When Maccabi Tel Aviv won championships in the early 1990s, they were registered in the name of Avraham Grant (also the double achieved by Dror Kashtan). That championship, in 2003, is attributed to Baruch Dego or Avi Nemani (depending on who you ask). The 2013-14-15 championships can be attributed to Jordi Cruyff or Eran Zehavi. The 2019 and 2020 championships belong to Tabic. If the 2020/21 season really ends in the championship of Maccabi Tel Aviv (and the advantage, it must be remembered, still belongs to Maccabi Haifa), this will be a rare example in Israel of the championship of the owner, Mitch Goldhaar – a championship that is first and foremost a successful football manager. .
Yes, Goldhaar made a mistake in the summer with the appointment of Yorgos Donis. (A mistake that is a bit dwarfed when you consider the return to the home stage of the Europa League after two barren years, and the immigration to the big 32 that brought quite a bit of money to the club), or with the fact that Jordi Cruyff’s slot as a professional manager was not really filled. Sub) – but he also knew how to correct, when he changed the tools relatively quickly and corrected another mistake – the waiver of Andre Geralds.
“So believe me, if you spoil it, you can also fix it” – sings Ehud Banai, and Goldhaar (probably) does not know this song, but applied it well in the Maccabi of the season. An application that can be worth all the money, with interest. And we have not yet talked about the decision to release Omar Atzili and Dor Micha.
This is the main title of this Saturday: the championship race has reopened, completely. And while Maccabi Tel Aviv, as in the example of the turtle and the rabbit, arrives fresh and in positive shape, Maccabi Haifa – which had amazing opening conditions in its hands, almost unforgivable if it does not end in the title – seems to be unable to withstand the pressure.
It used to be said that “the road to the championship passes in Be’er Sheva”, today it is safe to say that “the road to the championship passes in Bi”. Who like Barak Bachar knows: he came to a game like this exactly against the local MS, played poorly but barely won With the same goal from Melikson, who calmed the system and helped Hapoel B’Shlosha to win the title. This time, in a game of this kind, Haifa did not win.
The transfer window is still open, and Maccabi Haifa can still make changes: the miss of Hatem ‘Abd al-Hamid, who signed with Hapoel Beer Sheva, can be cruel for her. She owes another pioneer, because her dependence on Rokavica (and today she understands this more than ever) is at her back, and most of all she owes more depth. Maccabi Haifa’s first team may be better than Maccabi Tel Aviv’s – but the secret of the yellow team’s strength is in its ability to diversify, to bring in players from the bench who will make a difference, to get along even if a key player (like Yonatan Cohen) comes out.
And yes, there was also an element of luck here: 12 of the 39 points that Maccabi Tel Aviv has made so far this season came in overtime. Not just extra time, much much more time. Three of them in the 95th minute, one in the 98th minute (!). Some are controversial pendulums. It’s a bit difficult to analyze things like this, which are more than the world of mysticism, in terms of football – and yet, it does say something about the fact that Maccabi Tel Aviv – like its owner – does not give up.
Maccabi Tel Aviv stays in the game until the last second, not listening to the background talk of failure or disappointment. As of February 2021, it is completely in the championship game – and maybe even reaching it stronger than its opponent. And that, you can definitely give the captain – to the man who believed there Chances are, even when no one (not even the most optimistic of the team fans) believed.
