Hapoel Holon's insistence on going for a foreign coach could cost her dearly • Will Stefanos Dadas succeed in changing everything soon, or will he finish like Sharon Drucker?

• Dadas (center), yesterday in Roma. A lot of work awaits him

  Photo:

  Encourage Carney

1 When Hapoel Holon management decided to fire Sharon Drucker, she made another decision - the appointment of a foreign coach in his place. Yesterday, after 17 days without a regular coach, during which they lost two important European games that could cost them a ticket to the next level, the replacement was found, with Greek Stefanos Dadas signing until the end of the season.

In retrospect, it turns out that Holon leaders have decided to go for a foreign coach without considering the consequences. Initially, advanced contacts were made with Elias Zoros, who blasted the contacts after owner Shlomo Isaacs refused to bear the costs of an assistant to come with him. Other foreign coaches were then offered.

The senior candidate was Sacho Filipowski, who coached at Euroleague and Eurocup, but the financial offer was low and contacts stopped. He was later contacted by Salvador Maldonado, who coached Gran Canaria, but the deal fell after his demand to bring an assistant with him was rejected.

As the substitute appointment was delayed and the days passed, some of the team and some of the players began pushing for the appointment of an Israeli coach, and Eric Shivak's name rose. "He is experienced, knows the Israeli basketball and will not need valuable acclimatization time, which could finish the European season for us," it was said, but the decision makers refused to hear. They were locked on a foreign coach.

2 Ultimately, Holon accepts a 37-year-old coach, who until four years ago served primarily as an assistant. In December 2015, he was appointed Gaziantep's coach and twice qualified for the playoffs in the Turkish league. Dadas does not have much European experience. With Gaziantep, he was twice arrested in the eighth European Cup final, once by Eric Alfasi and Urban Nahariya, in what was considered a surprise due to the budget gap between the teams.

Harush has a hard time in the face of Maccabi Haifa. Another painful defeat // Photo: Oded Karni

At the start of the 2017/18 season, Dadas left due to poor results, and the following summer signed in Turkish Shakespeare, which he promoted to the first league, but last November was sacked, again due to a bad season opening.

Why was an inexperienced foreign coach selected and not one of the top Israeli coaches available? The answers are only in Holon's heads. His low financial demands and the fact that he would only sign until the end of the current season, and without bringing in an assistant, may have helped him get the job.

Sharon Drucker. Failed to survive on the lines // Photo: Bernie Ardov

3 Dadas gets talented faculty, but with quite a few problems. Holon did not wait and release Malakai Richardson a week ago after Italian Cremona agreed to carry his contract. Richard Howell is injured and missing in the coming weeks, and some of the players (Shlomi Harush and Amit Simhon) are out of shape.

My Greek has no days of grace. Already on Saturday a foreign game awaits him against Hapoel Jerusalem, and in about two weeks a critical game against Torun in Europe. "One of the great advantages of Stefanos is the ability to talk to players," say people who know him well.

The new coach will need to hone his skills and convince players that he is the right man in the current situation. Otherwise, he might end his story, like Sharon Drucker.