Jordan Shoa arrives at Betar Jerusalem with a label by Travel Maker • He recently entered the groove, conquers and cooks non-stop and begins to justify the mental work that Drapich and Barda are investing in him • Tonight (20:00) he is waiting for Hapoel Tel Aviv
Shoah with a rose.
Something fundamental has changed here
Photography:
Alan Shiver
Jordan Shoa's debut in Betar Jerusalem was in October against Hapoel Tel Aviv, which the yellow-blacks will host tonight.
A week and a half earlier, the striker was supposed to hold his first training session with the team but was not allowed to do so due to technical issues and watched the training from the stands.
Idan Vered sat down next to him for a short chat and from that day on the captain took him under his wing.
Three months have passed and it can be said that Shua fitted in great in the locker room of the Jerusalemites and recently also began to flourish on the grass.
The data show that there has been an upward trend in recent weeks.
He has scored three games in a row and already has four goals in his balance.
The striker arrived at Betar Jerusalem this season in a huge deal for 1.4 million euros paid to Maccabi Haifa, which only wanted to get rid of him, after a series of serious disciplinary problems.
Moshe Hogg received messages that it would be a mistake to touch the player, but believed in Shua and purchased him.
Only that Shua reached the height of Betar's crisis and found it difficult to express his abilities. In his case, the personal interest is no less important than the professional one.
So how did it happen that Maccabi Haifa made headlines every Monday and Thursday regarding discipline problems and in Jerusalem almost not?
There are some interesting answers to this.
The first and foremost is the relationship between coaches Slobodan Drapic and Shai Barda.
The two chose from the first moment to treat Shua as like any other player and not one that comes with a label of problematic.
"The first thing Slobo and Shai decided to do with Jordan was to make him believe in them and appreciate them and they succeeded," they say in Betar. "Jordan does not always like everything, but they know how to play with him."
When Shua gained weight, the coaches made sure to give him a head start and attached him to fitness coach Telmo de Anders, who worked closely with him.
After the victory over Hadera the player was angry that he did not kick a free kick and was reprimanded by Drapich.
On the other hand, when in one training session the striker exploded designers after not being handed over, he took out frustration and kicked bottles, but the incident was not leaked.
"Jordan felt that Maccabi Haifa was constantly just looking to get things out of it and that we were more guarded," they say in Betar.
And it does not end here.
When the professional team benched Shoa three games in a row after they felt he was a little underestimated in training, they waited for the striker to demand a clarification call himself.
It did happen, and in the conversation he was told what he needed to improve and new goals were set for him.
The end result is that Shua started working out more in the gym, increased his mileage in games, stayed to practice on kicks after training, and the exiles, for which he was acquired, also started to arrive.
"They kept saying to Jordan: 'If you don't succeed with us, you will not progress any more,' and he knows that," say Betar officials. "He made a big change, going into the gym twice a day.
These are things he would not do in his life and he is a different player today.
He has the potential to be a scary striker. "
But it's not just the job of the coaches.
Shua has an integrity advocate at home and garden called Shay Constantine.
The two are good friends from the days when they collaborated in Bnei Yehuda.
And so, for example, during the difficult times of the defensive player, he took care of his friend: "Jordan needs to be treated differently, do not make mistakes with him that you will later regret."
And besides Konstantin, Shua has veteran players like Idan Vered and Eliran Atar, who have been through a lot in Carmel and are constantly pushing him and in the meantime it works.
Meanwhile, the team will arrive with a very short staff for the game, after four more players were diagnosed as positive for Corona yesterday: Tamir Adi, Uziel Pardo, Diego Vardska and Santiago Ocampus, who joined Idan Vered, Michael Ohana and Roi Padida, who were previously diagnosed as positive for the virus.
