Waiting to bring plate to Teddy: "More realistic next season" • Appreciate the support from the professional team: "Ronnie Levy and Benyon gave me peace" • Miss Kinda: "If he had stayed, we would have been in the championship fight"
Azulai in the center. "The team seems to be together more than a season"
Photo:
Alan Shaver
Throughout his career, beyond the wonderful technique or ability to conquer and cook gates, there is one characteristic that does not leave Betar Jerusalem's pioneer, Shlomi Azoulay - he insists on avoiding as much media exposure as possible, but this morning Azulay breaks a long silence in an interview with "Israel" today , And speaks with extraordinary openness to all the burning issues.
Even before football, the spread of the Corona virus is of course a concern for Azoulay, as are the rest of Israel's citizens. "The situation is difficult for everyone, the boredom is scary, the children are driving us crazy all day and we are dying to go back to normal," he says. "It makes me angry that there are people who do not obey instructions, and every day hundreds more patients in Corona hear. It will be impossible to go back to normal and overcome The disease. "
About a week and a half ago, Azoulay spent several days with his parents in Tiberias, and with his grandmother he only talks in video calls. He returned to Jerusalem early last week, but in the current situation he does not know when he will be able to visit his family again in the north. In the meantime, he is keeping fit only at home, but his wife Ayelet, who is about to give birth to another son, has been taking care of him and their son with me for employment throughout the day - from creative activities to joint fitness hours.
Do you think the league will be back this season?
"As the virus spreads, I don't think the league will return. I don't see it ending anytime soon, even because of the complete lack of public cooperation. Until the closure is complete, we will not overcome the Corona."
Azulay. His blossom came out of nowhere // Photo: Danny Maron
How do you recap the Betar season until the stop forced upon us?
"Whenever I saw teams that replace 10 players early in the season, it ended in failure. Even when I was in Maccabi Haifa and brought in 12 new players, it just didn't work. This year brought players full, no one knew or played with each other in the past, especially those in the first team, and that's "Not a bad job at all. We've had very good periods, here and there, of a game or two, but the team seems to be together more than a season."
If Capricorn Kinda didn't leave, could you still be in the championship fight?
"It could very well be. He was the most significant player and showed his qualities every week. Capricorn player breaks even, how many do we have here? If the game was stuck, he would release it in two touches."
The compliments to Kiddie's kids don't just come. Professionally, when Azulay and Kinda played together, they were unstoppable. Socially, the two were part of the "Helmet" group with Ophir Criaf and Shalom Edri, who live in the same building and call it their joint Wetsap group.
"I've been in decline since Gadi moved to Kansas," Azulay admits. "He cooked half of the expats for me and I cooked half his goals. Since he left, I haven't been able to score. I also had two injuries, and if I hadn't - I might have been with two. "Gates of literature. It's impossible to describe how much I enjoy and rejoice in his success. I got up at three in the night to watch his two games, we corresponded later in Wetsap, we always talk."
"Another cut? We're calm"
Azulay's blossom came out of nowhere. The striker did return to the lawn, but he was given a lot of credit from coach, Ronnie Levy, and manager Yossi Benyun.
Azulai in the center. "I was in groups that I always thought about when they would be replaced" // Photo by Danny Maron
"My relationship with Ronnie is not something that is common in football," Azulay explains. "We don't have to talk too much to understand each other. I hold him coach number one and he holds me, that's the basis for a relationship. If one of us didn't believe in each other , It didn't exist, to get warm words from Banyon and to know how much he cares about me is not obvious.
"They gave me a quiet net, a chance to concentrate only on football. I was in clubs that didn't feel a quarter of what I felt in Betar, and that diverted from the goal. I was in groups that I kept thinking about when they would be replaced. I don't know how many years I have left to play, but obviously what I get from them in terms of trust and attitude is not common, and I just want to give them back. "
How much did you disrupt the whistles of part of Betar's audience earlier this season?
"At first I was very disturbed. I would score, play well, and still get contempt. I noticed that no matter how I got on the field, there was a loud handful that still whispered to me. I think it happened because the team favored me over Anthony and Eran. It's unprofessional, put it aside. "Once I realized it existed and decided to put a streak on these people, it just set me free and didn't hurt me professionally. It's very important in this profession to disengage, not read talkbacks because it can hurt you. ".
Do you feel that something has been missed in your career?
"Unequivocally. As a young player in Maccabi Haifa, I was unstable, then I found myself in second-tier teams and every season I was led, conquered and cooked, but what I was missing is a lot of goals in a big club. Even for upgrading financially. That happened to me in my career, except for myself. "
With child. "I've been feeling down since Capricorn moved to Kansas" // Photo by Danny Maron
Disappointed when they signed Eliran Atar?
"Obviously not, I was very happy. Maybe people would seem to come to my position, but I knew Eliran was playing on the left. Every time I came to his side, he told me 'Shlomi, go to the middle.' He blended in amazingly, professionally and socially."
Is there any concern among the players in the team that there will be another pay cut?
"We talked about it between us, there is concern, but we know who our owners are, how kind he is and how considerate he is to families. No matter how much Moses celebrates, we will come to him. Overall, we are calm."
And after the Corona, what would you prefer - winning a championship with Betar or playing in a European home stage?
"Sure the championship, it's burning for all of us, but obviously it's a process and won't happen in one day. Return".
