Last night (Sunday), Maccabi Haifa marked a significant “V”. After the pressure seemed to increase, the Greens managed to beat Bnei Yehuda 0: 2 in Bloomfield – and reduce the gap from Maccabi Tel Aviv to only one point. The one who did not take part in Haifa’s celebration was Taleb Twataha, the left – back who was one of its glittering acquisitions in the summer, and was left out of the squad.
The reason for his absence was not necessarily professional, but disciplinary: Twataha did not appear for a formation meal held by the team on his own, which caused coach Barak Bachar not to restrain himself and sift him out of the squad. At Maccabi Haifa, every player is expected to enlist for the common goal, and since the beginning of the season, everyone has received opportunities from Becher.
What certainly helped strengthen the decision, was the excellent ability of San Menachem who also scored one of the goals and continued to demonstrate a successful return from his dismissal following the events of the Haifa derby.
It is still unclear whether Twataha will return to the squad on Wednesday, in the eighth game of the cup final against Maccabi Petah Tikva. Beyond that, Twataha himself is not happy that he became a substitute defender, having arrived as a leading player in the summer.
The left-back, who returned to Haifa after a long European term, was unable to find his place in the squad this season – Menachem has often been preferred over him, and he has started in the squad only five times since the start of the league season. Is it a momentary decline or a story of disappointment? We’ll wait and see.
