After the resignation of Yossi Aboksis and the return of Alona Barkat to the management of the club, Hapoel BS Mitzpe Tonight (20:45) A difficult hurdle: The reigning champion • On the lines: Aliniv Barda
Alona Barkat
Photography:
Liron Moldovan
Hapoel B'Shlosha will host Maccabi Tel Aviv tonight (20:45) with Aliniv Barda on the lines - until two days ago, the assistant of the resigning coach Yossi Aboksis.
But the big story will not be on the lines.
Owner Alona Barkat will watch the game from the stands, but this time as someone who has returned to the front of the stage.
"I am returning to managing Hapoel B'Shlosha," Barkat announced yesterday during the team's training, but behind the scenes the decision has paid off in recent months.
About three weeks ago, chairman Itai Ben Zeev, appointed by Barkat, finished his position to assist CEO Asi Rahamim in managing the group.
By then, it was already clear to the people at the club that the official announcement of Alona's return was only a matter of time.
Aboksis recently met with Barkat in Tel Aviv.
The topic of reinforcement was on the agenda, and most of the conversation was tense.
Aboksis wanted players - one of the names was Dor Micha - and Barkat was not keen on bringing them.
On the issue of foreigners, too, the owner did not approve expensive signings, and Aboksis replied that with the money coming in from the Europa League, more could be invested, but it was made clear to him that the policy had changed and that there was no intention to spend millions of shekels in the transfer window.
"It is strange that even then Aboksis decided to leave and the move was made together with his friend Barak Abramov, the owner of Bnei Yehuda. They added: "This is a move that feels like it was sewn in advance."
The PSC does not think this is coincidental, as Abramov recently approached them to see if Aboksis could be released, and was denied.
But then Barkat replied in the negative and clarified: "If we get the ticket to Europe, we will leave Yossi, if not - what's the point?"
Aboksis was injured, also because the season came with the team to beautiful achievements in the Europa League.
As soon as Abramov made it clear to Aboksis that his place in the Hatikva neighborhood is guaranteed in an upgraded and long-term contract (around NIS 80,000 net per month), the coach announced his departure.
Meanwhile, it appears that the next coach will receive a contract until the end of the season, and not a contract for a year and a half.
At this point there is no coach that the owner is unequivocally interested in.
Naturally, the names of Marco Belbul and Roni Levy came up.
The latter is still on private vacation in the US and is scheduled to return to Israel later this week.
The confusion, which ended his role at Maccabi Haifa in the summer, has merits in light of his dealings with the Greens during the separation between the parties.
In addition, Belbul previously coached BS under Barkat, although he was then fired. Even before that, rumors had been circulating about Ran Ben Shimon, but his team MS Ashdod made it clear that they would not release him.
"Many years of rivalry"
Maccabi Tel Aviv knows that BS is not a simple hurdle even after all the hustle and bustle the team went through following Aboksis' resignation.
However, the Yellows also know that they must win tonight in order to reduce the gap in the table from the leader Maccabi Haifa.
Eden Kartzev, who is suffering from a tear in the lateral ligament of his knee, will miss the match, and the one who will most likely take his place in the squad is Dan Glazer.
Dor Peretz is expected to return to 11 after running a dismissal penalty this season due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
It seems that the only hesitation of coach Patrick Van Leven is in the attack between Alexander Peshich, who is recovering from an injury, and Itai Schechter, who has shown good ability in recent games.
"There is a long-standing rivalry between the clubs and we will do our best to beat BS," said Schechter ahead of the game. "Every game for us is a cup final and we must not stumble further.
BS has made trouble for the top teams in Europe, and is still one of the best teams in our league. "
