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Naor Abodi in an interview from Burning Armenia: "We see military vehicles on the way to the border"

In the midst of the bloody campaign against Azerbaijan, Lori's contact is looking for quiet.

Now he talks about the shelling ("I'm used to being out of the country"), the suspicious attitude towards Israelis ("guarding me") and the desire to move forward ("it's easier to get to senior leagues from here").

Interview

Tags

• Enlightened Abodi

• Azerbaijan

• Armenia

Shlomo Weiss

Wednesday, September 30, 2020, 8:30 p.m.

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In the video: The battles between Armenia and Azerbaijan (Photo: Reuters)

While most Israeli footballers spent Yom Kippur in relative silence, Naor Abodi got a taste of what foreigners who come to Israel often taste: he got into a country at war.

Abodi, 27, contact MS.

Ashdod last season, only recently joined the Armenian Lori.

Adaptation went smoothly: he arrived with another Israeli in the form of Almog Ohayon, and two weeks ago he still managed to win 1: 2 over Arart Arnia.

But this week the idyll was violated when a bloody military confrontation broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

As someone who grew up in Kiryat Shmona, Abodi is well trained in the routine of war with an enemy state, but this time he found himself in an unclear situation.

"Obviously you do not understand what is happening at first," says Abodi in an interview from the hotel where he is staying in the burning Armenia.

"Our luck is that the city we are in (and the Lori area) is 600 km from the battlefield."

Abodi may not be on the line of fire, but during the conversation you can hear a noise coming from outside his room. "There are many demonstrations in support of the country in two days. The latter, "he explains," everywhere you see people with Armenian flags. "

More on Walla!

NEWS

What to know about the confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh

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Last August, while he was examining options from the National League and waiting for an answer from Bnei Sakhnin, Abodi suddenly received a phone call from his good friend Almog Ohayon.

"I have a very interesting option," Comrade Ohayon told Abodi, "there is a group in Armenia that wants both of us."

After some deliberation, Abodi decided to go for the opportunity and together with Ohayon flew to Armenia to be impressed by Lori, who finished last season in fifth place in the local league.

"There is an Israeli coach here named Albert Solomonov, and he really wanted Almog. As soon as Almog interested him in the possibility of bringing me in, he got excited, and that's where the deal came from."

"There are several teams that can screw up in the Premier League. In my opinion, our team is at the level of a bottom team in the Premier League or a top team in the national league. The champion here, whom we won from my goal, can be a top team in Israel."

"I had an offer from Bnei Sakhnin and Eldad Shavit talked to me and really wanted me, but it didn't work out. There were a lot of teams in the national league who wanted to, but when the offer came I decided it was interesting and worth going for. The truth is that you can also go to big leagues more easily. Only from my team "Players moved to Russia and even sold a player for the night for 1.4 million euros (the derogatory Nana Antwai, S.W.)."

"The truth is that in our city everything is cheap. You sit in a luxury restaurant and finish a good meal for NIS 15. If you come from Israel with NIS 10,000, you live here like a king. With the champion, the salary here is serious and the players there earn around $ 100,000 a year."

"It was not easy because we arrived and half a group including Almog Ohayon fell ill in Corona. It was the hard part, but slowly we got into things. In the meantime we live in the hotel until I find an apartment and I can say that now I am really happy with the decision I made here."

"I want to give a good season and screw up in one of the top four places in the league with the team, because that's its goal. The first four go to European enterprises and that's important to the club. We started the season with a technical loss because we didn't have enough players because of the Corona. "Since then we have had two wins and one loss in extra time. I also understood and saw that we have the best crowd in Armenia, so it sure will help when the crowd comes back."

"The truth is that the connection is really good. There are nine Armenians and from the rest you can build a team from the rest of the world. There are us Israelis, there are players from Portugal, Brazil, Panama and more."

"I was pleasantly surprised by the level and also by the professionalism. If you had told me last year that I would come to play in Armenia I would have laughed at you, but that's what happened and I'm happy about it."

"This year has hit me."

Naor Abodi in MS Ashdod uniform (Photo: Lilach Weiss)

In Israel, you are not exactly a familiar name.

"I can definitely progress from here more easily. Last year I did not play much in Ashdod, and not because of my ability. This year has hit me."

"We go with masks and follow the instructions but nothing is closed. There are no restrictions other than an audience in football, but in the last game an audience has already entered partially occupied. It is different from Israel."

"We are used to it, but here we are not used to such a reality. We talk about it everywhere and all the time, even in a group."

"Call, but they know we are used to it. The truth is that the more significant problem here is that Israel, at least according to what we have been told, supports Azerbaijan, so talk to us about it, but the players and team keep us in this section very much. They said no one would involve politics and talk about This issue or they will make us feel uncomfortable, just because our government supports their opponents. "

"It's not like here we have half supporters and half swinging, where everyone is united around the flag and the country" (Photo: AP)

Describe the atmosphere in the streets.

"It is different from Israel. Here the Armenian people are united all around the country. It is not like here we have half supporters and half swinging, where everyone is united around the flag and the country. We are far away then do not hear bombs, but all the time there are processions and we see a lot of military vehicles heading towards The border to fight. "

"The truth is that as we speak we were informed that the game we were supposed to have tomorrow is canceled and the league is currently closed due to the war. My truth is it turned out well because I am sensitive in the meniscus and I was supposed to be absent from the next two games."

"When I was in Ashdod she went crazy because it's far away, so of course she worries when I'm here in Armenia. This is the first time in my life that I did not do at Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, so it's strange. She was worried but I explained to her that we are very far away. I am no less concerned about the situation of the corona in the country. "

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