Zvika Sharaf: "Maccabi Tel Aviv has lost its feeling for Israelis" | Israel Today

This month, Zvika Sharaf celebrates 70 winters.

The energies are of a 35-year-old. The passion and hunger are of a man in the fifth decade of his life.

"I feel 50. At 6 and a half max I get out of bed, go to the computer and see all the results from the night and the summaries from the NBA go through all the statistics and numbers. When I come to radio or TV broadcasts - I come prepared with all the material."

All the hard energy and strength did not stand up to the Corona virus, which occurred in September 2020. "During the whole period I was very careful. I did not leave the house, and shopping only through the computer. One day I interpreted a game, with a partition and everything, then I broadcast I was having lunch with my wife, and then the messenger from the game called me and said he was positive and that I should go into 14 days of isolation. I updated everyone I saw with him and came home.

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"Can train even today", Photo: Alan Schieber

"At night my wife woke me up and said I was boiling. I measured, and I had 40 fever. I did a test in the morning and came out positive. I felt bad. I was evacuated by ambulance and examined for a day. I was diagnosed with pneumonia and given medication. I was very weak for almost two weeks. Friends told me "You are strong, Zvika," but there were nights when I said I would probably not get up in the morning. I am a strong person, but I could not breathe. I lost 12 kilos. "

When did you feel you were done with it?

"On the first day I went down for a walk, and after two kilometers I could no longer.

"After a few days, I had already reached eight kilometers, which I now do every day, and only then did I feel like I was back to myself."

"I will not let them decide on the players"

Tonight, Maccabi Tel Aviv will be hosted in Madrid, as part of the 13th round of the Euroleague. The Yellows have not won in Madrid for almost 12 years, since March 2010, and Real usually looked big on Maccabi. : 78), Zvika Sharaf managed to lead Maccabi to its first and historic victory in Madrid.

"I was Rudy Damico's assistant at the Pavilion when we got there in the head. It was a mystical hall. That night we won for the first time in Madrid there was an early game in Moscow. Somehow a result came to our ears, and we knew we had to win to qualify for the final in Lausanne. They already had experience, like Mickey and Mutti who have already played a few times against Real, so that was a different story. "

In 1987, you were shocked with Elitzur Netanya when you won the pavilion.

"It was a year that Sims left and I brought in Steve Malubic and there were problems, but we won. You know what it is to beat Real Madrid? You do not understand at all. It was crazy."

Zvika Sharaf (left), Photo: Moshe Shai

Zvika Sharaf does not forget or forgive his 65th birthday.

That weekend Rami Hadar resigned from Maccabi Tel Aviv, and a board meeting had to approve the signing of Sharaf, who was already scheduled with Shimon Mizrahi and Udi Recanati. "At that time, Nikola Vujicic and Danny Federman took over the club.

They did not want me to have a foothold in Maccabi, so it fell at the last minute, "Zvika explains.

Why did they fight not to be in the system?

"I was fired from the coaches at Maccabi for building the team. I also wanted a contract for next season so that I could build the staff, and as soon as they did not want to give me the ability to determine this issue - I did not go. He has the greatest coach in Europe - Einras in Gatskis. They know I will not let them do what they do today. They know my character. I will not let them decide for me on players. For me the club above all, and for them personal interests are no less important than the club ".

So how does Yannis Sapropoulos manage to survive?

"Yannis works right. First season they didn't expect anything from him, then Corona season. At the moment they will not reach a consensus on his dismissal, nor a consensus on his replacement - so he benefits from it. He does not quarrel with anyone, but goes his own way."

Yannis Sapropoulos, Photo: Alan Schieber

As the person who signed the placement of Jamchi, Lipin, Goodes, Hanfeld and Caspi in the Maccabi Tel Aviv quintet, how do you see the pushing Israelis to the poster's downfall?

"There is anger throughout Europe about the number of foreigners.

Maccabi has lost the feeling for Israelis.

The announcement that Maccabi published last week, that they are proud to release players to the team - for me it was the obeisance at Maccabi.

Because when I have six players on the Israeli team, it means that I have the six best Israelis.

That should be the attitude.

Sussman had to stay at Maccabi as a leading Israeli.

Bringing in Cameron Taylor as a replacement?

With all due respect to Yannis and Vujicic - they are not Israelis. "

You told me this year that Vujicic hates Israelis.

"I think so too today, I do not see it any other way. Take an example: assistant coach Tim Fanning left last summer, and was replaced by Doron Perkins. Why not take Oren Aharoni, who was excellent in the youth department, and raise him to the seniors? He does a job. Excellent at Bnei Herzliya, but why should he go there and not to the senior team? Zl. He wanted Elad Hussein, and we wanted to raise Avi Even from the youth. The club's role is also to raise coaches. "

Is there a chance you will return to the artist?

"I want to believe, but do not see that the chance is great. Someone decided I was old, but I am still one of the best in the country and can coach any team in Israel and Europe. It is said that the foreign coach is available 24 hours a day. When was I not? Day training, video training analysis and everything, so I will be taught work ethic ?! ".

Can you coach in today's basketball?

"Basketball has changed, and so have I. I'm constantly learning and testing myself, I'm my own biggest critic. I'm constantly explained to me how big the NBA is as an organization, but look what LeBron is doing in the Lakers. Neighborhood. He picks the players, "He's the coach, he's the professional manager - it's all he is. Let's say Mike James is like that, I can not coach him. Neither does Itudis, nor has Messina dumped him. The demands and attitudes are different today."

Nikola Vujicic, Photo: Alan Schieber

If you were Guy Goodes, would you resign first following the words of Yitzhak Perry?

"The subject of Perry and Rishon LeZion is close to my heart, because what happened to me on Sunday gave me a knockout.

People do not think of me as a coach.

It did me a lot of great damage.

I sacrificed myself and lay down on the fence.

We decided to make a revolution in the summer, I signed six very good Israelis who have been the base in recent years, and Perry wanted us to land cheap foreigners for a month or two, and if we had to bring in later - and that was not good.

Perry asked me to be by his side and help him, but as soon as Cameron Long started rebelling - he went with him and not with me.

Goodes is not 70. He is an excellent coach, and even if he was fired, he would find a new team, but there is no reason for him to resign. "

"We lost because of Johnson's penalties"

Alongside the big titles and victories, Sharaf is saddened by the fact that he did not win the European Champions Cup, but regrets nothing.

Not about the selection of the teams he coached - Hapoel Tel Aviv in the summer of 1993 (which ended in court) and leaving Maccabi in favor of Pauk; and not about crucial basketball moves - like the 16 seconds in the final in Lausanne in 1987. Produce a proper shot.

Were you wrong when you did not bring in Mickey Berkowitz during the last final in Lausanne?

"I'm not sorry I did not bring in Mickey, I do not think I had a time out. Mickey is the greatest Israeli player I coached, and the greatest in Israeli basketball. That year I made a revolution. We released players and brought in Doron Jamchi with a lot of money. When Mickey and Gemetz It's been in the top five together it did not work out. So I made a difficult decision to take one of them out, and I put the desire to pick up on three. It was not a popular decision, but slowly Jamchi - who was at his peak at the time - changed our season.

"Mickey didn't get it nicely, but it worked and we got to the final. Maggie had a problematic leg, and I knew he needed a cast, but they gave him shots instead. Maybe Mickey would come in and win because he was a big winner, but also could not. What. I do not want to win? I did not want a European Cup? To this day I do not sleep well at night with the fact that I do not have a European Cup. , Split and CSKA - are the ones who ruled Europe at the time with great players. We did not just lose a team. "

Why did you need the politics of the basketball association then, when you ran for chairman?

After all, you're a basketball coach.

"It was a desire to influence basketball. It hurts me because basketball is a part of my life. I gave the union 25 years of my life for ridiculous salaries. When I was asked to replace David Blatt and coach the team, I started even before I had a contract. Then Avner Koppel took over the union. "I am total, I came to the board meetings ready, reading the minutes and asking for the data. It does not fit their standard. I think I am the best coach, and also the best manager. So I did what I did."

Alexandros Vlachos, Photo: Resin against Serbia in 2007

Are you not sorry that you gave too much weight to the media during your career, and that you got into confrontations that also hurt you?

"Not sorry about anything. Not about Gretel, not you, Crescent, not Eran Sela and not Arie Maliniak. I did what I thought I should do. You are allowed to criticize me and I am allowed to criticize you. The fact that the fans liked what I did. "A minute after a game, they stand still and calm. I don't have that."

What can I wish you in honor of your birthday?

"health".

Maccabi Tel Aviv's response to the interview:

"There is anger throughout Europe over the number of foreigners. Maccabi Tel Aviv has lost the feeling for Israelis.

"The announcement that Maccabi published last week that they are proud to release players for the team, for me it was the Obeis."

• In Zvika's days as Maccabi coach, the national team games were not held at the same time as the team games in Europe, so decisions to release players to national teams in the past were a trivial matter, while today releasing players to national teams means giving up participation in team games and training.

Maccabi is the leading club in Israel unequivocally and clearly in everything related to investing in Israelis, the shell and academia.

Some play for Maccabi, many of them in the Israeli league and some overseas.

"At that time (in the middle of the 2016/17 season) Nikola Vujicic and Danny Federman took over the club. They did not want me to have a foothold in Maccabi, so it fell at the last minute."

• This is a fundamentally wrong claim.

As is well known, decisions of this kind at Maccabi are not made by one person or another, but by the owners and management in joint decisions.

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Maccabi Tel Aviv responded to the interview, Photo: Alan Shiber

"For me the club above all, and for them personal interests are no less important than the club";

"I think Nikola Vujicic hates Israelis, I do not see it any other way. Take an example, assistant coach Tim Penning left in the summer and replaced him with Doron Perkins. Why not take Oren Aharoni who was excellent in the youth department and raise him to the seniors?"

For the avoidance of doubt, Oren Aharoni was interested in being appointed head coach of the Premier League.

He wanted to move to the position of coach in Herzliya.

It should also be noted that Tim Penning left his position at Maccabi about a month after Oren Aharoni was appointed to his new position at Bnei Herzliya, after the latter did a dedicated and professional job for years as a professional manager in Maccabi's youth department and coach of the youth team.

His request to be released from Maccabi and to be appointed head coach was accepted and honored.

As is well known, Doron Perkins was on the team of assistant coaches and before him Tim Fanning filled the position.

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