Under the color of spring
In the 15 years since the Israelis were admitted to the European football family, the clubs of this country have only managed to break into the spring stages of European cup competitions twice. And one by one: in the 1998/99 Cup Cup - to the Haifa Maccabi, and in the UEFA Cup-2001/02 - to the Tel Aviv Hapoel. In the current season, these flagships of Israeli club football continue to fight in tandem.
On Wednesday evening, the Vladikavkaz Spartak Stadium will noticeably turn green. And by no means because of the early arrival of spring - landing party from the promised land, dressed in the form of a juicy green color, will land in the renewed arena.
The Haifa Maccabi has been conducting a biography since 1919. It was founded in the then Palestine, which was under the rule of the British mandate. Until the mid-80s, he was not famous for anything special. And successes in the domestic and international arenas fit in the last quarter century. This team is a ten-time champion of Israel (1984, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2004-2006) and a five-time winner of the Cup of the country (1962, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1998).
At various times, authoritative coaches in Israel stood at the helm of the Maccabi: Shlomo Scarf, Giora Spiegel, Abraham Grant, Yitzhak Shum, Eli Cohen. One goal was played by a well-known Slovak specialist Dusan Ugrin with the team. At the end of the 2002/03 season, the reins passed into the hands of then 36-year-old Roni Levy, coach of the club’s youth team.
The Maccabi school was attended by Israeli masters who have proven themselves well, including in the legionary field in Europe: Roni Rosenthal, Boni Ginzburg, Eyal Berkovich, Chaim Revivo, Reuven Atar, Alon Mizrahi, Yosi Benayoun.
The best scorer in the history of the club Zai Armeli took the wrong goal 90 times. Of the players who are currently playing, Yossi Benayoun with 55 goals is closest to this mark. But he has not replenished his club personal account for a long time, since he plays in England for West Ham.
The names of 48 legionnaires, from white-skinned Scandinavians to aliens from exotic Zimbabwe, are listed in the historical Maccabi chronicles. Among them are 16 representatives of the ex-Soviet football school: Viktor Chanov, Vladimir Bessonov, Vasily Evseev, Oleg Kuznetsov, Sergey Kandaurov, Roman Pets, Ivan Getsko, Sergey Balanchuk, Sergey Kleschenko, Vasily Ivanov, George Gakhokidze, Raymondas Zhutautas, Vladimir Niedergauz, Vasily Kardash, Andrei Ostrovsky, Vasily Novokhotsky.
A sharp turn happened in the biography of the club from Haifa on the eve of the 1992/93 season. A controlling stake in the Greens was transferred to a large entrepreneur, Yakov Shakhar. Today, a 65-year-old businessman owns a major importer of Volvo and Honda cars, and also heads the Phoenix insurance concern, one of the leading in the country.
The home arena of the Kiryat Elizer team accommodates 14 thousand spectators. But international fights, according to the UEFA decision, “Maccabi” forced to play on the Tel Aviv 15 thousandth “Bloomfield”.
Fourth syndrome
The championship of three consecutive years has been won by Maccabi ahead of schedule and with an unconditional advantage. Suddenly thunderclouds swept over the cloudless sky. What happens to the team today, the club chroniclers who have posted the unique "green encyclopedia" on the pages of the club website have been dubbed the "fourth season syndrome."
This is a hint that Roni Levy, like a number of predecessors, did not save the team from the game and psychological decline precisely in the fourth year of being at the head of the coaching staff. After 20 rounds scored 30 points. They are enough only for 7th place in the table - this is the tail of the leading group of the national championship.
The summer offseason separated several key players from the club: quarterback Benado, midfielders Sandberg and Tal. They did not find a worthy change - either because of oversights made by the selection service, or because of the excessively balanced financial policy of club bosses. They did not want to get involved in the capital race, perpetrated by the owner of the captive capital “Beitar” Arkady Gaydamak.
In recent years, the breeding interests of the Maccabi coaching staff have taken on a South American focus. In this, the Israeli champion is similar to his Russian opponent. Thus, a quartet of Brazilian wards Valery Gazaev will be opposed by a trio of their compatriots who are registered on the shores of the Haifa Bay: Bokkoli, Dirceu and Anderson.
The goalkeeper Nir Davidovich, who is serving a six-match disqualification in the national championship, will continue to play in Vladikavkaz, the successor to the famous goalkeeper dynasty. Like Libero Dekel Keynan, excommunicated from four matches of the Israeli League. Chilean Rafael Olara lost his form and was sent to the reserve. The veteran Alon Kharazi, who celebrated his 36th birthday on the eve of the match with CSKA, looks more reliable than others in defensive orders. In the middle line, the Congolese Helen Massudi spends an unimportant season. But he, nevertheless, uses the remnants of a coaching credit of trust. In the attack bet on naturalized Argentine Roberto Colautti. A couple of him will be Haifa captain Yaniv Katan, who returned to his native land in the summer after a short trip to West Ham.
On account of these two forwards of 6 goals in the national championship.
In the last round before the Russian voyage, wards Roni Levy away defeated the outsider - “Hapoel” from Petah Tikva - 2-0 (goals: Alon Kharazi and Abbas Xuan). Thus, the three-match series of defeats was ended, the total score of which was 0: 8. But it is not difficult to guess that a sortie to Vladikavkaz will prove to be a much more serious test than the mentioned Saturday excursion to one of the satellites of the Tel Aviv metropolis.
Alex PRESKOVSKY