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The circle with Dan: The details behind Dan Bitton's move to Maccabi Tel Aviv

Alona gave it up too soon in favor of another purchase, Ivica "turned on" it but could not sign it. Now Dan Bitton is returning to Israel, and his comeback is closing a circle that excites Maccabi Tel Aviv and saddens Beer Sheva fans. The big shoes, the future plan and the question marks behind the move

• Dan Bitton
• Maccabi Tel Aviv in football

Yaniv Tuchman

Vladan Ivic was convinced that he did not need too much to reach the stage of houses in Europe. The first championship was in my pocket a long time ago and the gap from second place only grew from week to week. The estimate at Maccabi Tel Aviv was that Predrag Rejkovic would be sold in the summer and that despite the restrictions in the fair play, it would be possible to bring in a foreign striker with a purchase amount of around one million euros. Towards the start of the top playoffs, a professional working meeting was held led by Ben Mansford. The general manager, who will leave for England about six months later, wanted to hear which Israeli player his coach would like to drop in Kiryat Shalom. "Dan Bitton from Ashdod," shot the Serb without blinking. The others, but if it is possible to add one Israeli player, I choose Dan Bitton. "

Bitton, who signed yesterday (Sunday) with Maccabi Tel Aviv for one season, was then after three years at MS. Ashdod. In games against Maccabi Tel Aviv, he caught the eye of Ivica. Barak Yitzhaki also supported the move. Yitzhaki has had a warm corner in his heart to the south since he grew up in Ashkelon, and Bitton's move from Hapoel Beer Sheva to MS. He knew Ashdod well.

More on Walla! NEWS

Dan Bitton signed on loan from Ludogorets, "In the biggest club that wanted me the most"

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It was in the summer of 2016. After Hapoel Beer Sheva's first championship season under Barak Bachar. Bitton partnered in several games, but was not a significant factor. Hapoel Beer Sheva finished the season as champions and the appetite grew. Alona Barkat decided that she wanted to acquire the best Israeli actors and after introducing her to Michael Ohana from MS. Ashdod, she did not stop until she bought it for NIS 4.5 million. Jackie Ben Zaken also wanted a dowry from Be'er Sheva and on the road added Dan Bitton on loan with a purchase option in the amount of only NIS 1 million. The option was valid for two years of the question, but already in the summer of 2017, Ashdod decided to acquire Bitton in parallel with the sale of another player to Hapoel Beer Sheva - Hatem Abdelhamid.

Already at the age of 4, Dan Bitton was orphaned by his father after he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was the youngest of three children in the modest house in Be'er Sheva. His mother had to take care of raising the three children on her own. Love for football was from a very young age at home and the mother accompanied the talented child from the children's teams to the youth. There was no father there to support and push, but Dan Bitton did not need too much to hunt the eyes, despite his slender physique. With a deadly left foot, aesthetic dribbling and prominent game vision, he made his way to the senior team from the youth department that did not know how to grow a lot of quality talent. But when Barkat wanted Ohana, she did not take into account that the flowers of the house should be kept as well.

Yesterday, when the news of Bitton's move from Ludogorets to Maccabi Tel Aviv became known, it is doubtful if he was a fan of Hapoel Beer Sheva who did not miss him. While the team from the southern city is looking for its way in a new reality, Dan Bitton returns from Bulgaria to Israeli football at the front door. Directly to the champion and bitter rival of the Reds from the Negev capital in recent years.

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Ivica, who heard about the move yesterday when he was in London ahead of the start of his work today at Watford, was filled with satisfaction at the closing of the circle he opened a little over a year ago. "There was no chance to bring Dan when Schulden wanted him, because in the end it was clear that if we could buy a player it would only be one player and we would have to find a foreign striker," Maccabi Tel Aviv said yesterday. Jackie Ben Zaken was not interested in Ivica's enthusiasm for his relationship. He wanted to sell a year ago and Maccabi Tel Aviv's fair play matters did not really move him.

The question of Kiryat Shalom was not really on the agenda. Against Ludogorets he closed a very handsome deal of a sale fee of 1.25 million euros plus an oil bonus if the Bulgarians qualify for the Champions League, which in the end did not happen. Bitton packed his bags and took off in hopes of jumping from Bulgaria to Western Europe.

Not many in MS. Ashdod believed that Biton would hold an entire season in Bulgaria. "The problem is not in how to live abroad, but in how to accept that you are not a regular car player," a source related to MS Ashdod said yesterday. Ashdod had a problem accepting that he did not open every game and did not become a banker. He was convinced that if he came from Hapoel Beer Sheva to Ashdod, he would have to play a lot. And when he did not get the lineup, you saw that it greatly affects his training. His head was down. If there is one big question mark ahead of Dan's tenure at Maccabi Tel Aviv, it is how he will live with the fact that Maccabi Tel Aviv is a collection of very talented and quality players, and sometimes you find yourself on the bench. Today he is 25 years old and the main question is how much he has matured in Bulgaria and realized that in a top team like Maccabi Tel Aviv the competition is inevitable and without sentiments. "

Also in Bulgaria as in MS. Ashdod Previously, he had quality falls in several games. Alongside spectacular goals and fantastic football moves, there were games in which he disappeared. Yossi Mizrahi, who coached him for a while in Ashdod, worked with him mainly on touching the ball. Wanted him to be involved all the time. Will come to receive, will motivate, will manage the game. That he will not hide and disappear for many minutes during the game. Bitton has improved, but not enough. A player of his kind on the team like MS. Ashdod, had to present more impressive numbers.

At Maccabi Tel Aviv, he will also have to give much more in defense. If he functions as one of the two 50/50 ties, he will have to contribute to Maccabi Tel Aviv's defensive game because Georgios Donis will not be patient. "Maccabi Tel Aviv accepts Dan Bitton at the right age and in the best condition, because he is in the middle of his career and after being away from the spotlight in Bulgaria, he will want to come and lead," says a coach who worked with Bitton. "The question of whether Dan will be another Maccabi Tel Aviv player is that he will be one of the dominant ones."

Experts estimated yesterday that the deal for Dan Bitton's arrival at Maccabi Tel Aviv is far from being the question with a purchase option. The same sources estimated that the Bulgarians would not transfer a player on loan, if they did not know for sure that Maccabi Tel Aviv will complete its acquisition in a year, when the restrictions in the fair play will be removed and it will be able to acquire players freely. Bitton comes, more or less, to the position of Dor Micha. He may be less sophisticated than Micha, but he has a more powerful kick than the midfielder who ended his career at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

In many ways Dan Bitton is getting into big shoes and the burden of proof is on him, but he is certainly able to live up to expectations. Instead of leading Hapoel Beer Sheva today together with Joshua, he will try to contribute his share to another championship in the yellow and may remain with Maccabi Tel Aviv for many years to come. Those who did not want him at Hapoel Beer Sheva and did not know how to keep him, get him today at Maccabi Tel Aviv as one of the most interesting players for next season.

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A post shared by Dan Biton (@dan_biton) on Jun 11, 2019 at 6:39 am PDT

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A post shared by Dan Biton (@dan_biton) on Jul 9, 2020 at 2:39 am PDT