Landing in the attire that made the Reds believe "he will be a cannon" • The dilemma following medical tests

• Spirovsky celebrates. Klinger's engine

  Photo:

  Alan Shaver

Over the past two years, Hapoel Tel Aviv's training complex has developed a theory for foreign players, and it goes something like this: Whoever lands in a classically / prestigiously dressed country is likely to be a high-quality player, and those who don't - in their view, attire can testify to the athlete and what he is broadcasting Outwardly.

When Macedonian midfielder Stefan Spirovski landed in the country in beautiful attire and with a prestigious portfolio, the workers did not blink for a second and thought: "He will be a cannon." Today, five months later, it can be said that the same hypothesis came true, or as a senior team official explained: "Stefan is our most important player in the lineup today."

Spirovsky's success in the red uniform did not come overnight, the opposite is true. His term in Khodorov started with his left foot, so much so that even the signing of the contract did not go smoothly. "Small problems" emerged in the medical examinations prior to the signing following a serious injury sustained by his former team. While these were not the problems that make up a player, they certainly turn on warning lights.

Spirovsky. Signed for another year in Hapoel // Photo: Alan Shiber

"If we sign it, let's put an exit clause in January," suggested then-head coach Nisu Avitan, who in general wanted a backstage number 6. Senior club members consulted between them and finally decided to sign Spirovsky for a year and a half without an exit option. Hapoel knew they were taking a gamble, but claimed: "A Frenchwars player who plays no less than our team will upgrade us, even if we have to wait a bit."

Then came November 12

But the Reds didn't have to wait too long, and already in his debut against Scacia Ness Ziona, Spirowski provided tremendous cooking from half a field to Marvin Pearce, showing that there was a stranger here on the level. Only from this game did he find it difficult to function (like the whole team), sometimes played in a position that was less comfortable for him, and for two months did not deliver the goods.

The morning of November 12 opened for Spirovsky in great panic, with alarms following rocket fire to the center area following the assassination of Baha'u Abu Alta. The connection went into hysterics, began calling the club's people and his pregnant wife who is staying in Macedonia, and considered leaving the country immediately. Canceling the workout planned for that day didn't help ease the situation, but eventually the Reds managed to convince the player that it was a two-day escalation, and that the routine would return. That day's drama was kept quiet, but a month later, news began that Spirovsky was on his way out of the club.

Spirovsky vs. Raanana. "Stefan realized he was not a star" // Photo: Alan Shiber

The incident in the defeat to Maccabi Netanya, which was replaced 10 minutes after he emerged as a substitute on the grounds that he did not try to warm up or play, everyone remembers, but it turns out that the mess began in the locker room. "Just before the game began, Spirowski was sitting in the locker room watching videos on the cellphone for fun," revealed a group member. "It made Klinger and Moshe (Sinai; SH) talk to him, and then what happened in the game."

In Hapoel, those who saw Spirowski's behavior as an Italian strike and called for his release, while Sinai and Klinger summoned him to a disciplinary committee. "I apologize, it's not me, I've never had any discipline problems," said the liaison to the committee, which fined him NIS 5,000.

"Everything goes through it"

"Show Stephen that he is not a star that can do what he wants here, and he reset," a Hapoel official claimed. But the resettlement in question has other reasons beyond reproach and fine. The first is that Hapoel is his second team this season for Spirovsky, so he could only switch to weak leagues starting in the winter, and the main reason is the Northern Macedonia national team.

Speaking to the team, Spirowski says how important he is to his personal match against Kosovo in the Euro playoffs next month. "Stefan realized that if he emerged as a problem, he would not be invited to the team, and that is their national mission," the club says. "It could be the climax of his career."

Spirovsky and Klinger // Photo: Alan Shiber

A few days after the Spirowski Disciplinary Committee came up from the bench in the cup opposite Katamon and the Lamb. Klinger then returned him to the lineup and has since been a safe stock after adding three league goals and one more on the way to a five-goal balance and cooking in all frames. In addition, he is regularly among the three players who run the most on average per game.

But despite the good ability, precisely after the duo in front of Hapoel Raanana, a few days before the January window was closed, publications appeared that the actor wanted to leave. In practice, they feared it might be because his wife was expected to give birth in April and was alone in Macedonia, and quickly talked to Spirovsky to figure out where they were going. "I haven't talked to anyone, I'll check with my agent," the liaison replied, later making it clear that his agent was also unrelated to the news, and that, as stated, he remained in the group.

And in the last two months Spirovsky has not only been professionally but socially integrated. He has come very close to Maor Buzaglo, going out with the players to spend various events, and on the lawn "Everything is going through", as they say in Khodorov, where the Macedonians hope to lead the team to a Teddy victory against Betar Jerusalem tonight.