A crazy year has passed for Guy Goodes.
Last September he was appointed coach of the Israeli basketball team, and after two months has already led it to two impressive victories over Poland and Estonia, on the long road to the World Cup in the summer of 2023. Two weeks ago he was fired from Maccabi Rishon Lezion after three years.
"There are always challenging years in sports," he tells us in his apartment in Givatayim.
"We need to recover and move forward. This has happened to me in the past, when I coached Maccabi Tel Aviv and was fired.
For me it's part of the business.
I am happy to have the half full glass with the team, when we set ourselves the goal of trying to reach the world championship after almost 40 years that the team was not there.
We love challenges. "
The next challenge on the way to the World Cup is two games against Germany on February 25 and 28, and replays with Poland (June 30) and Estonia (July 3).
A little later, in September, the European Basketball Championship will take place, where Israel will play in one house with Serbia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Finland and the Netherlands.
Is it even possible to coach a team and a team together?
"I don't think there is a problem, because in the end, when there is a team break, the league is also on break."
In the Israeli national football team, this can not happen.
"I spoke to the coach of the Estonian national basketball team, who does it full time, and he told me bluntly that his game management ability is a weakness, because he does not run games regularly. I do not understand great in football, but a coach there sets a lineup and plays with him, he "He does not replace him all the time. In basketball, the coach has about 250 decisions in the game, like a fighter pilot. Every decision can have an effect, for better or worse."
A national team coach has to move between teams in Israel and Europe, see the players in action, determine who is suitable.
"I know everyone, play against them. To see players playing abroad you go to all kinds of scouting sites.
There is no one here who I have not seen play. "
In what situation did you find the team?
"Very talented. For several years now, a generation has grown up that has taken command, and it's fun to see the amazing connection between the players and the paragon, which has not been for years, even during the time I played. There have always been struggles, "Something unique, guys who grew up and played together, who compliment and respect each other. That's the added value."
It's just that there are no leading players from Maccabi Tel Aviv like before, the anchor.
"At Maccabi Tel Aviv, the foreigners are the ones who set the tone.
Maybe it hurts the Israeli guys in their current fitness, because when Jake Cohen joined the team he was a little rusty.
And yet he gave good minutes.
On the other hand, when Roman Sorkin and John Dibertolomeo were released from Maccabi for a game in Estonia, they helped us win and were dominant.
You can not take from them the experience and ability to play at the highest levels.
"You have to internalize that these are different periods. You see teams in Europe with a lot of foreign players and very few local players. You can no longer say, 'This is San Epiphany, who grew up and played in Barcelona.' "You do not connect. There is nothing to do, this is modern basketball."
On the other hand, today you have an NBA player on the team like Danny Abdia.
"Danny adapts to the NBA, and it's fun to see him progress. He's an amazing guy, an extraordinary talent, and the team is very important to him. He told me: 'If I can, I'll get to the team.' "Guys like that. The NBA has changed, it takes players according to future potential today, so Madar can get there. He has a passion and a desire to be the best, a work ethic, all the things he needs."
With them we will reach the world championship?
"we're on the right track".
Your predecessor in office, Oded Katash, left in jarring tones.
"I was not connected to the team then. The basketball association has already addressed this issue."
After a taxi, did you talk to Katsch?
"I spoke, and we are in a good relationship. Look, we like to produce dramas here. It's like back then, when I played as a teenager at Maccabi Tel Aviv, Koren Amisha came to the team, and we grew up together.
After training I would go up to his house to eat.
Then they asked, 'How will you manage?'
We will get along, because we know we are in a competitive business.
"I have almost no friends from basketball, and never have. By choice? I don't know. The only one I stayed in touch with my friend is Zion Kuba, who lives next door to me in Givatayim and works for the Israel Electric Corporation."
Danny Abdia in the NBA.
"It's fun to see it progress," Photo: Udi Citiat
• • •
Goodes, 50, has been coaching for more than 17 years, after a long playing career.
He coached Hapoel Jerusalem, managed to be David Blatt's assistant for four years at Maccabi Tel Aviv and won the European Cup with him, but when he tried to lead the club alone, he was fired at the beginning of his second season.
It seemed that in Rishon Lezion he was creating out of nothing, on a low budget.
Twice he led the team to the Cup final and twice to the Final Four in the league, until this season everything shattered, with eight losses in ten games.
"When I first arrived there was a deep base," Goodes explains.
"Five Israelis, who were the heart of the team. Slowly we made a change while moving and training foreigners. Together we went through three amazing years, with a minimum budget and maximum achievements. At the end you reach a glass ceiling, and I knew this season it would be hard to recreate what we did "A suitable budget and it will be possible to bring in players. One like Idan Zalmanson, with whom we were in negotiations, eventually went to Hapoel Tel Aviv because she paid more. We built a team that was too young, and that was a mistake."
Your mistake?
"Mine and the system. We went for young guys, who are maybe more energetic, but also with less experience. And our business needs experience and calm. So it's less connected. Add to that a foreign player market that has become one of the hardest I remember, because of the corona."
What has Corona got to do with it?
"NBA teams are full of patients today, and they attract quite a few players from the US Development League, from which foreigners can be brought to Israel.
Those who are still willing to come, ask a lot.
Prices have risen by tens of percent.
An American player who earned $ 100,000 suddenly talked about $ 150,000, a budget that most league teams in the country cannot afford.
Even Yannis Sapropoulos said the market was problematic.
This is something we have not encountered.
"From the beginning of the season I was looking for a high foreigner, and there is no. I called every high possible, I turned worlds, and believe me it is more frustrating than a loss, because with one high you can not get along in our league. You can win here and there, but basically you are neutral."
"I did not like the conduct."
As Rishon LeZion coach last season (seated on the right: chairman Yitzhak Perry), photo: Oded Karni
Despite the losses you wanted to stay.
"I thought I could give more, because I have experience in these situations. When I arrived three years ago, the team was in last place. We made a mental and personal change and we succeeded. This time the crisis seems too deep, and the young guys have a hard time with stress and expectations.
"We realized that the energies were no longer good. After the victory in Eilat, I came to the management and said, 'Let's change now.' They said, 'No, after a victory it is impossible to be shocked.'
This is a good teaspoon on the part of team leaders who know what the situation is and drop the case on you.
"I always said that in these businesses you must not involve emotion. If you lose it has consequences, no matter what you did and how. Of course there are other ways to say goodbye; at least what happened to me, when things went out to the media."
Injured when chairman Yitzhak Perry said in an interview that he earned a meal after betting the team would lose?
"I did not like the conduct. I told him that in person, he apologized, and we continued to work together. There were other things that angered me. I have a two-year contract, and I hear people say 'coaches need to get up and resign'. Say, talent on TV, that he has a contract "He gets up and says, 'I'm going, because I got confused on the broadcast and I was not good?'
Is not that what it means to accept responsibility?
"I worked hard for three years to reach those achievements and to get a good two-year contract. Why give up? People who work in the private sector get up and give up the money they deserve?"
Maybe group owners are trying to exert pressure in this way.
"It's wrong with me and it will not work for me, because I know the industry well. To turn the crowd and the media against the coach so that he will finally say 'leave me, want home' - I do not think that is true."
Is that what they did to you in the first place?
"They tried to do it through the media. It agitated the crowd and created a bad situation. A veteran coach told me: 'You put two shots on goal, you stepped forward, and in the team you proved to everyone.'
Someone else said, 'You're like a concrete wall.'
I was raised and educated to be determined and strong and to put on layers of armor because I am in a tough and vulnerable business.
"In basketball the distance between superlatives and hard and poignant things is about a week. There was a rift between me and a small nucleus in the crowd, which was affected by the noise around. But I also received hundreds of messages of support and thanks for the amazing years we went through."
Has your trust in people been damaged?
"I've been in business for so many years and I've worked in the biggest and most stressful places, that it's hardening. I're not allowed to bond emotionally. I need to know that even if I'm sitting with you and having fun right now, I'm not connected, because I studied at the age of 19, when I came to Maccabi Tel Aviv, and this is one of the defenses I created.
I said 'you are not going in emotionally, because if you are not here tomorrow, you will be offended'.
"I can get hurt, but I also understand that it's part of the business and it's not personal, it's not that someone does not like me. Also things I say to my players are net professional. It's a business, and if there is emotion involved, the chances of getting hurt or disappointed are great."
And your confidence as a coach has not suffered a serious blow?
"A small blow to the wing. Today, at the age of 50, after many years as a coach, I know there are such seasons as well. In Rishon LeZion they always said 'do magic'.
I'm not a magician. "
Is this different from your dismissal from Maccabi Tel Aviv, in November 2015?
"Not so different. So I was 44, experienced, after winning the European Cup with David Blatt and four amazing years with him. When I took Maccabi as head coach she was at the peak, like taking a share in the top, and the chances of me reaching that peak are low. We still won the Euroleague. Real Madrid and Barcelona and we reached the crossroads.
"In sports every year you learn something new, and it never ends. That's the beauty. You don't just say 'you're as good as your last game.'"
If you were coaching Maccabi Tel Aviv today, with more experience than you had then, things would have looked different?
"Obviously, every year is a whole world. After coaching at Hapoel Jerusalem, I became an assistant coach at Maccabi, and I sat down with myself and said: 'If I were in Jerusalem today, with the experience I have, what things could I do.'
"In the end, experience is the most significant weapon. After Jerusalem and Maccabi, with the large crowd and media coverage, I told people that for me, the last period in Rishon was a piece of cake."
Goodes started his playing career in the senior team of Hapoel Haifa at the age of 15, and about four years later he already found himself at Maccabi Tel Aviv, with which he won seven championships and three state cups.
In 1998, he was the first Israeli basketball player to play in the Italian league, when he did so in a Caserata uniform.
He later also played in Spanish Cantabria.
He retired from the game in 2004 as a Rishon Lezion player, where he also began his coaching career, initially as an assistant coach and a year later as head coach.
He has since worked for a total of two other clubs - Hapoel Jerusalem and especially Maccabi Tel Aviv and last week, after getting entangled with an eighth consecutive loss in the Euroleague, his name emerged as the Israeli option, perhaps the only one, to replace Sapropoulos.
"There is one problem," says Goodes, "I am the coach of the Israeli team, and the windows of the team's games fall on Maccabi's Euroleague games. For me, the team is above everything."
In several places, the possibility of appointing Sharon Drucker as your assistant was mentioned, and he will be able to lead Maccabi if you are with the team.
"No one talked to me about it. It was equally possible to write that one of you will be the coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv."
Would you like to coach Maccabi?
"I'm not referring to something that does not exist."
Professionally, were you able to lead Maccabi?
"With my resume I can coach any team in the world today. Even when I came to Rishon LeZion and it was in last place, there was no hocus pocus and button I pressed and everything worked out."
Can Sapropolus rehabilitate the group?
"I always give the example of David and myself in the 2014-2013 season. We started it terribly. We lost to Nes Ziona, and everything seems unconnected. There were already some who sent David home. We went to the game in Cuban knowing that if we lose, we fire the coach. We stayed united, we won. , And the plot changed, from the worst, to the best ending.
"You could say, 'It can happen once in a while.'
And maybe Maccabi today is a mediocre team in Europe.
"It's not accurate. True, in the Euroleague everything goes according to budgets, and Maccabi's budget - I do not know if it is even in the top ten, but Maccabi always wanted to build a whole that would be larger than its parts. To rebuild every year - it will not succeed. "Even if it's a less than good year. Do things slowly."
Despite the ongoing failures in Europe and the league?
"Even in a year that does not go by, the business is not completely destroyed. It is possible to make changes that the coach thinks are acute. But there are still good players who are the basis, not everyone is to blame and should go home.
Can Maccabi return to its great days?
"When money speaks justice is silent, a court will not help. But it also depends on the chemistry. In the year of the Corona they had a fantastic team, which would have reached the playoffs if the season had not been canceled. There are also years like that."
Pini Gershon said in an interview with Shishvat that Yannis' style does not suit Maccabi.
"I do not like the 'styles' section. That is more defense, that is more attack. In the end every coach has his 'I believe', and he brings his character. Maccabi have been happy with Yannis until now, and this year is a little harder. Remember that the man reached the Euroleague final with Olympiacos (2017; EL).
Even if he has Supermen on the team, he still needs to be a professional to work with these guys and put them in the right places.
He is a very good coach. "
Sapropolus.
"Very good", Photo: Alan Schieber
When you coached Maccabi, they landed Gershon as your assistant.
"'Assistant' is not a correct definition, nor was it landed, because I agreed to it. After I was given the option, I analyzed it and said it was a genius move. In America it is called 'Coach Coaching'. The NBA sees Jason Kidd ( The Dallas coach (EL) takes on veteran coaches alongside him because he wants a strong, quality team, and not looking at the fact that he has only been working for a few years and his partner for 30 years.
"I can tell you it was the best decision I made. Someone to advise, give back and confidence."
It was said then that Pini would be the one pulling the strings.
"Because we live in a country where you see the evil. They think 'there must be a section here', 'it will be replaced in a week'. I was not afraid of anything because I am not a fearful type. I believe in my abilities. As you will ask: Did not you fear that you would become another poster boy?
No, because when I came and put me on the parquet, I said, 'I will prove myself.'
"I prove myself as a coach. There are better and more talented than me, no doubt, but I will work hard of all and invest the most. That is what has brought me to this day."
What do you think about Yotam Halperin's work at Hapoel Jerusalem?
"Yotam is going great. At the moment he is successful, although he has no experience in training, but once David Blatt said 'what is not broken, do not fix', so even in Jerusalem people understand from the heights of the first place that they should not fix."
Who will win this year's championship?
"It's hard to say, this is a confused season, everything is going wrong. Delayed games, sick players, and anything can make a difference. No team is safe."
What do you think about the status of the coach in Israel?
"It went down miraculously. I look at my coaches as a kid - like Haim Castan, who raised me, or Ralph Klein. No one around has talked to them. Since then the status of the coach has eroded, and those who manage to be dominant are the ones who stand their ground. There are many people around the system. They say, 'Do it like this, take it out, put it in.' You want to be a part of the business.
"Being a coach today is a kind of masochism. I tell a lot of young guys that not everyone can. I, for example, lecture to companies today. I once said to a senior manager: 'Think that at the end of a meeting, if you do not get a result - go home.' "One who has been through such pressures. Comes into the game and knows that if you do not win, you will go. Think about what you are going through as a person, as a coach, what things. Therefore not everyone can be a coach, just as not everyone can be a fighter pilot."
So what's fun about it?
"Adrenaline, adrenaline, adrenaline. That's what motivates a lot of people. The emotion."
Which group will be your next?
"If an offer comes in I'll consider it, but it should be good. Maybe coach abroad.
I have no problem because I want to evolve.
As a player I wanted to play in Europe, and in the end it happened.
That, too, will happen someday. "
NBA?
"When Nevan Spahija served as an assistant coach in Atlanta, I went to him there. For me, those were intensities of experience. I said I was willing to work there for ten years too, because it's an indescribable level. Only there do you realize that in Europe basketball is amateur. I try to get to the NBA. "Ai, but need a lot of personal connections. Not easy, but maybe one day it will happen."
• • •
What was your high point in your career?
"Winning the European Cup with David. I was missing the European Cup in my career, no matter if as a player or as a coach or as an assistant coach. I dreamed of it. I remember the flight back to Israel - you sit on the plane with a kind of completion, which is the stamp of what you do so far Excellent. Like getting a professorship. Not many people win this trophy. I got to participate in three Euroleague finals as an assistant; I lost twice, one with Zvika Sharaf in 2008 and one with David in 2011.
"Before the third final I remember saying to Blatt: 'This is our fourth year together, I do not see it having continuity, we must win.' It was like completing a mission in battle and getting the Chief of Staff's award.
"The highlight of his career."
With Blatt and Maccabi players after winning the Euroleague in 2014, Photo: Alan Shiber
And what was the moment of depression?
"Do not like to look at it as a depression, because you go through a lot of hard losses and injuries over the years. There is no one whose whole life is a climb. For me, it's getting up on your feet. You lose, a week lying in bed, not leaving home, thinking what else you could have done, "
Who do you think is the greatest Israeli coach?
"Everyone has their amazing things. Zvika Sharaf, Pini Gershon, David Blatt. I went through a lot of coaches during my career, and each of them did wonderful things in his time. I took something from everyone, but I learned more from Blatt. He is a school, I almost drew from him. All my basketball, the work ethic, the priorities, the psychology of the game, the before and after conversations, the motivational clips, the set of things.
"הרבה פעמים, כמאמן צעיר, אתה עדיין לא מסונכרן עם האני מאמין שלך. אחרי התקופה עם דיוויד שמתי חותמת 'ככה צריך לעבוד'. מבחינתי זו היתה תקופה לפנתיאון. השתתפנו גם ביורוליג וגם בליגה האדריאטית, והיו חודשים שכמעט בכל בוקר מצאתי את עצמי במקום אחר. יום אחד בברצלונה, למחרת בזגרב, ואתה כבר לא יודע איפה אתה. אפשר לכתוב ספר על השנים האלה".
דיוויד חשף לפני שנתיים וחצי שהוא סובל מטרשת נפוצה. אתה בקשר איתו?
"כן. מצבו לא הכי טוב. הוא עובר טיפולים, והוא יהיה בסדר לאט־לאט. זו מחלה לא פשוטה".
מה עם הבריאות שלך?
"מצד אחד אני פוחד שיקרה לי משהו, ומזהירים אותי כל הזמן. מצד שני, צריך לדעת לווסת ולנסות לשים דברים בפרופורציות. ברמת האישיות אני יודע לא להילחץ, להסתכל על הסיטואציה מהצד. אבל אין מאה אחוז. תמיד תגיע לתקופה שצריך לצלוח גשר. אתה מפסיד ארבעה משחקים, מגיע למשחק החמישי ואומר 'חייב לנצח, זה המשחק שיחולל מפנה' - ופה יש המון פסיכולוגיה".
הלחץ משפיע גופנית?
"אני היום בערך 15 ק"ג מעל המשקל שבו אני אמור להיות. המשקל מפריע לי, אני כל הזמן במאבקים עם הגוף, מרזה ומעלה ומרזה ומעלה. יש לי גנטיקה לא טובה מאבא שלי ז"ל. אם יש כאלה שבזמן לחץ לא אוכלים, אני ההפך".
מה אשתך אומרת על המקצוע שבחרת?
"שזה מקצוע חרא. היא אמרה לי: 'לך תהיה סוכן ביטוח'. עניתי שאני לא יודע למכור פוליסות".
• • •
גודס גדל בבית של כדורסל. אביו יצחק שיחק שמונה שנים בליגה הבכירה במדי מכבי קריית מוצקין וקלע 1,495 נקודות. הוא היה זה שדחף את גיא מגיל צעיר להצטיין על הפרקט, והיה דומיננטי בבניית הקריירה. לפני שלוש שנים וחצי נפטר, בגיל 77.
"לפני כמה זמן ראיתי סרט דוקו על טייגר וודס, וזה הזכיר לי את עצמי", אומר גודס, "כמו שאבא שלו גידל אותו, ככה אבא שלי היה. אחד לאחד. גדלתי להיות הכי טוב שיש. להזיז את כל הרעשים שמסביב ולהתרכז במטרה. זה היה לקום בבוקר ולרוץ בים לפני בית הספר, מה שאף ילד לא עשה. הקשיחות המנטלית שלי כנראה באה משם. קצת לגדול כמו ברוסיה.
"יש לי המון צלקות מהסיטואציות האלה. האימון הסובייטי הזה, של 'הכי חזק', ו'זה לא מספיק טוב', ו'אם לא, אז לא תהיה כלום'. זה ממש לשחק לך בראש.
"הקטע הזה של 'אתה צריך להיות יותר טוב' חונק אותך באיזשהו שלב. היו בינינו מריבות וחיכוכים, אפילו כששיחקתי במכבי ת"א. הייתי קולע במשחק 14 נקודות, מוריד 10 ריבאונדים ומחלק שישה אסיסטים, ובסיום הוא היה מתקשר ושואל לדעתי על המשחק. הייתי עונה שמבחינתי היה טוב, והוא היה אומר לי: 'לא עשית את זה ואת זה'. כל הזמן רצה עוד".
זה שבר אותך?
"לא, זה חישל אותי, למדתי לעבוד כמו מכונה. אבל כל ילד הוא אחר. צריך באלאנס, כי אם אתה דוחף לקיצון, כמו שהוא ניסה, יש כאלה שלא עומדים בזה. בקיצון אני יודע לתת ברקס, להירגע.
"היום אני די חבוט. כשאני יושב עם אנשים בכירים, אני אומר לא פעם: 'לא משנה מה תנסו עלי, יש לי צלקות בכל הגוף, אני יודע איך להתנהל'".
צלקות זה לא דבר טוב.
"אבל זה חלק מהספורט המקצועני, התובעני. לנסות להיות כל הזמן הכי טוב, גם כשחקן וכמאמן. זה משאיר צלקות, ולפעמים פוגע במשפחה. מה שטוב אצלנו בבית הוא שגם אני וגם אשתי, סמדר, עושים הפרדה, כי היא הפוכה לחלוטין מכדורסל. היא באה ואומרת: 'מה קרה, כולה הפסדת'. יש איזון טוב".
"החינוך חישל אותי". ההורים יצחק ז"ל וזיוה גודס, צילום: מהאלבום המשפחתי
איך אתה לוקח כישלונות?
"קשה מאוד. גם כשהגעתי כמאמן לראשל"צ, אמרתי: 'לא באתי להעביר את הזמן, הביאו אותי לעשות משהו'. זו אולי אחת הבעיות שלי, כי גם כשאני בא למקום קטן ובלי כסף, אני לא מסוגל להעביר את הזמן. אני צריך לעשות הכי טוב. לא יכול לבוא לאימון ולהגיד, 'הפסדנו, לא נורא'. כל משחק הוא משמעותי, ככה הייתי כבר כילד.
"הייתי בוכה אחרי הפסדים. לוקח אישית. אני חייב לנצח אותך ולהיות יותר טוב ממך, ולכן אני לא יכול להיות חבר שלך. זו היריבות, ככה אני רואה את זה, וזה הדרייב להיות הכי טוב. אני לא יכול להיות בינוני ולא יכול לקבל בינוניות. אני מלקה את עצמי הרבה פעמים, אבל בגילי אני כבר לא יכול להשתנות.
"בגלל זה אני בטופ, גם כשחקן וגם כמאמן. לא מוותר לעצמי, ובכל משחק רוצה לנצח. כל משחק הוא מלחמה ביני לבין המאמן השני, כמו שכשחקן, זה היה קרב ביני לבין הרכז של הקבוצה השנייה".
אם היית יכול לחזור אחורה בזמן, יש משהו שהיית עושה אחרת?
"הייתי מוריד הילוך בצעירותי כדי לא להעמיס על הגוף יותר מדי. לא הייתי מתאמן בשלוש-ארבע מסגרות, דבר שהיום כבר לא עושים. אז היה רצון להשתתף בכל מסגרת שרוצה אותך. נבחרת בית ספר, קבוצת נוער, בוגרים, נבחרת ישראל. לא היה זמן לגוף להתאושש, ולכן הרבה שחקנים נפצעו".
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שגיא (15), הצעיר מבין שלושת ילדיהם של גיא וסמדר, הוא כדורסלן מחונן בקבוצת הנערים של מכבי ת"א. "מאוד מוכשר", אומר האב הגאה, "מקצוען, ממוקד מטרה. הוא מזכיר לי אותי, כי יש לו ראיית משחק וחוכמת משחק. אני מתווה לו דרך. ויש לו גם את השם, שהוא צריך לעמוד בו".
אתה מהאבות התובעניים?
"זה מלחיץ אותי, אני נזהר מלעשות איתו את מה שאבי עשה איתי. לא שהוא עשה רע, אבל לפעמים הוא העמיד את הנפש שלי על הקצה. לפעמים אני מוצא את עצמי דוחף את שגיא לפינה ומאתגר אותו, מנסה לעשות לו את מה שעשו לי. ואז אני נרתע".
גודס מספר ששירו של חנן בן ארי "אמן על הילדים" מצמרר אותו בכל פעם מחדש. בייחוד המילים: "אני מתפלל על הילדים שלי/ שלא יירשו את השריטות שלי/ שיחבקו אחד את השני/ אמן שיהיו בריאים תמיד".
"זה מדהים, אבל בכל פעם כשאני שומע את השיר, אני ממש בוכה", הוא מודה, "אני לא רוצה להעביר לילדיי את הצלקות שיש לי".
גודס מעיד על עצמו שהוא איש משפחה. את אשתו סמדר הוא מכיר מגיל 16. "אני אוהב יציבות, את המקום שלי, את הבית. אני לא מהמאמנים שכדורסל פוגע להם במשפחה, חלילה. תגיד לי לבחור בין משפחה לקריירה - אני מוותר על הקריירה. המשפחה מעל הכל. יש אנשים שלא מסוגלים לעשות את זה".
"תגיד לי לבחור בין משפחה לקריירה - אני מוותר על הקריירה". משפחת גודס: שגיא (מימין), סמדר, דניאל, יניב וגיא, צילום: מהאלבום המשפחתי
לחדר נכנסת הבת הבכורה דניאל (25). "היא רצינית", הוא אומר, "היתה מש"קית ת"ש בצנחנים, למדה קרימינולוגיה. היום היא מנהלת מרכז חירום לילדים בסיכון".
בנו האמצעי יניב (22) משרת בצה"ל בהתנדבות כאפסנאי בתל השומר. "הוא היה בחינוך מיוחד, על הרצף של קשב וריכוז, כי ברמות האלה יש כל מיני רבדים. מבחינה חברתית הוא בסדר גמור".
ההתמודדות קשה לכם?
"הוא אחלה. אם תראה אותו, לא תדע כלום. ילד רגיל, אבל עם קושי לימודי. כבר בגיל קטן גילינו את זה, כשהוא פחות דיבר, ואחר כך הבחנו בקושי שלו גם בבית הספר, אז העברנו אותו לבתי ספר משולבים.
"אבל הנה, היום הוא נוהג, ולא חשבנו שהוא בכלל יקבל רישיון, בגלל הצורך בלמידה ובזכירה של תמרורים. הוא נוהג עד הבסיס בתל השומר וחוזר. הוא מבסוט מהשירות".
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אתה איש מאמין?
"אני מניח תפילין בשנים האחרונות. כשאימנתי את ראשל"צ, בעונה הראשונה, פגשנו ברבע גמר הגביע את מכבי ת"א, והקבוצה היתה על הפנים, לא היתה מסוגלת לקלוע סל. כשנשאלתי לפני המשחק 'איך תנצחו?', עניתי: 'אנחנו צריכים ששערי השמיים ייפתחו'. לשחקנים אמרתי: 'אם אנחנו מנצחים היום, אני נשבע שאני מתחיל להניח תפילין'.
"באנו למשחק, ופתאום אף אחד לא החטיא. בהפסקה התוצאה היתה 29:51, משהו שלא היה אפשר להסביר, ובסוף ניצחנו. זה היה כמה חודשים אחרי מותו של אבי. התחלתי להניח תפילין".
גודס איש פרקטי, רציונלי. לפני שש שנים פתח יחד עם חברו אלעד גרגיר רשת חברתית עסקית לענף הבנייה - ARCDB. "זה אתר אינטרנט שמאגד בתוכו את כל עולם הבנייה, סוג של לינקדאין", הוא אומר בגאווה, "יש בו מפקחי בנייה, מעצבים, קבלנים, ספקים, יועצים, אדריכלים, ואנחנו מחברים ביניהם. התחלנו ארבעה שותפים, היום אנחנו שניים, 50-50, וזה הולך מצוין. יש לנו כ־1,000 לקוחות רשומים, שמשלמים דמי מינוי חודשי כדי להשתלב אצלנו. אנחנו מחזיקים כעשרה עובדים, והעסק רק הולך וגדל. אחלה ביזנס".
איך אתה ממלא את שעות הפנאי, כשאין קבוצה על הראש?
"אני אוהב לבשל, כסוג של תרפיה. אוהב לשבת על שפת הים, אולי בגלל שאני מזל דגים. מנצל את המנוחה כדי למלא מצברים, גם מנטלית.
"Understand, I'm 50, and I'm not going to coach until I'm 70. I do not want to kill myself. I always said 'up to 60, no more,' because it's hard work if you take it totally. And I, like everything in life, do it. till the end".
shishabat@israelhayom.co.il
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