The Israeli team is launching a new campaign. In the qualifiers for the blue-and-white World Cup, they will also face the Danish team, which is considered the strongest at home, with the first game against them taking place tonight (Thursday) at 19:00 at Bloomfield Stadium. So far, the two individual meetings of the Israeli team with the Danish team in the official games have ended in defeats – and just before the rematch against the Danes, the players who were there on the grass draw conclusions from the past and talk about the future.
The last time the Israeli and Danish teams met was in 1999, in the playoffs for promotion to Euro 2000. This was one of the few cases in recent years in which the Israeli team was close to qualifying for a tournament of a significant size, when the ticket to the Euro was on the table. Still, this game left a stain on the team’s history in blue and white, after it was defeated 5: 0 at the Ramat Gan stadium already in the first game and the escort girls affair exploded in the headlines at the same time, precisely after the public saw a team playing exciting and sweeping football.
Dudu Awat, Who was a young goalkeeper for the team in these games against Denmark, spoke about the loss to the Danes in Ramat Gan: “The 5-0 loss is a game you can not forget as a footballer. One of my darkest weeks, one of the hardest moments of Israeli football. I was 20 and it was “It was not pleasant, but it strengthened me for the rest of my career. In any case, the Danes were really better than us in every parameter.”
The one who was absent from that game was the striker Mizrahi Oak Who moved to French side Nice that season: “I did not play in the same game because I was injured and my substitute Ronen Harazi did not open. It was a very disappointing game. Still, in this qualifying tournament we finished second at home with Spain and Austria. We defeated the Austrians 0: 5, I finished “As the king of goals in the campaign with six conquests and we had to cross, but we also suffered bad luck because Denmark then was a much better team than today. They were great and the fact that in the sum of the two games it ended in 8: 0”.
“It was an unpleasant result,” he testified Alon Harazi, Who was part of the defensive squad in those games against Denmark: “We got to the playoffs and got a tough draw. They had an amazing team, at the highest levels. Denmark at the time was a strong team, probably physically, that was connected and played at a higher pace than ours. They exhausted us.”
In those years, the Danish national team played quality players, such as those who reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup a year earlier. The midfielder Martin Jorgensen, who belonged to the Italian Udinese, got on the grass in Ramat Gan, the striker Ion Dal Thomasson was also at Feyenoord in those days and then appeared in Milan. Manchester United after winning the Champions League.
Today, the Danish team has Caspar Schmeichel, Peter’s son, who belongs to the English Leicester. Along with him, there are also the midfielder Christian Eriksen who plays for the Italian league leader Inter, the brakeman Simon Kerr who excels in Milan, the Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen and the striker Martin Braithwaite, who plays together with the Barcelona superstars.
“We are certainly not in an easy home, but we will always be in not easy homes,” said the former striker Mizrahi Oak. “Since we came to play in Europe, we have regularly fallen with at least two teams that are better than us and another one of a size like ours, it’s like that in every campaign. I’m very happy the team is back to play, this time we meet Denmark at home in the first game. Be that as it may, the players need to make sure the crowd loves their game and there is solidarity with the team. Even if we are not superior, the crowd should at least enjoy, bring him closer and return him to the team. Once before the game everything was noisy, and now the atmosphere is quieter, but maybe “It’s because of the corona plague that made the fans stay at home. You have to play well, play open and not be afraid.”
Amir sent, Who made 85 appearances for the team, said: “The 5-0 loss to Denmark is a scar, but it is not genetic. It has been over 20 years since then, there are other players today. I agree that it is very difficult for an Israeli player to play against the Scandinavians who run more, more physically. “Faster and more tactical than the average Israeli player, but making excuses for failure is the easiest. Let’s try to make excuses for success. It will be difficult, but if we do not try and believe, it will not happen.”
The former stopper added: “It is true that Denmark is better than us, but we still have to strive to take points from it. As a player, at the end you go on the field, 11 players stand in front of you and there is no more noise and ringing. The players have to say to themselves – let’s keep this chance there and as much as possible. Although we start a campaign against the best in the qualifiers, we are in a home game and have no choice but to try to win and not give up the three points. The Danes play outside and they feel we do not give up “It’s ours, to feel it’s hard for them to deal with us. That should be the attitude.”
Alon Harazi Agrees with this approach and also spreads optimism: “Every start of a campaign there are always aspirations and desires. We always want and strive to do the maximum, but many times in the end we are fooled. There are aspirations and desires to go far, but if we want to be a factor in the war Look at Denmark at eye level.There are good teams in this house, but none of them is France that won the world championship or another superpower.Denmark is a team that is better than us on paper, but not one that can not be beaten.It must come from a humble place and know how to win “These teams are in force in our house. In order for there to be a real chance, they must be defeated in Israel even at the cost of a game that is less exciting. Do everything for the victory.”
According to Harazi, who has won many titles and played for the Israeli team for many years, the attitude needs to change: “We have very big technical talents in the country, but we always fell for the same things, like stationary situations and goals we could have avoided in the closing minutes. .
The current team, it must be said, is not much different from the one that last played in the Euro qualifiers, but it will also try to go all the way this time. “I do not see a big change in the team because it is the same staff and it will be the same team,” he said Send: “Manor Solomon is no longer even considered one of the new generation players because he is launching another campaign. This time too a lot will depend on Eran Zahavi, after in the last campaign he gave amazing numbers, but it did not help the team, because the results were not good. “The bitter pill, but it is not enough, we need more players who will be dominant and can hold the team, so I hope that Solomon, Mons Dabour and Sean Weissman will also score goals and lead to success.”
also Mizrahi Oak Thinks there is no real change or process of significant young players entering the team: “Liel Abda and Muhammad Canaan are nice to the squad, but it is still not enough for these levels. Willy Rotensteiner’s team has young, good and talented players, but it will be difficult to advance with them to the World Cup. In the current era we do not have many options in the squad and we depend on specific players with experience. In my time, if the national team coach had to choose a goalkeeper, then he had four cannon goalkeepers. If he needed a brake, then he had six or seven quality brakes. At least three good players, but today there is no selection of players and it is not easy to maneuver. “
In analyzing the existing staff, Amir sent He claimed: “We have good and experienced players on offense who play in strong leagues, but in the previous campaign we did not see any leading player in defense. The best are there, but personal mistakes were made that we paid dearly for. It was not a weak defensive game, we just conceded a lot of goals. “Something needs to be fixed. Defensive players will have to lift themselves, every player has to play with Passon, take responsibility and understand that at these levels there is no room for mistakes. It is important to play well in the first game, avoid mistakes and strive to win. Only then will things look different against this opponent.”
