The disappointment from Israel Oglebo, the blow from Alina, the gay storm and the drama in the final • A moment after he took the million in "Survival", Asi Bouzaglo opens it all • Interview
The
last days leading up
to the "VIP Survival" final were very tense for Asi Bouzaglo.
The person who received the nickname "Sheikh" on the island did not let the million slip through his hands, and reportedly complained to the production that the survivor Benny Baruchim allegedly violated the format rules and gave his voice to Israel Oglebo in exchange for monetary compensation.
Now, with two new titles (the last survivor and the beloved survivor), a new car and a prize of one million shekels, Buzaglo is free to comment.
Reporter: Lee Moore // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon // Courtesy of Network 13
"I discovered the drama live," he says.
"There was a call from some of the survivors who made this claim in front of the production, and I am one of them."
Did you initiate the referral?
"No, all of us."
I heard you initiated.
"Absolutely not. I'm like everyone else. I'm one of them."
So what was there?
"We were on the island, we saw things wrong and we decided to flood it. The production company did its tests, and the end we all know."
The photos were taken a year ago, why didn't you flood it back then?
"Everyone has their own reasons. In general we wanted to see the course of the season and if they flooded it on screen. I wanted to check until the last episode, and as soon as they did not flood - we put it up in front of them."
The production did not know what happened?
"The production company has its decisions, and after the tests they did - that's what they decided. Apparently there were things in our complaint."
Have you talked about this with Israel in recent days?
"Not in the last few days, but we've talked about it a lot before."
Rumor has it that you have a recording of the incident.
"All materials at the production company."
***
Bouzaglo (37),
a former footballer who is married to Adi and father Lair (13), Leo (8) and Milan (6), is considered one of the best castings in the history of "Survival".
Charismatic, handsome and the one who led the Fox Alliance, controlled the game and gained immunity.
For the first time he is coming out here against his former ally, Israel Oglebo, and today he is his nemesis.
"After what Israel did to Regev (Hood came to take a tarpaulin from Oglebo's tribe, who reacted aggressively to him; A.S.), the first thing I thought was how do I make a sulha between them.
I said I had to give him a chance. "
Why
?
"I saw a lost person that no one can understand and contain, like a lion in a cage. I could not understand him, and I am a person who accepts everyone. In retrospect, what happened between Israel and Regev crossed the line of good taste. When I watched it I called Regev and told him my heart goes out to him. I told Israel that seeing it was a difficult viewing experience.
"When Israel moved into our tribe he said to me, 'If I exaggerate, shake my hand,' and I would stop him. I appreciated the fact that he was giving me an option to stop him. Like an impulsive little brother I have to guard."
Can you understand where his behavior came from?
"No, you come after a big win (in 'Big Brother'; A.S.), and you're loved, what reason do you have to behave like that?
To this day I can not understand.
Do you want to show the strong and manly Israel?
Nice, play, but don't go down to those levels. "
How has your relationship been lately?
"Everyone is busy with their own affairs. He is now being photographed for a series, and I am a family man with children. We would talk once every two or three weeks."
Are there any charges left?
"On a personal level outside of the game, as a human being, I have nothing against him."
He did not rise to you at the moment of your victory.
"It's his. I would get up to him. The truth is I did not notice, because immediately everyone jumped on me and I was in a storm of emotions and started to cry."
Did he at least call to greet?
"No, but I did not expect either. That's the truth. It could still happen. I really understand his heart, but I think I would have cheered."
One of Buzaglo's most memorable and beautiful moves, strategically and television-wise, was his connection to an endearing era.
Two arrowheads from two rival alliances became one alliance - a winning move that apparently brought Assi the million.
Come to think of it, at the end of the game you were not strong in any alliance.
"I was strong in strategy, but in practice I was alone, and I looked alone and lonely. Inside I knew that the alliance with an era is a hundred on a hundred."
Let's talk about Jordan Jerby.
"I had a hard time with Jordan because she did not open. She does not give you the option to get close to her. She was with Idan and that is it. If she did open - she had a chance to win the game."
Could it be that she threatened you?
"In nothing. There is not one thing she has managed to threaten me with. Even in missions she is good at, endurance missions that I was not good at. But in many other strategies of agility and agility I knew I could give in and that I was stronger than her. And that is what happened. "His field. But we turned around, talking here and there."
What about Alina Levy?
"Alina, Alina, Alina," Buzaglo sighed at the name.
"She can take you to a good place, and from there to the worst place."
Explain.
"I had the whole rainbow of emotions in front of her, and by the time we were on the highway, she had decided to make an alliance in a bad and unworthy way. I think she did herself a disservice and ended up with the chance to win. I think she missed a great opportunity to go with me until the end of the game."
She broke the alliance and moved on to the era of Jordan, a pretty legitimate move in the game.
Your reaction was extreme.
"I told her 'don't turn to me,' but for me it was not a boycott, I was the last to support the boycott. At that moment I was very hurt by her, because we actually overcame the obstacles and the complete lack of trust between us, and she brought me back."
Ella Ayalon was also disappointed.
"I took these like a big brother. We did everything hand in hand, and when Israel arrived, she was a little blinded. I did not understand where she was headed. Whether she is in the game or she is looking in a different shade. When she chose what she chose, I was very disappointed in her, and that is what caused "Then I have to oust her. Until now, she's telling me I ousted her."
Is there anything you would do differently in the game?
"Yes, there were falls and statements I would give up, but not something big."
Give an example.
"On a mission on the ramp, when my son, Israel and I competed for the chain of immunity, I told my son he could not win. Israel wanted to give him a chain, and I knew it would be a mistake. I asked myself, how do I pass the information to Israel without my son being seen or harmed. "I would say to Israel face to face, I could have lost him and my son together. In short, strategically I had a perfect idea, but in my approach I was wrong."
Did you apologize to my son?
"I don't think I have anything to apologize for. If it's a mistake, then it's very small."
Are you in touch today?
"No, we're not in Cass, but he's less my tapecast. I can show you our latest correspondence. I wrote him 'well done' for a beautiful article he had.
"My son was unaware of the game, but the way he did it was amazing. From one who does not understand where he is, he has become one who sets the tone and even wants to win. It is commendable."
The feeling was that you were not counting it.
"My son is neither a strategist nor a missionary, but at one point he stood his ground and expressed his opinion - and in the end he finished as an alpha."
Aside from the ramp, are there any other things you'm sorry about?
"There are all sorts of things that have taken out of proportion and given it interpretations."
***
In two notable cases, allegations of game bias have been made in favor of Buzaglo.
One time, on a mission where they were asked to stand on the ramp, it was alleged that the space between the pyramids was small for him relative to the others, a fact that helped him at a sensitive stage for him in the game.
The second, winning the award-winning Idan Habib award, during which Buzaglo found in the chocolate a "double power" in the Tribal Council.
The network claimed that the move was aimed at him in advance.
Now, after all the speculation and analysis - he is responding.
"I have very strong legs, and in the mission on the ramp I used them, and also in my mind. I kept telling the guys, why are there no leg missions? I owe a foot mission, and as soon as we got to that I won it."
Did you get upset when they claimed they helped you not to be fired?
"I did not get upset, because I am used to everyone talking, and always will talk. I know this from football and life. Today I am in a place that has proven myself, both in terms of the audience that chose me and in terms of the jury that brought me a landslide victory.
"I'm used to getting reviews from the age of 7. When there are things that scream to the sky I react, and that's why I reacted in an orderly fashion in my story, because there's a limit. Legs were my advantage. Guys, Khalas, a hard working person, wins a mission honestly, and come to blame me "It does not fit. I was upset with this task, because I honestly earned it. If I did not win it, I would be fired."
That's why they claimed to help you.
"They will always argue."
Also in the chocolate mission they claimed to have helped you.
"Idan won the mission and took me to get closer to me. I was after a week of not putting anything in my mouth, and out of respect and happiness I said to him, 'Idan, it's all about me, I'm here a waiter and a worryer. Thanks to that, this note also fell on me."
Can you understand why viewers thought this was an intervention of the production?
"Always looking and more will look. Do you know how much nonsense they said about the season? Not just about me. About everyone. As soon as I saw it sweeping, it calmed me down a bit. My every move was analyzed, and everyone has their own version, each more delusional than the other. "They said that the production planned the alliances for me and that everything was filmed. Everything is nonsense."
During the season, Buzaglo managed to upset many spectators when he said he would not play alongside a gay footballer because of discomfort next to him in the locker room.
"If I know there is a man who likes men with me in the dressing room, you automatically do not want to take off clothes next to him, or take a shower," he said then in response to my question.
After much criticism he received online, he hurried back.
"I was wrong. I did not take into account that describing my personal feeling, in a theoretical situation, could be an example of the moment, which is an absolute reality for another person," he wrote on Instagram.
"I will not host you and say that things have been taken out of context. I understand that I too need to work on this feeling with myself."
Well, have you worked on yourself since?
"Everyone who knows me knows that I accept every person, race and gender, and I'm the most open. I was asked about it, and my first answer was that I sure would not feel comfortable, because I was not yet in this situation. I thought that if that happened, I would not feel comfortable. "I'm a person who always puts his feelings on the table, and that was my feeling."
You got hit on the head.
"In the end people understood me and the comment I posted on Instagram. I got a lot more supportive messages than messages against me, and I was most pleased that a lot of guys said to me 'wow, we understand.' And of course straights too. I know there will always be those who have something to say.
"I also felt that Alina pushed me into a corner when she delayed my trial and came out against me. That's why I also wrote the post that clarified exactly what I mean. One of the qualities Alina Big Time has is to grab something, run with it and make it interesting."
By the way, do you have gay friends?
"Obviously I have, but there is a difference between that and being in a locker room, because there the thoughts can pass. By the way, I'm sure there are gay footballers, and I'm the first to be happy for the first footballer to come out of the closet."
What is your explanation that to this day it has not happened?
"I think this subject should be from a young age, and a coach should take care of it and not remember, when already an adult, to suddenly talk about footballers and gays. They will give lectures. Do not wait for Asi Bouzaglo to say something in 'Survival' to try to change. Do not drop everything on me."
Are you coming to lead the Pride Parade next year?
"closed".
***
Buzaglo is a former footballer who played as a defender for 16 teams.
And most of all he is the son of Yaakov and Hani, and the brother of Maor, Almog and Ohad.
All of them together star in the reality show "The Buzaglos".
This week, less than half a day after his victory, the last survivor showed up at a network building.
"The truth is I hardly slept at all after the finals," he apologizes.
"We kept filming the winner, and I only went to bed at five-thirty in the morning, for an hour and a half. When I woke up, more messages were waiting for me on WhatsApp than at my wedding. Of all colors, genders and ages. Including people coming out of the boyd.
Someone specific that caught your attention?
"Naama Kasri wrote to me, 'Congratulations, you deserve it,' and Shai Erel wrote to me, 'Congratulations, welcome to the small club.' As a strategist, it was flattering."
Naama was your model?
"No, she's very different. Before I went on 'Survival' she advised me to come at a low volume, not to stand out and not succeed in too many tasks and in the social aspect. But I'm just the opposite, because that's my character and I could not go against myself. I was just me, and what What I did is start strong and step up in the middle.
"Bottom line I think people connected with me personally, and also saw that I wanted the good of the tribe. I think I brought a lot of emotion. I got to depth levels and personal conversations with 95 percent of the survivors. You can't say Assi Bouzaglo is just a strategist."
If not you, who deserved to win?
"Age. The last survivor should be someone with a few key traits: emotion, sociability, strategy and mission - and the era has them all.
"Jordan lacked emotion and strategy. Jordan is an Olympic champion, but this is not a sports competition. I had a very hard time with it. Give me a drop in, but I felt blocked."
Ella Ayalon, Nikol Reznikov and Little Samadja were disappointed with your win.
"There will always be those who will like and those who will not, but within them they most appreciate my game. They had a favorite and he did not win, so their disappointment is legitimate. How can I be fucked by them, if I am the beloved survivor with more than three million votes and an overwhelming majority of the jury ? "
Do you already have an agent?
"My dad helps me with everything I need. I don't have an agent, but I have a personal manager. I think that's the right thing for me right now. My instinct said not to sign with any agency right now, and maybe later that will change."
At the beginning of the season, you published your price list for photo greetings and participation in events at prices of NIS 12,000-6,000.
Did you not exaggerate?
"I'm so extroverted on the outside, and know about everything, if not through 'Survival' then through the 'Buzaglos'. I know a lot of celebs who do that, and quietly, and I get a lot of requests for congratulations."
***
How did they react at home to your victory?
"With great pride. I brought happiness to everyone. It's something that exploded in me. I did not believe it would reach such levels, but it's the happiest day of my life. When you come from sports, you always have expectation and desire to achieve, and what happened in 'Survival' broke everything for me." .
You said before that your brother Maor is "the star of the house."
It seems like in the last year you gave him a fight.
"It's not that we deal with who is number one and who is two and ranks each other. Everyone in the family is a star, and I will leave the ranking to the media. In any case, in football there is one who is the most successful, and that is light. That is a fact.
How is your relationship with him?
"Amazing. He's very happy about my win."
What's next in your career?
"After I calm down from all the madness I have to make smart decisions and analyze every offer I have, with my feet on the ground. I have to embark on a different path than I have been used to until today."
The next stop is the sports channel?
"I'm open to everything. Sport is my niche, and it comes very naturally to me. It could very well happen too. For me, everything is open. This year I focused only on 'survival', and it took a lot of strength from me. Now I leave all the options to myself. Open. "
Will you go with your wife to the "Race for a Million"?
"Anything can be, but right now a pause with reality."
Speaking of witnesses, you have told in the past about crises between you, and even talked at one point about the possibility of separation.
What did "survival" do to your relationship?
"These crises are a process that happens in 90 percent of couples. Everyone has to go through a crisis or two. I think after 'Survival' Adi got an upgraded husband. 'Survival' is a place where you get a lot of insights about you and the home. The priorities change regarding family "For children, where do you want to be. You have a lot of time to think."
Girls start with you?
"Lots, all the time. It always was, even before 'Survival.'"
And how does Adi react?
"I ask her, 'Is there permission to go to her? Is she beautiful?'
(Laughs.) Adi is very supportive, and today she is somewhere else. She knows she needs to let go. "
What will you do with the money from winning?
"Right now we live in a rented house, and I hope it will be the beginning of a house. Everyone asks me what I will do. I have not yet digested that I have won."
Have you felt the corona personally financially?
"I don't know what I could have gotten after winning if it hadn't been for Corona, so I can't really answer that."
Football also took a hit during this period.
"It's depression. I think football without an audience is a completely different game. It really changes the whole game, and with a hand on heart, I really feel like the world has changed."
Finally, you did not talk about Botox for men.
Has anything changed in your resistance to injections?
"I was surprised to hear that Regev did Botox. Now I keep the options to myself. I am no longer deceived. David Dvir also told me that he does, and if that is how he looks at 70, there is a situation that I will do too. But only on the day I need to."
erans@israelhayom.co.il