Mentality of the Israeli player compared to other places:

“I think that sometimes the Israeli player will be easy minded in way that if they show that they can do something once then that’s enough. I want to work with players who come to a session and want to improve everyday and that was something that didn’t exist at the beginning of the season. But I have seen lot of changes as the players know that we want to see them change and improve every single day. If you compare the Israeli, Ukrainian and Kazakstan player, you can see that the Eastern European player puts in a different amount of effort and aims higher. They have to travel a longer distance to get to the training facility and they know that their family background may not be the best so they want to succeed. The Israeli player lives closer by the football club, but they also have to show what they have to do to become a professional football player and what they are willing to do to become this professional football player. Together with my assistants Raymond and Robin I want to make sure that the coaches and players understand that becoming a professional footballer is a privileged job.”

Goals going forward:

“The goals for a youth department are always long term. Short term doesn’t work because when you institute a philosophy you are gaining the benefit of football development which occurs over a longer period of time. I know that in the near future the Maccabi teams will be more stable and will be able to deliver a higher performance training session by both the players and the coaches along with increasing the level of our training sessions and our matches. Further down the road we want to deliver candidates to the first team and this is an every year goal that recently started for us. We were lucky to have 5 boys training with the first team at the training camp. They left a positive impression on the head coach as well as the players who were training with them as they were eager, willing to listen and learn, while showing good technical qualities and tactically good choices in the training sessions and matches. This is something we want to happen every year, to have the Academy boys training with the first team, playing friendly matches with the first team and more.

We want to further develop the professionalism of our players. We want them to think about Maccabi Tel Aviv, why they spend so much time playing football and being educated outside of the football field, by using video analysis, by the use of a psychologist to help the team process and make them more aware that they are the ones that have to do it. If I look at direct team results of becoming champions then if the process is in the right direction and the coaches work well on the field and the players perform well on the field and listen well to their coaches, then the results will be a natural effect of our work on and off of the field.”

The staff’s attitude in adapting to the new philosophy:

“When I came in the staff was already prepared by Guy Zukerman and everyone was put in a position where they could prove themselves. I started to work with all of the coaches in the positions that they were placed in. Some of them worked out well and some had trouble. That’s all part of developing a new philosophy. It doesn’t always go in everyone’s direction and there had to be some changes at the beginning. At the end of the season there were also changes since some coaches still thought that they should have different opportunities that they can’t receive at Maccabi. Along the way we lost some coaches, but in general I am happy with all the coaches which stayed and with the new coaches that we are looking to add to the existing coaching staff.

It’s not always easy to implement a new football philosophy and there will always be coaches who are not willing to adapt because of their many years of experience as a coach. But after so many years of experience, I know which direction I want to go in and what results will be produced at the end. I am here to help make the coaches, players and scouting department happier and better.”

The first season ended with the Youth Department under a new professional team headed by Patrick Van Leven, the club’s Performance Director. In a special interview, Van Leeuwen concludes his first season in the department and shares details about his special philosophy.

Summing up the season from a professional point of view:

“It’s almost exactly one year that I’ve been at Maccabi and looking back at the things that I had planned for the Club, I believe that we have come a long way. We were able to change the football philosophy and implement a philosophy for all of the teams, one that is not determined by an individual coach. This is how I want all of teams to adapt to which will ensure that all of the coaches go in the same direction which also opens up discussions about exercises and the development of players.

At the beginning of the season there was a lot of explaining and correcting which wasn’t always pleasant for a coach if he was corrected on the field. But this is the process that we had to go through to make sure that we went in the right direction. You can now see that all of the teams including the Under-8s and Under-9s have a specific philosophy, one that is begins at a younger age and will continue from year to year both in football matches and in training sessions.

Of course, when you try to change the football philosophy within a club there are always ups and downs, but all in all we did very well with the coaches and with their cooperation in implementing a new philosophy.”

Changes that have been made that have contributed to the department’s progress:

“I believe in clarity. I brought in one philosophy for everybody and I feel that if you have everybody working and thinking in the same direction, especially when you are working on a long term project like the Academy you will succeed. Every year players will not only repeat what they have learned but will then get new information from the coaches that they will have in the second or third season. This is one of the major things that contributes to the progress of players and coaches and the Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Department as a whole.”

About the department’s philosophy:

“The philosophy is a combination of my basic development in Holland, experiences that I had in the Ukraine and Kazakhstan which also influences my Dutch football background and makes it more to the point for those types of countries where football has been learned in a different way. I like one philosophy where all of the coaches do the same thing in training and playing. The game of football consists of different key moments, whether it’s attacking, defending or switching from one to another or the way you take the set pieces. This is also for all the age groups so everyone is going in the same direction with the same football thoughts at all times.”

Important aspects and values that need to be assimilated in a player in order to advance:

“There are 3 things that are very important. We want a good football player, an educated person outside of football and a creative person. We want to educate a person not just in the field of football and education but to be a well rounded individual. If someone doesn’t give 100% in football then that will influence his education and vice versa. We are teaching the players to always give 100% and to give the maximum of their talent and to always be responsible in football, education and as a person.”

More information on https://www.maccabi-tlv.co.il/en/2017/07/van-leeuwen-results-will-natura…

Performance Director Patrick van Leeuwen spoke about his first few months at Maccabi and what he has been working on in the Youth Department. He especially focussed on the importance of the Maccabi Tel Aviv School in the North of Tel Aviv and why it is as crucial as the one located at Kiryat Shalom:

“The Club’s plan is to keep working with both the school in the North of Tel Aviv and in the South at Kiryat Shalom because they are all part of the same family. I don’t see this changing over the next season because as a Club we need a bigger pond to fish from and to find quality talented players. The rumors of the North school closing are unfounded as this is a critical location for all of us at Maccabi. The information and statistics say that there are an equal amount of quality players coming from the North as from the South.”

Improving the Northern School’s facilities:

“It is crucial for us at Maccabi to improve the facilities and to give the best opportunities to the children at the North school. We need both schools in order for us to be able to develop the best players and evaluate the best talent that is available across Tel Aviv as well as the country. This will help us make the correct decisions in bringing the best players to the Under-16 or Under-17 Clubs.”

The all-important connection between the Maccabi School in the North and the one at Kiryat Shalom:

“As I mentioned, we have a difference between the two schools in terms of facilities but in terms of philosophy there is no difference between the schools because both sets of coaches get the same education and as a club the children in the North are as important for us as the children in the South. This is one of the tasks that together with Club management we are trying to improve. We want to have as many hours and the same level of facilities that we have in the South.”

Of course, developing the younger levels at Maccabi Tel Aviv is also a very important task which van Leeuwen believes is critical as to the success of the program:

“For me it’s a full package. We want to create an Under-8 and Under-9 club on a permanent basis as this is as important as creating a higher level for the Under-19 team. The philosophy that is put in means that it begins with the younger ages moving all the way up to the older ages. We try to prepare the youngsters to be technically able to handle the ball and to be able to play together. At these ages you start giving them the general feel of being a footballer and eventually it will end up where they will need to show us who is the best player or who can take a step to the first team.”

The Youth Department’s activities over the past few months have been numerous, but van Leeuwen points out a number of crucial points:

“There have been numerous activities going on in the Youth Department over the past few months, but there are some very important changes that have been made:

The first thing is that we have been focusing on developing the coaches to make sure that they get enough information about the philosophy that I want to have in the Maccabi Academy. This is related to how we want to play matches and how we want the coaches and players to prepare to play matches as well as to become better footballers individually.

Secondly, I wanted to improve the criteria around player development to do the physical training in a different fashion. This way it doesn’t take time away from the football practice because it’s done before the training session and that way the session is a pure football session.

I have added video analysis in a more demanding way from a management point of view in order to have every match and every single training session filmed. This way we can show the players visually what mistakes they made or what they did very well.

In addition, we are working together with the Wingate College for Physical Education And Sports Science on a first of a kind professional course for coaches at Kiryat Shalom where we can share our professional information amongst each other.

This phase has been going on for more than 4 months and we have made progress. I’m satisfied as to the efforts of the coaches and the efforts of the players. Even though we may be playing football, I am making different demands in the way the coaches and the players have to perform which they are trying to cope with.”

The department has been undergoing a revolution and the changes that are taking place have been planned by the Club’s management:

“In the beginning, there were some heads turning and eyes rolling around as to why there were different demands from what they had been used to. But this was the way I wanted to do things and what was also demanded of me by Sport Director Jordi Cruyff as well as the owner to make the appropriate changes to help bring the players and the coaches to the next level. I’m satisfied with the direction we are now going in.”

A very important key to the future relies on the addition of Raymond Atteveld to the staff:

“I can do a lot more now because Raymond Atteveld is working with me. He is spending time with the coaches on the field as well as with the players and he is trying to stimulate the coaches to bring everyone to a higher level. It’s great to have him here. With both of us now working together we can help improve the coaches and bring them to another level.

Raymond was a well known player from Holland and he has a lot of character. I brought him in when he first started coaching and I brought him to FC Kairat where we worked closely together to bring the players and the coaches together. This is exactly what I want to do at Maccabi. When he became free, I invited him to join us at Maccabi and to assist me with this project. It’s very important for him to handle the coaches and various other things as it frees up my time to focus on other issues at hand. We still have certain things to improve both with the players and the coaches as well as in organizational development.”

What are the the next steps:

“We are trying to further increase our knowledge of our players in Israel so the scouting department have some different demands than what they had before. We want to see the players but also those who we want to strengthen from the younger ages, 8-9 years old and up to 17 years old. The Maccabi Academy also had the intention to organize open days for children of local clubs to show their qualities to the coaches and scouts of Maccabi Tel Aviv.

An additional step is to bring the Medical Department of the Academy to another level where there is clear attention for the players on a daily basis. Since the hours on the field has increased that also means we have to make sure that we are doing everything to prevent them from being injured but also if they unfortunately do get hurt then we can treat them the best way ourselves.

Part of the Club also includes the commercial activities of the Football Schools. We want to make some adjustments which will make them even more fun for children to be a part of and experience the Maccabi Football Academy style. Whoever is part of the Football Schools and is performing well, potentially will have the opportunity to be invited to the Academy training sessions.”

Read more: https://www.maccabi-tlv.co.il/en/2016/11/patrick-van-leeuwen-want-give-p…

It’s been exactly three weeks since Patrick Van Leeuwen (46) was officially announced as Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Performance Director. As he continues to adjust to the new position, the Yellow & Blue were drawn to face one of his former club’s, Kairat Almaty in the second round of Europa League qualifying.

Just prior to the the first leg between the two sides, Van Leeuwen conducted his first interview with the Official Website where he discussed his view on football, the plans he has for Maccabi, his connection with Jordi Cruyff and his initial impressions at Kiryat Shalom.

“WE WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD ON THE FOUNDATION OF EVERYTHING THAT HAD BEEN DONE BEFORE TO BRING MACCABI TO THE NEXT LEVEL”

In his new offices at the Kiryat Shalom Training Facility, Patrick Van Leeuwen is getting used to life in Israel and his new role at Maccabi as the Performance Director. While it’s a recognized job in Europe the same can not be said in these parts: “Jordi Cruyff and Martin Bain offered me more than just the academy as they wanted me to be more involved in the scouting as well as the analytical and analysis department on the football side of the club. They wanted me to design a proper facility, a professional training facility for the club. It’s not only being the academy director but also the scouting director. So we combined everything into the Performance Director role because we are also trying to improve the performance of scouts, the performance of players and the performance of coaches and hopefully in the end the performance of football at Maccabi and in Israel in general.”

For Israelis, the Performance Director may be something new, however, Van Leeuwen has proven himself in other clubs after having worked at the Feyenoord youth department along with leading the revolution at the academy level and youth departments at both Shakhtar Donetsk and Kairat Almaty.

But it’s not just the youth department where his role ends: “It’s not only that I like to work with youth departments but I also like to assist clubs in developing football. My previous jobs have been with academies but also with first teams. Not only developing the structure of the academy but working with everyone that is involved. That means developing the coaches and developing the players through the coaches. In the beginning of my career, I did a lot of field work and was a coach myself. I assisted other coaches and then as soon as one becomes a manager of an academy or of a club it becomes more organizational work as well. This is the part I like a lot and what I’ll be doing to assist Maccabi now and help bring the club to the next level. We will continue to build on the foundation of everything that had been done before to bring Maccabi to that next level.”

What is your football philosophy and in developing players?

“My philosophy was formed in Holland, where Holland like Israel, is a small country. But in Holland it was clear to everybody that you have to go in the same direction to be successful in any field of work. My business is football and football in Holland is very structured when you talk about clubs and academies as well as the coaches education. Everything has a certain direction coming from 1974, Total Football, which initiated Holland’s football style.”

As Van Leeuwen explains, the education that was gained at the Dutch Football Federation also influenced his work at Feyenoord along with the Ukraine and Kazakstan and helps him to this day, guiding him in his work: “I think that only with a plan that is supported by everybody and by every coach in the same direction will be successful. If I have 18 coaches and everyone has their own ideas and cultures we won’t be able to go anywheres because we will fight with each other instead of working together. This has always been my intention from the beginning for every club with which I have worked and with every coach that I worked with and were under me or with me and I always try to push them in the same direction. So it’s not only my philosophy but also the club’s philosophy. Then I’m 100% sure that Maccabi will be able to make another step in the development of players and coaches. My intention is to bring in a philosophy that is supported and executed by every coach in the Maccabi structure. It’s about the professional side of the academy, the football schools that are working together with Maccabi Tel Aviv and spreading the philosophy to everybody that is connected with us.”

How do you manage to keep true to your path when you have to deal with many cultures between the countries you have worked in?

“In each and every place you have a different culture, atmosphere or approach. In Holland there is saying, that it’s the “sauce on the dish”. It’s the culture in each place that is very important in what you want to achieve and it’s something I look at very carefully when combining that with my football thoughts.”

It seems you enjoy taking on challenging projects. Do you agree?

“It’s an interesting challenge, if I know that I will be successful. If I know the club has no intention of making changes then it will be very difficult. If my ambition and plans are coming together with the plans and intentions of the club then it can only mean success.”

“AFTER MANY OF YEARS OF TALKING ABOUT COMING TOGETHER, IT FINALLY HAPPENED AND NOW WE CAN BRING MACCABI FURTHER TOGETHER.”

The first encounter between Jordi Cruyff and Van Leeuwen surprisingly took place in the Ukraine when the Yellow & Blue’s Sports Director was playing with Metalurh Donetsk. “He played in the same town as Shakhtar Donetsk as there was a second club in the same city. As two Dutch people we connected and formed a friendship and always looking at trying to combine our football thoughts in one club. He started asking me if I was interested in Tel Aviv and at that time I made a difference choice to continue my career in Eastern Europe. But we were always in touch about the football development in Tel Aviv, what he was doing and what I was doing. We also asked each other advice on players as he was building the first team in Israel and I was building the same in Kazakhstan along with the academy, so there was always a certain amount of interest from Jordi to obtain knowledge and expertise. After many of years of talking about coming together, it finally happened and now we can bring Maccabi further together.”

How will the roles be divided between the two of you?

“Jordi and I agree on a lot things football wise, but there are also things that I approach differently than he does. This is what is interesting for us; he gets some comments about his ideas and I get comments about my ideas. This will also be part of the role in cooperating with Jordi. To share my opinion and thoughts with him and in the end to make sure that we make the best decisions for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

We want the success that Jordi has had with the first team to be in all areas of the club; the youth department and also facility wise. That’s one of the reasons that I agreed to come here.”

“FOR A CLUB THAT IS UNDERGOING FOOTBALL DEVELOPMENT, IT’S IMPORTANT TO CONNECT WITH CLUBS IN SPAIN, HOLLAND OR ENGLAND TO SHARE AND OBTAIN KNOWLEDGE.”

One of Van Leeuwen’s biggest projects was establishing the training facilities for the Kazakhstan club. After three years with Kairat Almaty, the Dutchman managed to build a youth academy up until the Under-19 level that included a proper training facility, a hall of residence as well as building facilities for the first team: “You don’t expect these facilities in Kazakhstan and for a team that is still in the development. It can match all of the facilities of English Premier League Clubs and Western Europe. These facilities will give all of the children and professional players a head start in their development.”

While working for other clubs you always placed a certain amount of importance on international relationships with other clubs. Why is this so significant?

“When you look at Feyenoord there was an interest to expand their contacts as there were cooperations in Poland and Hungary as well as Ghana and South Africa. There was also connections with Japan as there was a Japanese player in the first team. In Kairat is was about obtaining knowledge and it was part of the coach’s development to make connections with some top clubs, first teams and at the academy levels. To be able to give that as an experience to the coaches.

How do you see this in reference to Maccabi Tel Aviv?

“In the case of Maccabi, Jewish people are all over the world and I think that it’s the perfect community to make those connections both within Israel and also outside of the country. There are certain clubs in Europe where there is already a connection, but you can make it even stronger with clear agreements and you can assist each other in player and coach development by sending players to tournaments and so forth. It’s important for a club that is still undergoing football development, its important to connect with clubs in Spain, Holland or England to share and obtain knowledge.”

What have been your first steps in your new role with the youth department?

“Since I arrived I’ve obtained information from doing interviews with coaches, scouts and people within the organization to help me see how things were organized, what was in place and from where I can start. I think that I have a good overview of what is possible and in which direction I want to go in. At my first coaches meeting, I explained the football philosophy and how I want the matches to be organized and how I would like them to be coached by the coaches. In general, I want one philosophy for all the teams, and it doesn’t mean that we can’t have the same philosophy for the commercial schools and their coaches as well.

What have been your first impressions?

“My impression is that in every place there are people who are eager to suck up all of the information, people who want to see where things are heading and then there are people who are against it because they think they know it all. This combination of opinions will be everywhere and my job is to convince them that this is the direction where Maccabi wants to be. I’m not here to tell them what I like, but what the club wants it to be.”

Read more: https://www.maccabi-tlv.co.il/en/2016/07/first-look-one-one-patrick-van-…

FC Shakhtar Academy Director has summed up our teams’ performances in the U-19 championship and DUFLU.

– Patrick, this season has seen the start of the U-19 championship. How would you assess its first steps our team’s performance?
– Yes, Ukraine finally has a championship that we had been looking forward to for years. Early in the season, when the championship was just beginning, I did not have high hopes regarding it, because a strange day was chosen for the matches – Wednesday. This allows the other teams to involve older players in the games. And every week we play with a new rival whose squad consists of players representing all ages. At Shakhtar we decided to create a U-19 team on the basis of U-17 squad of last year – a priori younger than other participants of the championship. In each match, we field three or four players from the youth team, who fall under U-19 age category. As for our performance, I think we played well in every game. We showed our football. We tried to orchestrate a lot of attacks, create and score goals. Our plan didn’t always work out, but the main goal of the team was to qualify for the first group, which we are now playing in. I want to congratulate the boys and the U-19 coaching staff on the football, which they managed to show in the first part of the championship.

– This year all Academy teams who are participating in DUFLU went into the winter break in first place. What is the reason behind such a success?
– The Academy coaches and staff performed at high level last season and started this season from that mark. You saw that all the teams performed well and played technical, combination football, with scoring a lot of goals. This is a result of brilliant attacks and individual skills of certain players. Each team has particularly talented players. Their skills and inclinations are already visible, but there is still a lot room for improvement. Together, we must continue to work in training every day to consistently raise the level of their skill. It concerns not only what we see on the field, but the work that we do with our player off the pitch. Each player has to understand why he plays for Shakhtar, why he was honoured to defend the colours of the club. The results of the work can be seen in the standings – all of our teams are in first place. It should also be noted that in our group there are very strong opponents, because now the teams from Eastern Ukraine set the tone for the development of football in the country.

– The youngest team – Shakhtar U-14 – are taking part in the championship for the first time, and this season the boys are guided by a new duet of coaches – Gennadiy Zubov and Oleksandr Alimov. How would you assess the performance of this team?
– As for Gennadiy Zubov, after spending several years as an assistant at U-17 and U-15 teams, it’s time to give his great experience and skills to young kids as head coach. I would say that he is doing well. He is an organized and responsible mentor. The team can perform at a high level with him. The tournament in Spain was a very good experience. I was expecting a better game from some of the players but we must not forget that for them it was the first experience of playing games at such a high level, with such rivals. I think that the tournament in Spain inspired the boys for such a successful campaign in the championship.

– Last season, the boys, who are now playing for U-15, failed to reach the final. Did you have concerns about their current performance?
– This year we have strengthened the squad a little; new players have arrived. Thanks to this factor, and the work carried out by the coaching staff the team’s game was up to the mark. First place in the standings can serve as the best proof of my words.

– This summer, Oleksandr Koval also took over at a new team. What can you say about Shakhtar U-16?
– Oleksandr has repeatedly proved that he can build a team, guide the boys to the finals. For him, it is time to move forward, to show all the knowledge accumulated at U-14 at a level of U-16. As we can see, they are confidently moving forward with the team. There are a lot of talented players in this team; together, they are showing a positive trend.

– Shakhtar U-17 have showed simply an unbelievable result: 55 goals in 10 matches. How could you explain such a performance?
– We knew that this is a very talented group. Many of the boys from this team are leaders of the Ukraine national team, and rightly so. In addition, the team have shown a high level at the International Youth Tournament, which was held in August. Not only did they win the competition, but also demonstrated excellent football in matches against top European teams. However, the talent is not everything. The boys shouldn’t overestimate their strength and head in the clouds. On the contrary, we have to work harder at every training session to show not only the individual skills, but also our teamwork.

– Do all teams have what it takes to finish first this season?
– Of course. All of them are the main contenders to advance to the final stage. We always go into the final aiming to win!

FC Shakhtar Press Office