It is not clear whether these are the coaches who did not recognize the potential or Dolev Haziza himself who jumped five classes at once, but there were few who foresaw the meteoric leap of the Maccabi Haifa connection. Who until about three years ago was the replacement of Sharon Zisso or Tomer Schonker at Hapoel Ramat Gan, is today the leading candidate to pick up the title of player of the season, and he does so while showing exciting football that made him a fan favorite, even if they only see it on TV screens.
At 25, the talented midfielder is flourishing, and may already be dreaming of the next summit to conquer, but the road there was long. It started in the charming Maxim Lod, but very quickly sidelined the eyes of Maccabi Petach Tikva, which is known for its ability to diagnose talent at a young age. He played for Malabes for three years, but very quickly dropped out. Unlike many players the Luzons brought to consciousness, he missed out.
“He was not a star, skinny, tiny”
The one who enjoyed it was the Ness Ziona section, which absorbed him at the age of 15. The star of the team was in those days Nir Sharon. The striker, who signed with Maccabi Sha’arim this week, recalled: “Usually when a new player arrives, he would sit quietly, not talk, but Dolev had record confidence, positive audacity. He would make noise. He always had a presence. He was tiny in body, 20s. “M less, but makes full noise. Boys A played against us when he was in Boys B and asked ‘Who is this little one?’. He made them a school. Threaded them, spun them, we were in the market. We were shocked that he came to play in Ness Ziona. He was a player who does what he wants on the pitch, he had no shame. “
Sharon reveals that his preoccupation with referees and rival players began in his youth, because of the tough game against him: “He would pass full of players, and then they would take him down with Paul. I remember he would always get upset quickly.” In the end, Haziza was one of the significant players in Ness Ziona’s promotion to the senior youth league. Sharon: “We had a top game against Bat Yam at the stadium in Ness Ziona, we beat them 1: 6, Dolev scored the first goal, a bomb for a connection from 25 meters. Towards the end of the youth season he was promoted, also there he would play similarly. A ball and trying to get through whoever wants. “
Haziza’s coach in youth, Eyal Baruch, Currently Ofer Tselappa’s assistant at Hapoel Raj, recalls: “Everything goes through him, he is a leader. He always wants to take on, not afraid, but he was not a star, not even in his youth. He was skinny, tiny. “Baruch also spoke about the mental change that Haziza underwent: I took him out of training, and he replied that if he went out, he would go home. He went halfway to the house, then came back and apologized. He needs a hug all the time. “
Baruch reveals that after the period in Ness Ziona, Haziza was examined by Maccabi Netanya, but the parties did not reach an agreement and he finally signed with Bnei Yehuda. He managed to make 11 appearances in the uniform of the Ness Ziona senior team in League A South under coach Ofer Talker, who recommended that Yossi Aboksis take him to the neighborhood. Haziza remains in touch with Baruch to this day: “I explain to him that a football player without numbers will earn accordingly, a player with numbers will always be in demand. Dolev is more threatening on goal, releasing in time. Once he would not release the ball, today he is looking for his friends. “He will end the season with double digits in both goals and cooks and will come to Europe. I believed he would be a player, but not at the levels of the Israeli team. He has made tremendous progress.”
He made Haziza’s first breakout in Bnei Yehuda, under Abacus, but not before experiencing his biggest difficulty in his career – returning from a serious injury. In 2016, after two years of establishing his status in Bnei Yehuda, he tore the crossbar and had to start all over again. After a long period of rehabilitation, Bnei Yehuda loaned him to Hapoel Raj from the national team, but the transfer was not successful. “Haziza was a 20-22 player with us. Played a few minutes “, says the chairman of Hapoel Raj, Einav Hazenwald“The audience would shout ‘no, no’ when they had to come in. Two years later he became the best player in Israel.”
Scorer was born
From that nightmare year at Hapoel Ramat Gan, Haziza did not look back. Already the following season he became a regular figure in Yossi Aboksis’ squad and was a key part of the team that won the state cup and finished in the top playoffs. Nevertheless, his name was not mentioned as a candidate to reach one of the big teams. In the media. Until Maccabi Haifa’s appeal to Bnei Yehuda regarding Yuval Ashkenazi. “I brought Haziza to Maccabi Haifa, neither a coach nor anyone,” the president of Maccabi Haifa told the sports channel. Yaakov Shachar“I got recommendations from him from Nes Ziona. He was the first one I wanted. I saw him, that he does not give up. These are players I like. Who give their soul on the field.”
Haziza’s numbers at Maccabi Haifa do not lie – Shahar made the right decision. Only Nikita Rokavica and Yonatan Cohen are ahead of him in goal involvement (12 in total, seven goals, a record number for him since the youth of Ness Ziona, and five assists), he leads the league with key dedication (21) and dribbles (109) and is in second place in wide balls (58 ). And if anyone thinks the attack comes at the expense of the defense, he is also in third place in ground fights (259).
But the numbers alone do injustice to the firecracker. Although he made a significant leap under Marco Belbul and even won a national team summons, it took a while untilBachar Convinced. In the Toto Cup game against Hapoel Beer Sheva, he lost a lot of balls and “won reprimands from the coach:” Stop making a neighborhood or I will take you out. ” He did not stay there long. Bachar and his assistant, Guy Sarfati took Haziza as a project and demanded that he make the dribbles in the dangerous areas, they explained to him when to release the ball and what movement should be made to get him in a good kicking position. Manali and pass him goal sheets in every game.
The underdog image and the exciting and uncompromising style of play made the Haifa audience fall in love with the firecracker. He won the title of player of the month in December on behalf of the league’s manager, much thanks to the green crowd and also won the most votes in public opinion polls regarding the best Israeli player in the league. The energies he manages to bring to the pitches, even without an audience, are not self-evident. Tonight (20:45) he will meet Ran Ben Shimon’s team in order to keep the gap at the top, and possibly increase it. Since he came to Maccabi Haifa, he has not scored against them. Trust Firecracker to break this ceiling too.
