (2006- 08). Goodes left Maccabi for the head coaching position at Hapoel Jerusalem in 2008, but was brought back to Yad Eliyahu in 2010 to work under Blatt. “It doesn't matter what will happen and if I or someone else will be here,” said Goodes following the defeat to Ashdod. “I can't control what isn't in my hands. I'm giving my all. This is the toughest point of my career. But I've been through tough times in life and as a player and you need to know how to handle it.”

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