Urbani Ness Ziona started the season badly.
The European Cup champion was eliminated in the early stages of the factory and she also started the season in the Israeli league with 3: 0.
The club leaders acted quickly, replacing 3 of 4 foreigners and also releasing the fifth foreigner, and the team stabilized with four consecutive victories and for the intriguing game tonight against Maccabi Tel Aviv (Sunday, 18:00) it comes from fifth place in the table and with the longest winning streak in the league.
"I hope we have really stabilized," says Itamar Rosenberg, the club's athletic director.
"Even in the difficult period, there was no feeling of breaking in the team or a bad atmosphere. Tal Dan and other players put in energy and the team also worked overtime to solve the professional problems. We are satisfied with the recent period and I believe the team has stabilized."
For two years now, with two different coaches, the staff structure has not been good enough and you are quickly replacing 4-3 foreigners. Could there be a particular problem in building the team in the summer?
"I do not think there is a problem of player analysis or something basic that does not work, but something spotty. This year we had great pressure to build early to get ready for the European Cup qualifiers and we hurried to build the squad. FIBA's decision to send us to the qualifiers did us tremendous damage.
For example Patrick Miller did not sign with us just because he wanted a guaranteed European season.
It can be seen that all the teams in Israel that started the European season early got into trouble.
You also need a lot of luck in building a team. "
The league is very close this season. You started weak and suddenly already at the top with 3: 4. Maybe this year you will be able to break the glass ceiling and reach the playoff semifinals?
"It is very difficult to say now that not all teams have finally formed and some are making changes. Last season we broke the glass ceiling and won a European title, which I think is the third most important title in the history of Israeli basketball clubs. Not many clubs in the country can boast a European title. "Of course we want to finally make the jump to the semi-finals, but we need some more time to see if we can make it this season."
Familiar with every corner of the club
Rosenberg (39), started working in Ness Ziona as early as 2010.
He went through all the roles in the club.
He coached in the youth department, served as the director of the senior team and also as a spokesman, and in recent years has filled the position of administrative director and worked closely with the professional directors Ofer Berkovich followed by Meir Tapiro.
In the summer, after Tapiro left, he was appointed as the sporting director.
Dianta Garrett.
The business has stabilized, Photo: Danny Maron
"I am responsible for the relationship with Israeli and foreign player agents, the day - to - day management of the team, conversations with players and analyzing the good and bad things and I am also very active in the youth department," he says.
How does the division of labor between you and the management and the coach work, both in terms of building the staff in the summer and on a regular basis?
"I come to almost every training session and talk to the professional team about things that are happening within the team and give my opinion. In the end, the one who decides on the professional side is only the coach. I am actually the eyes of Yaniv Mizrahi (club chairman).
The goal is to have another pair of eyes on the side that pick up on things the coach has not seen.
There are also other things like the return of injured players to activity, nutrition, and supervision so that all the position holders in the team will do their job well. "
"In building the squad, my job is to see players during the season, bring the names, talk to the agents and present to the professional team what is relevant. We see the players and at the end the coach decides if it fits what he needs, and the last word is his, when we decide if it Budgetary. "
You have a large youth department - 1,400 children (about 1,100 boys and 300 girls) and you invest a lot in it, but we hardly see players who become a central part of the senior team, like Tomer Levinson this season.
"This is definitely a point we need to improve and something that is very important to me. I am happy with Tomer's integration and I hope that in the coming years we will see more children from the department who integrate. One of the reasons we appointed Lior Lubin is his success with young people in recent years. "It gives them considerable training time and pushes them. It's definitely something we haven't done well enough in recent years, and we invest a lot in the youth department to make it happen."
Greenberg.
A respectable place in the history of the club, Photo: Oded Karni
Why did Brad Greenberg not continue this season after winning the historic European Cup?
"Brad did an amazing job here and an amazing achievement that will be remembered here for generations, that I do not know if and when we can restore such an achievement. He thought he deserved a raise and I honestly say he is right, but it was a significant raise we could not stand. A foreign coach is not just a salary, "
What's the next leap for you?
"The expulsion from Europe has been very painful, it's something we've built in recent years and suddenly not being a part of it, it's like the girl you love the most is breaking up with you all of a sudden. FIBA has done us an injustice.
We want every season to play in Europe and respectfully represent the club and the city.
The next step will be to reach the playoff semifinals and qualify for the cup final.
And of course I want to see it all happen in a big, new hall, only then will it really be possible to advance to the level we aspire to reach. "
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