Scariolo confirms: “Contacts with Hapoel Tel Aviv have been advanced since last year”

Hapoel Tel Aviv have signed Dimitris Itoudis at the end of a search for a new coach that also included Sergio Scariolo. The Spanish coach gave an interview to MARCA in which he confirmed his contacts with the Israeli club and the reasons why he did not end up on the Tel Aviv bench.

Scariolo’s words: “There have been talks, even advanced talks, since last summer. But you have to feel, whether instinctively or rationally, that this is the right place. To accept an offer from a club, everything has to go in the direction that suits me. Nobody puts me under pressure. I can allow myself not to accept until the right opportunity presents itself”.

On what he looks for in a club: “Sometimes the right motivation comes from a building process, but it does not necessarily have to be an established team, although both options can work. The club has to give me a sense of seriousness and involvement. Not call me in to put out a fire or tell me there are virtual opportunities for growth when in reality there are no elements for growth. I am much more interested in the project, even if a club’s consideration for a coach is sometimes reflected in the financial commitment it makes to him. Recently, I have heard that even some big clubs have set a very low salary as one of the parameters in their search for a coach. This is not the way to take the coach into account when he is a very important part of a project. It is not motivating. Historically, with a few exceptions, the opposite has always been the case”.