Maor Rahmani 27/01/2021 00:00
Raymond Atwald. Worried or not? (Noam Moreno)
Maccabi Netanya has won only twice in the last 12 rounds of the Premier League, since the three consecutive victories at the beginning of the season, one of which was against Hapoel Kfar Saba. Now that she is no longer at the top of the table and trying to get back to him instead of getting entangled at the bottom, she is crying out for victory against her tonight (Wednesday, 20:00) at the Colony Stadium.
“I’m not the worried type, but it’s clear to all of us that we need to take more points,” team coach Raymond Atwald said ahead of the game. “We fight every game to win and get better and that is not going to change. There is still a long way to go until the end of the regular season.”
Meanwhile, the club is working with the Ministry of the Interior to issue a visa to Abubakar Dumbia, who has agreed to a season and a half with an option for three more seasons – after being transferred from the KPV team for free following a release agreement he held with the Finnish second division team. The obstacle is mainly to fly the player to Israel while Ben Gurion Airport is closed, at this stage a number of options are at stake and Netanya is waiting for answers.
“This is indeed a concern. No one, including the director of the leagues and the association, knows how to give answers on the subject,” Atwald said. “No one really knows how long the sky will be closed. The problem is not only with Maccabi Netanya but with all the clubs that want to strengthen with foreign players.”
On the professional side, Atwald will make a number of changes in the squad, with Ido Weir, Aviv Avraham and Ben Azoubel expected to open in place of Karem Jaber, Yuval Sadeh and Akinsola Akinimi, while Omri Gandelman will continue in the center of the field and Gabi Kanikovsky will return to his original position. In Netanya’s concluding training session, the coach even tried captain Almog Cohen as a stopper, as well as Gandelman, with one of them opening in the center of defense and the other at the back link. Chen Ezra and Kavan Freiter will of course continue the attack.
Estimated composition: Danny Amos, Ido Weir, Klian van der Kapp, Almog Cohen, Zlatan Shachovich, Omri Gandelman, Aviv Avraham, Gabi Kanikovsky, Chen Ezra, Kavan Freiter and Ben Azobel.
Netanya checked on Najar, who is waiting for developments
Meanwhile, Netanya continues to look for reinforcements for the defensive squad, and returned to the option of Paddy Najar, which the team wanted last summer, before being loaned from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Bnei Yehuda, as first reported in ONE. Najar is valued in Netanya, grew up in its ranks and is coached by Atwald, who knows him well from Betar Tel Aviv / Bat Yam. In the City of Diamonds, they checked with him with Maccabi Tel Aviv and may ask him with an option to purchase, in case Bnei Yehuda gives up his services.
Najjar, who has made eight Premier League appearances this season and looks good on the opportunities he has received, is wanted by Atwald as the left-back he has been looking for since the summer, as he is dissatisfied with Akinsola Akinima, who is already looking for a team. While most of the talks are currently taking place behind the scenes, the Diamonds themselves contacted Maccabi Tel Aviv regarding Najar and received a message that the decision is in Bnei Yehuda.
At the moment, he belongs to Bnei Yehuda, who bought NIS 90,000 for 50% of his player card from the ranks of the champion, who holds the remaining 50%. But in fact, the player’s family bought 25% of the Oranges’ half, which leaves them with no chance of a significant day-to-day profit on the brake, which is considered a great potential for the future. Netanya will be willing to purchase his full ticket, if possible, of course.
