Four and a half years have passed since Jordi Cruyff declared to Maccabi Tel Aviv officials that Sagiv Yehezkel is the next thing in Israeli football. To one of them he even said that he mentions Eran Zehavi or at least that he would be the heir of Tal Ben Haim. Cruyff persuaded Mitch Goldhaar to spend $ 800,000 on the player who played for city rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv, but after a few months it was already clear that the label attached to him was probably big on him at the time.
If professionals are asked about Ezekiel, everyone will say that the talent there must explode. He is fast, he has a technique that not many in the league have, but on the other hand, in the same breath, they will also talk about a mental problem – about a child who breaks down too fast.
In Ashdod the story is different. From the first moment he landed with Jackie Ben Zaken, he took himself more into his own hands. Less entertainment, more work. Less nerves, more calm. The arrival of Ran Ben Shimon led him to the top again. The team from the port city says that Ezekiel is the type of player who needs a hug. One who instead of shouting in front of everyone, would prefer a four-eyed reprimand call. One that if the coach gives him confidence, he is even able to lead a team.
In Maccabi Tel Aviv, as soon as you do not conquer or cook, you are sent aside. In Ashdod he received credit even when he was less fortunate, and this season it is reflected in the numbers. This is only reflected in the summons to the wide squad and stand-by in case someone is injured, but the striker today believes that moment will also come.
It is no secret that he was on the table of Hapoel Beer Sheva back in the time of Yossi Aboksis. So, they argued to the coach that Ezekiel gave a word to an old man that he would stay and only at the end of the season would he leave free. The owner of Ashdod, one who knows how to do business, realized that Ezekiel’s head is already in the big money of BS, sums that Ashdod does not give. His salary was 30% and he signed a three-and-a-half year contract without an exit clause, and already today (Saturday) he will play against Hapoel Haifa, even though he is suffering from a rib crisis.
Ezekiel’s first phone call after the official signing was to Dor Micha. The two have been good friends since the time at Maccabi Tel Aviv. “I’m waiting for you,” Yehezkel told him, and the two are expected to cooperate in the coming seasons in the Negev. The pioneers whose best friends can play the same role, as was the case in Ashdod between him and Shoval Gozlan, and to this day the two are considered best friends and are often photographed together on social media.
With Yehezkel, Hatem ‘Abd al-Hamid and Farley Rusa, another attacking player who could help, Barkat kept its promise to get stronger in the transfer window. Joshua’s dismissal and Elton Akotalsa’s troublesome injury meanwhile weaken the team from the Negev capital, but the combination of those three could be the difference between a ticket to Europe for fifth or sixth place at the end of the season.
Ezekiel gets another chance at a big club, and this time also the number 11 with whom he was in Ashdod and which he took from Hints of Spori, who did the opposite. If a few years ago people still gave him days of grace and had patience for him to acclimatize and prove what he is worth, today BS needs him mature and ready. There is no time to wait.
