Maccabi Tel Aviv officially promotes Guy Goodes to head coach

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv did not have to look far to replace head coach David Blatt. The Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion appointed Guy Goodes, Blatt’s chief assistant over the past four seasons, as the team’s new head coach on Thursday. The sides agreed to a two-year contract. Goodes, 44, is well known to Maccabi fans having played eight seasons as a point guard for the club. He also has previous experience as a head coach. Blatt resigned as Maccabi coach earlier in June.

Goodes first arrived at Maccabi as a 19-year-old talent and showed flashes of stardom before knee injuries in both legs curtailed his career. He played for Maccabi between 1990 and 1997 and returned for the 1998-99 season. He also played in Spain and Italy. Upon retiring in 2004, Goodes promptly went into coaching. He debuted with Maccabi Rishon Lezion, first as an assistant before taking over the top spot, and then served as an assistant at Maccabi Tel Aviv for two seasons from 2006 and 2008, where he served under Neven Spahija, Effi Birenboim and Zvika Sherf. Goodes coached Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem from 2008 to 2010 after which he returned to Tel Aviv and has been with Maccabi since.