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Wickside: A weekly column by Ahrela Weisberg

After 20 years: Guy Goodes and Tomer Steinhaur return to memories of the Haifa derby

Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Haifa meet in the Premier League for the first time since 2000, and the former stars of both are excited.

Goodes: "I have flashbacks from baskets I scored. This is a different rivalry than in Tel Aviv."

Steinhauer: "Without an audience there is no sting to the game. We used to walk for half an hour to get to a youth derby"

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• Maccabi Haifa Basketball

• Hapoel Haifa in basketball

• Guy Goodes

• Tomer Steinhauer

Ahrela Weisberg

Sunday, December 27, 2020, 2:00 p.m.

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Goodes: "Every derby in Haifa was a carnival, but this rivalry is a little different from the one in Tel Aviv. There was less bad blood in it."

Tonight (Sunday, 20:30, Sport 5), for the first time in 20 years and ten days - Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Haifa will meet in the Premier League.

So much has changed since the last derby on the main stage of Israeli basketball, and we can only imagine what a festival this game would have been if it could only have been held in front of fans in Romema Hall.

"Every derby in Haifa was a carnival, but this rivalry is a little different from that in Tel Aviv, for example," explains Maccabi Rishon Lezion coach Guy Goodes, who grew up at Hapoel Haifa and is still considered one of its greatest stars of all time.

"In the end, the two teams practiced and played together on the same field. I would meet the people of Maccabi Haifa on a daily basis, and we were next to each other all the time. So I will not tell you that there was no rivalry, but there was less bad blood."

"When I was 18," recalled former Maccabi Haifa player Tomer Steinhauer, "I played with Adi Gordon in youth and seniors at the same time. So when there was a derby in the first league, then called the national league, the whole city would talk about it the week before. People were parked in downtown Neveh. "Complacent, and walk half an hour on foot to Romema. Not for an adult derby, but also for a youth derby. Yes, the hall was blown up in youth games as well."

More on Walla!

NEWS

First in the Premier League: After more than 20 years, the Haifa derby returns to the senior league

To the full article

Once upon a time, the Haifa derby was a carnival.

Guy Goodes next to his picture in the Hapoel Haifa uniform (Photo: Elad Nevo, from Wikipedia)

Goodes: "It was natural for me to go to Hapoel. I played basketball at the open bridge in Hadar, and at the same time I was also a goalkeeper in the children's soccer team. Tal Benin was with me on the team."

Goodes was only 15 and a half years old when he first played in a derby with the senior team of Hapoel Haifa.

In his four years in the media, he stood at 3: 4 in the league against the city rival.

"I was very young, and I have mostly flashbacks of baskets here and there, and memories of excitement from the class itself. It was different from any other game. Although we played in the same hall, but homeliness was crucial. The host team would fill the stands with its fans, and most games ended "Home victories. It was rare for a team to score 0: 2 this season against the city rival."

Steinhauer won his first four derby games in the league, standing at a total of 3: 5.

"Even though Hapoel was strong at the time, we entered a series of victories, which then balanced. In terms of importance and prestige, beating Hapoel Haifa at that time was like beating Maccabi Tel Aviv. It was worth far beyond the two points in the table. Our fans were ready to finish. "In the penultimate place in the league, provided that Hapoel will be last."

Goodes: "As a child, I grew up in Kiryat Motzkin, and then we moved to Kiryat Haim, which was a stronghold of Hapoel Haifa. We lived above my grandmother, and we only had to cross the railway tracks to get from home to the Hapoel football field."

- And that is what connected you to Hapoel Haifa?

"My sister, Sigal, played in the women's team of Hapoel Haifa, and when the time came, it was natural for me to go to Hapoel. I played basketball in the open field in Hadar, and at the same time I was also a goalkeeper in the children's football team. Tal Benin was with me in the team."

More on Walla!

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To the full article

"Defeating Hapoel Haifa at the time was like defeating Maccabi Tel Aviv."

Steinhauer (Photo: Liron Moldovan)

Steinhauer: "The empty stands will take all the sting out of the derby. All you have to do is show videos to the players and tell them how important it is."

- And when you look at the derby tonight, how much will you miss the crowd in the stands?

Steinhauer: "It takes all the sting out of the derby. All you have left is to show videos to the players and tell them how important it is. It's not the same without the atmosphere around, when you walk down the street and everyone drives you crazy because of the derby. Football has always had an absolute majority of Maccabi Haifa fans "But in basketball it was more balanced, and maybe even had a majority for Hapoel Haifa fans. It had a very dominant and fanatical crowd. I, as someone who grew up in Maccabi and ended his career there, hope that despite the position in the table, they will prove who the top team in the city is."

Goodes: "The crowd is very lacking, especially for those who are in the teams themselves. We are in a different era, and it is not easy. One can only imagine what it would have looked like after 20 years. It is time for this derby to return."

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