Ofir Haim: "I lay down on the grass and talked to the late mother.

I shouted at her, 'This is for you' "

The outburst of emotions at the end ("The parents pushed me"), closing the circle on the lines ("As an actor I prayed to wear the uniform") and the enlightenment during the anthem ("I realized how small we are compared to them, but I also saw the look").

The morning after the splash, the youth team coach dreams of one more surprise.

Interview

Refresh Baranowski

29/06/2022

Wednesday, June 29, 2022, 8:30 p.m.

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Summary: Israel's youth team defeated France 1: 2 (Sport 1)

Israel's youth team managed to impress last night (Tuesday) after reaching the Euro finals for teams up to the age of 19 with a 1: 2 victory over the French team, which was marked as the favorite to win the title.

Israel will meet England in the final on Friday (21:00 in Sports 4), and is a lone victory away from an inconceivable achievement, having already made history.

The final whistle of the Danish referee Morten Kruga, gave the signal for the huge celebration that began on the lawn and passed after long minutes also into the locker room.

Coach Ofir Haim donned the Israeli flag and together with the players, members of the professional team and other members of our delegation, celebrated, danced and sang in a frenzy.

There is no doubt that the magic journey that continues for the Israeli team in this tournament, will greatly help the progress of each and every one of the players on the roster.

Dozens of scouts who attended the Euro Games have already written in their notebooks the names of Oscar Gluch, Roy Revivo, Ariel Lugassi, Thai Abed, El Yam Kanzapolsky, Ahmad Salman and the wonderful brakeman, Or Israelov and Autumn Lemkin, who presented an almost perfect game against a particularly threatening team.

Technical director Yela Hos along with technical team members Bonnie Ginzburg and Moshe Sinai who are present in Slovakia with our team, handed out greetings and compliments to everyone.

Due to the lengthy celebrations at the stadium in Donetsk Strada, the team arrived at the hotel shortly after midnight, and the players still had time to eat dinner together before everyone dispersed to the rooms.

Ofir Haim gave up the group meeting and postponed it until tomorrow.

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Youth team (Photo: Official website, Seb Day - UEFA via Sportsfile)

"This is without a doubt the biggest game of my career as a coach and as a player," the excited coach said in an interview with Walla!

sport.

"I'm still trying to calm down, I'm still not really digesting what we did here. It's just a crazy game, against a team at such a high level. I say even now that from the first moment I dreamed and also believed it was possible to go all the way. "For this team. France is a fantastic team and in their last ten games, I think they have lost only once. At the same time I believe in our team, because I just draw confidence from our games, from how these players work and think."

Already in the opening minutes, Israel presented a very high pressure game, and made it clear to the French that they were not afraid.

Coach Haim commented on the team's game plan and added: "Our plan was to push and go crazy from the first moment and that's how it was. We did not want to give the French a sense of ease, so that they would understand that this is not a training game this time. "Surprise us with a lineup of five defensive players, but we were prepared for that and got into the game very well. There is a team here with a lot of intelligence and game wisdom, there is no ego here at all, one plays for the other and you see that togetherness at any given moment."

Haim shared about the feelings he felt with the final whistle and said: "At the final whistle I lay down on the grass and just talked to my mother, her memory blessed. That's the first thing that went through my mind, I just screamed, 'Mom is for you.'

I just lie there and talk to her.

In the end, I work and make a living from what I love most in the world.

And all thanks to my late mother and my father, who pushed me and were my back, even when I was young. "

His record achievement.

Ofir Haim (Photo: official website, Asi Kiefer, Football Association website)

As in previous games, the coach once again wore the Israeli flag and looked very excited at the celebrations with the whistle: "Do you know how I feel when I wear the team shirt? Every time I feel a little slack among my players, I tell them that for me there is nothing more I tell my players that throughout my career as a player I prayed, I just prayed, to get a summons for the Israeli team. I prayed to wear the team shirt only once and unfortunately I did not win it, even though I deserved to be there and I deserved it. Tell them, take good care of it, do not let anyone come and take your place on the team, appreciate what you do. I was willing to pay a lot of money to wear the team shirt. For me the team is everything, this country, I am a true Zionist, I "I really do not digest at all what we did. I will probably not sleep all night, everyone greets and cheers, I have over a thousand messages on the phone. I hope to answer everyone."

"It's unbelievable. The goal was to reach the semi-finals and also get the ticket to the World Cup and we stood it and big. When we reached the semi-finals, I told the players we still had to make another effort, to reach the final. We strongly believe in our players. I play in the Premier League. I have no doubt we will have to be at our peak in the final to win the game.

"

I'm glad we met that goal.

I choose my players mainly according to the wisdom of the game and according to each player's commitment to the game.

We have received a lot of compliments here from all the other coaches, who are very supportive of us.

We have amazing children and I also want to say thank you to all the staff who are with me here. "

The players are supposed to receive mainly rest and treatments today and on Thursday the concluding tactical training will take place, with a full squad available to the coach for the final.

• sport

• Israeli soccer

• Israeli national teams

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• The youth team

• Ofir Haim