Itzik Kornfein
, director of the Jerusalem Municipality's sports department,
former captain of Betar Jerusalem and general manager of the team.
Leads the municipality's preparations for the Jerusalem Winner Marathon, which will take place on March 25
Itzik Kornfein, recently said that even today, many years after you hung up your shoes, you still dream of football.
"It comes at times, but I get to dream about football quite a bit. From childhood until the age of 36 I played football. My life revolved around the game. Even when I retired I served as manager, and continued in this field for another six years until everything stopped, almost at once. "I dream about football. Sometimes I wake up at night and dream that I'm stopping Pendel, and then I wake up in surprise and find that I dreamed."
Do you dream of certain games?
"No, but maybe my wife knows better, because I often wake her up from my movements 'on the grass', in a dream. Most of the time I do not remember dreams, unless they are powerful and unusual things."
Is football still the center of life for you?
"Today I mostly like to watch football. In the past it was everything for me, and you could say that my essence, who I am, came from football. The energy on the field, within the team, between the players, the successes and the failures - all these built me and made me who I am. I recommend to all "A parent who sends his children to a football club - which gives values to life: friendship, mutual help, tolerance, dealing with difficulty, discipline - these are tools for life."
Your little son also plays in the goalkeeper position. This is certainly not accidental.
"I think it's a coincidence. My eldest son played until the age of 14 as a midfielder, and retired. My youngest son plays for Betar as a goalkeeper, by personal choice.
I'm not one of those parents who pushes too hard. "
Is he consulting with you?
"All the time. There are complexities on and off the field, and that's our role as parents."
Do you recognize in him things that characterized you - movements, behavior?
"Maybe one aspect - I was relatively good at one on one and less good at height, and my son is similar to me in that regard."
Let's talk about Betar, which has made headlines again. For better or worse, we can say that it is no longer a group, and we can even increase and say that a syndrome, or a syndrome, has formed around it. What is so special about it in your eyes?
"I was in several groups before Betar.
They differed in status, achievements, history, but in one thing more than anything else - in strengths.
"When I arrived in Betar, I entered the market. I realized that it is much more than a football team. It is a phenomenon that generates interest everywhere - in the club itself, among the fans, in the media, and not only at the local level, but throughout the country."
Betar fans, Photo: Alan Shiver
Why do you associate these powers?
"I attribute them to the fact that Betar knew how to produce passion, a lot of emotions that are beyond football.
Around this wild passion this whole club was built, and of course there are less positive sides to it as well.
There is also a lot of extremism, power and sometimes violence.
Everything related to Betar will never move on who rests, because nothing is conducted in this club like that. Even when there seems to be silence, it is imaginary silence. When I ran Betar I always knew how to get into the office, but I never knew how I would end : Where will the lawsuit come from, where will a headline come from, what will one fan or another say or do.
There is always interest. "
According to you, it sounds like Betar inevitably contains the essence of Israeliness.
"Unequivocally. Betar Jerusalem is the essence of Israeliness.
"Violence or racism in the Betar stands is a sign of the violence and racism that exists in society. On the positive side, when there are successes and love, you also recognize them in the streets. .
Historical money on the grass
Judging by the state of the club, it seems that Moshe is celebrating is a symptom of a much deeper phenomenon, which includes, for example, Goma Aguiar, and delusional stories like Dan Adler and Adam Levin, potential owners who have disappeared from the radar. We witness owners or “almost owners,” some of whom get entangled, leave a temporary imprint and disappear. What is it about this club that attracts owners of a very certain kind, who often create more problems than opportunities?
Giadmak, Photo: Dudi Vaknin
"Ownership of Betar puts people in a media focus, which sometimes confuses them.
Experienced business people can invest a lot of money in their business, and will get the desired result;
In football this is not necessarily the case.
You are dragged into a vicious circle, perhaps a pressure cooker, of media and fans, which sometimes leads to wrong investments.
"The owners who came to Betar have changed. Penigel and Shem Tov, Arkady Gaydamak, Moshe celebrates - you enter completely anonymously, and become the most famous person in the country. And when you are young, it is all the more confusing."
As in the case of Goma Agiar.
"He was 31-30 when he came in here, and if you do not have a supportive environment and two feet on the ground - it is very difficult to deal with things. Owning Betar is a status symbol, a status of wealth and recognition, but there are also darker sides."
How did you feel about Markadi and Goma on an interpersonal level?
"Arkady is a mysterious man, not one to share his feelings with you. He is very matter-of-fact, and I think he was mostly hurt by Israel, its recognition of him. He was always looked at with suspicion. He donated more than a billion shekels to the army, hospitals and philanthropy. "It's sad to me. Goma, when he was healthy, was also one of the most fun people to be around: smart, sharp, energetic. He created a lot of interest in places he would go to, very charismatic and connected to people."
In contrast to the examples of Hogg or Aguiar, Gaydamak came to a more established and experienced group. He also invested the most respectable sums of money, NIS 400 million in four years.
Moshe celebrates,
"Not only was Arkady the owner who invested the most money, he will also be the owner who invested the most money in 50 years. NIS 400 million in the first four years - these are insane amounts, completely disproportionate."
But from this huge amount, it can be said that almost nothing is left - not for the youth, not for the infrastructure and not for the connection with the community. Even in the case of Moshe Hogg, who is estimated to have invested considerable sums, the money is hardly channeled to strengthen the club's infrastructure. How does that happen?
"Arkady came with a lot of money, and wanted everything as expensive and fast as possible. He brought people who would advance things as quickly as possible, only they were not from the football field and reached very specific goals: championship, cup and Europe. So the goals were achieved, but with that money, as you said, It was possible to invest in just as important things.
"Celebrating also invested a lot of money, not in a smart way - bought players expensively, paid very high salaries and reportedly invested NIS 100 million in three years - a huge fortune. There is almost no money left over from these sums in the long run. "
Regarding Gaydamak, some of the things happened in your shift.
"Today we look at it in retrospect, and say, 'How did we not act differently?'
Gaydamak is Betar's miss?
"On the one hand it is the success of Betar, and on the other hand it is a huge miss.
Betar received a winning lottery ticket, and did not know how to use it properly. When I finished my time as a goalkeeper I became the team's CEO, and Betar was at the height of its success - championships, stars, Yitzhak Shom and Giora Spiegel came, glorious offices - and the first thing I did was go To Itamar Chizik from Maccabi Haifa. He opened the group to me, and explained to me how the machine works. When I returned after a few days of training, I told the Betar management that they and they were light years away.
I thought it would take us another decade to reach their level, and they laughed at me.
I was told: 'Go back to the gate'.
I explained to them that the system there is established so that even if Yankele Shachar leaves tomorrow, they will cope.
And with us, if Arkady leaves, that will not be the case. "
And this is true even now, and in any situation of owner who goes - celebrating, for example?
"This is true until an owner comes from the right place, stays for a long time and connects the fans back to Betar."
The fans are already a problem in themselves.
"Today, Betar Jerusalem has almost no fans in Jerusalem.
Most Betar fans come from outside the city. The youth in Jerusalem hardly support the team - some of them support Hapoel Jerusalem in basketball or football, some fans of teams abroad, but there is no real connection of Jerusalemites to Betar Jerusalem - this is a growing phenomenon. In recent years. "Unfortunately, Betar is also not doing enough action with the community in Jerusalem to connect businessmen, business leaders, to the group."
On the way to practical dismantling?
There are those who say that her family is the disaster of Betar, those who keep their husbands away, for example, and not only. Do you agree?
"La Familia is a phenomenon that can not be ignored. It is not a handful, but thousands. And Betar as a club, alone, will never be able to deal with this phenomenon.
It will need the authorities, the justice system, the police, the Ministry of Internal Security, the education system.
Disputes in dialogue cannot be resolved with them.
You are God in the moment, and you are also burned in the moment.
This is a deep problem.
The audience must understand that the group is more important than the organization's agendas. "
Burned from them personally?
"One case I will not forget: I got out of the game, got in the car and left the window open. Suddenly a young guy, about 17 years old, appeared, put his head in the car window and threatened to rape my daughter. "The guy from the shirt, I waved his hand to punch him - and at the last second God helped me. I released him and drove away. These incidents are not related to the fans, but to education."
Are you worried about the fate of the club?
"Obviously. Those who are interested in business, football and the community claim that Betar has ended its life and is expected to disband - not a legal liquidation, but a practical liquidation."
As the holder of the sports portfolio in the municipality, what should the municipality do about Betar?
"It's harder for the municipality to operate when the club owner is a private person. So the municipality is supportive, the current mayor has dramatically increased the issue of support for groups and facilities, and the group has an open door. In the recent complexities Solutions, bring in buyers, locate loan outlines.
Everyone understands the importance of Betar for the city of Jerusalem.
What are you doing to change the state of education? Sport is a significant tool for this.
"When I took office, we changed the criterion for preventing racism and violence, and set the relevant adult groups in the city a series of actions they must take in schools in neighborhoods around the city on issues of violence, racism and tolerance - thus being eligible for the support they deserve. Participate in sports activities. "
Does this lead to a decrease in the crime rate in the city?
"Unequivocally. When children play football - they do not deal with other things. Sometimes the police ask us to set up a field in certain neighborhoods."
More on sports in the capital, next month (March 25) you will hold the Winner Jerusalem International Marathon. Is there a decrease in the number of participants compared to previous years?
"This is the 11th time we are doing the marathon. In 2019, 35,000 runners participated, with 5,000 runners from abroad.
This time about 20,000 people are expected to participate, almost no runners from abroad because of the corona. The challenge is great. We have allotments of a full marathon, a half marathon, ten kilometers, five kilometers, a family race and an association race, because community is important "In the family race, we see parents, grandparents and grandchildren. Our participants come not necessarily for the result, but for the air, the landscapes and the challenge."
Does the city's sports culture permeate the residents?
"Yes. We are building sports facilities in the neighborhoods, and children and teenagers are coming downstairs and playing in the neighborhood, as their parents 'generation used to play. Our only problem with the city's sportiness is the residents' complaints about noise; Is there anything better than that?
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