“There is no doubt that the atmosphere at the club is better. You see more smiles here and there, but everything is still going on under fire.” This is how a source at Hapoel Tel Aviv defined the change that has taken place at the club since the January transfer window. On the one hand, the massive armament made in the form of six acquisition players definitely gives its signals and the Reds count eight consecutive games in all frames without a loss. Only two points away from the red line, so you will not find a single calm person in the Khodorov compound. “Nothing has changed in terms of alertness, we have not yet left the dangerous area,” they said there.
Still, the improvement on the pitch and the better results naturally and directly affect everything that happens at the club. Add to that a new CEO who has taken over the reins in order to change the face of the organization and make it healthier and more attractive and you will understand that something has changed on a daily basis at Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Let’s start with the new players. In the transfer window, Nir Klinger insisted on bringing in players who would have added value, who would bring in the “extra”, players with experience and seniority, ones who can be trusted when they go to war. Indeed, Hapoel is talking today about the importance of all these parameters among most procurement players. “Dominant players came, who went through one or two things in their careers, were in big clubs. It started with them well, we connected, stabilized and got more confidence,” the club explained, adding: “If we were once more dependent on young players, today there is a deeper bench and Altman again. Blooms because he is no longer the only graduate in the group. ”
Although all entrants receive credit, there are two to whom the spotlight is mainly directed also due to their contribution off the grass – Dan Einbinder and Ben Bitton. Hapoel says that they both connected quickly to the club, caring and following the young people. “It’s a pleasure to see Dan, Ben, Omri sitting with Osher or any other young player. They push the youngsters to professionalism and love their careers.”
“Dan is, after all, Betar in every way, and he is so attached to his mouth and inside that today it is simply delusional to think of him in a Betar uniform,” a Hapoel source testified, adding: in the middle of. At the end of the game in the locker room he admitted in front of everyone ‘this goal happened because of me, I take responsibility for it, I’m sorry but we took an important point to continue’. Taking responsibility in front of everyone like that shows a lot about leadership. “
Ultimately, football is a game of results. So it’s true that since the new players joined the Reds also missed valuable points, did not know how to maintain an advantage when needed and absorbed critical minutes, but they also knew how to equalize in extra time and scored 13 points out of 21 possible. “First and foremost, it is not easy to beat us as it was before,” Hapoel clarified. However, the Reds are still far from calm and know that their work is not yet complete. “We have not yet managed to escape the red line, all the sub-groups are giving war and seeing it in the results. We cannot take our foot off the gas, there is still time until we can breathe and there is always pressure at Hapoel Tel Aviv,” said Khodorov.
The new CEO
Beyond the procurement players, there is also a “reinforcement actress” in the form of the new CEO, Odelia Friedman, who took up her position last November. A lot of criticism was leveled against the owner of Hapoel Tel Aviv following the appointment of Friedman, who under her previous role as theater director Habima, the National Theater, collapsed financially and went into huge debt, but almost three months after arriving at the club, Friedman had already fully adapted and became one of the main characters in Khodorov.
As you may recall, after Ruby Regev left the club, Zeev Greenberg also served as CEO, but Hapoel asked for someone to be a 100 percent CEO. Today it is said in the club that Friedman has been in the complex for long hours and manages the club at a high level. She has of course no touch on professional issues, but in all other things she is completely involved. In the transfer window, for example, she was part of the negotiations with the players, fiddling around with the signings and contracts, and in recent days she has even taken care of food deliveries cooked at the club to the verified players in Corona.
“For a long time there has not been a general manager in the club who comes every day and navigates this ship. She pushes things, she has a lot of connections, ‘moves mountains’ on some phones, her door is open to actors, she knows how to approach them because she has worked with talents in the past, “said a team source, adding:” She understands that she is not the show, but the team and actors are The show and it should give them the tools to succeed. “
This leads us to the next matter. Hapoel testifies that Friedman and Klinger have an excellent relationship. “They seem to be very appreciative of each other and help each other. They do not work on two parallel lines, but are combined,” the group said.
And what about the owner? Despite the dominance of Friedman, Itzik and Sharon Nisnov and Greenberg did not really disappear. Although Greenberg comes less than when he also served as general manager, everyone visits the complex once or twice a week. “They gave Odelia the reins in everything related to the day-to-day management of the club, but of course they still own and feel it,” said a source at Hapoel. .
So with the change in the managerial hive and on the lawn, Hapoel are very much hoping to continue to leverage the recent period and the confidence they have gained in order to reach a safe shore as quickly as possible. “Against Maccabi Haifa, this is a different opera,” said Khodorov, “but we do not give up a single point.”
