David Sneyd
THIS IS BY no means a cushy number that Robbie Keane is taking on with Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
He is a long way from Soccer Aid now.
The new manager of Israel’s most successful club will quickly find out that only winning is accepted, especially as they have gone three seasons without lifting the league title.
“In Maccabi, you must win the championship. But if they don’t and they still play good football, qualify for Europe and are fighting for everything until the final day, maybe they will let him stay,” football journalist and broadcaster Raz Amir of One, tells The 42.
Uri Levy, journalist and founder of Babagol, adds further context to the size of the task facing the Dubliner in his first managerial role: “It is very courageous of Robbie Keane to take this job. This is like going to Turkey and taking on Fenerbahce or Galatasaray. The stress will pile up.
“The fans will give him a chance, but you must remember that Maccabi is one of the biggest clubs in the country. They have the most passionate, I would say also jealous and vicious, crowd.
“Now they are hugging, they are happy and positive because Robbie Keane is a big name in world football. It will be difficult. The expectation to win every title every year is immense.
“He has come to a good club for a foreign coach,” Levy continues. “He will feel the love now but the pressure will come from everywhere. When he walks on the street people will talk to him, people are very warm, very welcoming.
People here are not shy. In the street, they want to touch and feel the coach. We are very emotional people.
“He can very quickly and easily become a legend here but it’s tricky. The coach’s position is not stable.”
All the more reason to admire Keane for facing up to the challenge.
Maccabi have 23 Israeli Premier Division titles but none since 2020 – during which time they have seen five managers come and go. Extend the time frame to the last decade and that number trebles. Not that Keane will go in blind to the demands, or the opportunity to progress should he prove successful.
Jordi Cruyff, who recently stepped aside as Barcelona’s sporting director, held the same position at Maccabi from 2012-17 before also having a season as manager.
He appointed Oscar Garcia, who left for Brighton; Paolo Sousa was poached by Basel, while Rafael Benitez’s former Liverpool assistant Pako Ayestarán later had a spell in charge of Valencia and is now Unai Emery’s No.2 at Aston Villa.
Peter Bosz impressed so much in 2016 that Ajax came calling, and that same year his replacement, Shota Averladze, was in charge when they drew Dundalk in the Europa League.
The Georgian was the first of a string of flops, though, and the turgid reign of Aitor Karanka which came to an end on Sunday is viewed by many as a nadir given the style of play and lack of success.
They finished third last season, and Keane won’t have long before the serious business begins. A Europa Conference League second-round qualifier against Moldovan side Petrocub Hîncești follows a week-long training camp in Marbella next month.
Maccabi confirmed Keane’s appointment 24 hours after Karanka’s exit.
They are a club that moves quickly in every sense, and the immediate challenge will be to avoid getting swept up or overawed by the challenge that is to come.
At home, there has also been political backlash to his decision to take the job, with the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) expressing their disappointment on social media.
“There is a Palestinian sporting boycott and call for the expulsion of the Israeli FA from FIFA and UEFA due to apartheid Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, so it is deeply disappointing to see Robbie Keane go to manage Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“The Palestinian picket line should be respected. Al Haq, Bt’selem, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International all report that Israel is practicing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people, a crime against humanity.”
Alamy Stock Photo Robbie Keane (left) was part of Sam Allardyce's coaching staff for their brief tenure last season. Alamy Stock Photo
But when Keane carries out media duties for the first time at 5pm local time (3pm Irish) at the Bloomfield Stadium today, it will be questions about how he plans on restoring Maccabi to the summit of domestic football that he will face.
With the largest budget in the country since 2012, the hope is that Keane’s profile and connections throughout the game will add an extra allure to attract players.
“Of course, everyone is trying to understand how come [they have chosen Keane]. He’s not a coach. It is a risk mainly for Maccabi, but Maccabi love the risk. Robbie Keane is the persona, it’s exciting. It is a big risk and they are happy to take it. The fans feel the same thing. Maybe magic will occur and Maccabi will have success,” Amir says.
Keane will be presented by chief executive Ben Mansford. Club owner Mitch Goldhar, the Jewish-Canadian billionaire, may have been the one quoted in the official press release yesterday, hailing the new manager’s “mentality, character, energy and focus of a winner”, but this appointment has been driven by Mansford.
Goldhar won’t be in attendance for Keane’s unveiling, he will log on via Zoom instead, and that’s something locals are used to. He is an absentee owner, making one or two trips per season and leaving the day-to-day running of the club to those who he has entrusted on the ground.
Mansford has returned for a second stint, having left in 2019 after previous spells with Barnsley and Leeds United. He was at the helm of Blackpool until May, one of his final acts the hiring and then firing of Mick McCarthy as they slipped out of the Championship.
Another link given Keane was on his coaching staff with Ireland while also Jonathan Woodagte’s No.2 at Middlesbrough.
Those who have worked with Mansford describe a decent, approachable character who understands his boundaries. He was not one to visit the training pitch at Blackpool but would be a regular in the dressing room on match day to wish players well and also greet them after full-time.
Keane is understood to have beaten Daniel Sousa to Maccabi job and his recent interview with Mansford is viewed as the clincher. It had seemed as though the Portuguese was in pole position.
He previously worked as an analyst for Andre Villas-Boas when he was in charge at Porto, Chelsea, Spurs and Zenit St Petersburg, before becoming Villas Boas’ assistant at Marseille and then taking over Gil Vicente in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
Robbie Keane is for sure the biggest name to come in Israeli football ever,” Amir believes.
Still, managing upwards will be crucial, likewise his new dressing room. The influence of veteran star and club captain Eran Zahavi could prove a crucial factor while the Tel Aviv derby with Hapoel comes four games into the league campaign on 23 September.
“That will be boiling,” Levy insists. “It is a game that goes way beyond football. It is about politics and society. The stress will pile up if they don’t win.”
Keane will soon learn that as a manager he will be the one to take it all on his shoulders.
