Maccabi Tel Aviv appoints new coach

A week after Jokanovic’s departure, yellow-and-blue poaches Vitesse’s Bosz to lead squad.

By ALLON SINAI
The Peter Bosz era (right, talking with Jose Mourinho) began at Maccabi Tel Aviv yesterday after the 52-year-old Dutch native was appointed as the yellow-and-blue’s new head coach. (photo credit: REUTERS)
The Peter Bosz era (right, talking with Jose Mourinho) began at Maccabi Tel Aviv yesterday after the 52-year-old Dutch native was appointed as the yellow-and-blue’s new head coach.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Peter Bosz was named on Monday as the new coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, surprisingly leaving his job at Dutch topflight team Vitesse Arnhem mid-season to join the yellowand- blue.
After seeing coach Slavisa Jokanovic leave for what he deemed as a better offer from Fulham of the English Championship, Maccabi didn’t despair and managed to lure Bosz to Israel, flexing its financial muscle and proving that it is capable of punching above its weight in European soccer.
Bosz signed an 18-month deal, meaning Maccabi should finally begin a season with the same coach with each it ended the previous one, something which hasn’t happened since Moti Ivanir in 2011.
Bosz, 52, has coached Vitesse since 2013, leading it to a sixth-place finish in 2013/14 and fifth position last term. The former Dutch international began his coaching career in Holland at Apeldoorn in 2000, going on to guide De Graafschap, Heracles before being named as a technical director at Feyenoord.
He then returned to Heracles before joining Vitesse.
Bosz, whose playing career peaked at Feyenoord, helping the club to the 1993 league championship while collecting three cups, is set to earn at Maccabi almost double the amount he made at Vitesse, a sum estimated at 800,000 euros per season, similar to what Jokanovic was making.
“Maccabi has approached me a number of times,” he told the Vitesse website. “I’ve listened to their plans and have decided to accept the challenge. At one point I just couldn’t reject Maccabi’s offer.
Yes the high wages definitely influenced my decision to leave Vitesse.”
Maccabi is believed to have paid Vitesse a sum of 300,000 euros for Bosz’s services after receiving 500,000 euros from Fulham for Jokanovic. The Serbian led Maccabi to the Champions League group stage for the first time in 11 years, with the three-time reigning Israeli champion sitting in first place in the Premier League standings when he left.
“This is a very significant signing for Maccabi Tel Aviv and a key move as we look to continue our overall development of the club and the performance of the squad,” Maccabi owner Mitch Goldhar told the club’s official website.
“We have a clear view of the disciplines and professionalism that the club requires in order to meet our sporting objectives and the coach is key to our success. We firmly believe that Peter’s highly regarded reputation and vision for the game will prove to be a key part of our future plans to improve the club and further our ambitions.”
Sports director Jordi Cruyff revealed that this wasn’t the first time he had tried to sign Bosz.
“We are delighted to sign Peter Bosz as Maccabi’s head coach. I have been following Peter’s progress for many years and admired the work he has done, a fact which led us to try and sign him more than once,” said Cruyff.
Maccabi’s CEO Martin Bain added: “To secure the services of a highly rated European coach such as Peter is not only a major coup but testament to the progress Maccabi has continued to make in recent times.”
Bosz, who visited Israel over the weekend, is set to return to Tel Aviv in the coming days and his first match at the helm will be against Maccabi Haifa at Bloomfield Stadium on Sunday.