Toto Tamuz (33) has not played for two years, is having a hard time coming to terms with his retirement ("there are a lot of fears") and about the mistakes he made he said: "I paid a heavy price" • Special interview from his home in Romania
In the Hapoel Tel Aviv uniform against Schalke in the Champions League
Photo:
Reuters
Tammuz in Romania.
Still dreaming of going back to playing football
Photo:
From Instagram
Tammuz in the team uniform in the fight with Gerard
Photo:
AFP
In the world of football when a player is marked from a young age as a great potential, he is expected to express his abilities without any bumps in the road.
Tend not to address the difficulty experienced by an inexperienced guy to withstand the professional and mental pressures exerted on him.
When it succeeds, it is taken for granted.
As things go harder, impatience screams to heaven.
If there is one player who has experienced this accurately during his career it is Toto Tamuz.
One of the great pioneers who grew up in Israel in the last generation has not played football for over two and a half years and although during this period he managed to pick up a successful real estate business in Romania, he misses the lawn very much. "It is a long time and it is a very difficult situation to find a new team.
I received suggestions but they did not really make me consider them.
I had an offer from Dynamo Bucharest that really winked at me but one of the executives did not agree to some clauses.
I was very disappointed, but life goes on. "
You celebrated about 33 weeks ago, do you still dream of playing at the highest levels?
I first of all dream of going back to playing football.
It hurts me to sit at home and not do something I love to do but it's the way of the world.
I have always said that my career is in the hands of God.
If he wants me to come back to play, I will come back, and if not, I will make a difficult decision and finish.
Is retirement something that comes to mind?
After such a long time and together with the corona it is clear that it passes in the head.
There are lots of fears of finishing something you have given so much for, investing for it.
From the age of 15 I went up to adulthood, I gave everything I have and it hurts me that I am not where I should be at the age of 33. At the same time, I am thankful for what I did and what I went through, I want to go back to a good place and not just go back to play.
Have you tried using agents?
Lots of agents talked to me and asked me what my requirements were and as I told the professional manager of Dynamo Bucharest - I am looking for a long term contract.
I need something in the area for a year and a half and it made it difficult for them to pass it on the board.
I made a lot of mistakes when I agreed to sign short contracts and it stuck me.
This is one of the demands I had.
I was not willing to risk a short contract for half a year and discover bad ability, I would take one step forward and go back ten.
There is no doubt that sitting at home is not a good option for any footballer, but you also have to choose what to sacrifice in order to return to play.
Do you keep fit?
of course.
I have a personal trainer and it is for me still a way of life including maintaining nutrition.
I do not know anything else.
Whether I return to play or not is something that is still important to me.
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If you look at your Instagram account, you see that from time to time you upload videos or good performances of your past in the Hapoel Tel Aviv uniform, for example. Is it a net to do yourself a favor or an attempt to bring yourself back to consciousness?
Honestly, it has no clear purpose.
I get a lot of messages from people who miss me on the pitch and want to see me and ask me to upload videos.
I'm not trying to prove or show anyone anything.
I meet the demands of the warm audience and people who really love me.
Kids still ask me for birthday greetings, for a bar mitzvah and they want to see me play.
"I just wanted to play in the seniors of Hapoel Petah Tikva"
Throughout his career, Tammuz suffered from a problematic image.
A person who was born in Nigeria, immigrated to Israel and fought all his life to fulfill his dream, is perceived as a player who does not take the profession seriously, who likes to hang out, who deals with things unrelated to football.
Even when he brought numbers, even though he reached the Israeli team, people were waiting to see him fall.
Few realized that overall he wanted to feel alive after a not-so-simple childhood. The toughness he displayed along the way, even if ostensibly, breaks with extraordinary sincerity.
"I am primarily responsible for my situation, I am not looking for culprits. I can say that at my peak I was not allowed to move forward but I brought myself to the situation I am in today," says Tammuz.
"The decision a few years ago to take a break for a year to freshen up from the bad energies of football was a big mistake. After the success at Petrolol I was not allowed to move forward and there was a breaking point."
You left for Europe at the age of 24 when the first stop was the Russian Ural. If you had gone abroad at an earlier age do you think you would have been more successful in your career?
Maybe but on the other hand you could say I went out to a bad place I was at my peak.
I had offers here in the country and I did not have to go to Russia.
At the same time, I was so determined and ambitious that it would work for me and I felt I was ready for the next stop.
Unfortunately I got to a place that stopped my progress.
Financially it was great but it was not a football style that suited me.
Too bad it happened at my peak.
Despite the steep decline in his career, Tammuz does not see himself as a sporting tragedy.
"I could have exhausted more but I do not think I miss. I did great things in football and because people expected a lot more, there are those who say I miss. As a person today I see things differently. If I had the thinking I had today a few years ago, then I would Coming further. I am thankful for what I received from God. It should be understood that I just wanted to play in the seniors of Hapoel Petah Tikva.
Everything else was extra, I am grateful for what I achieved. "
Lots of people remember the incident at the 2012 National Cup final in which the cameras verbally attacked Eli Tabib. How much do you think it hurt you?
It cost me my name and it's something I paid a heavy price for.
It's not something I should have done but I can understand why the 24 year old Toto acted like that.
I had a very big sadness and disappointment than Mali.
It was a time when the whole club was against him and I was the only one who went with him.
It hurt me that he did not let me advance to Monaco on a contract that would set me up for life.
"Romania is not a substitute for Israel"
One of the things that helps Tammuz go through the difficult period is his eldest daughter, who was born about 9 months ago.
"Without her I would have been broken, she brought me happiness that cannot be explained in words. Football has given me a lot but it is hard to compare. It is powerful and fills me with happiness even in the most difficult moments. In the last year with the Corona it has given me an inexplicable shot of energy and happiness."
The fact that you decided to settle in Romania is related to the fact that in Israel you did not always receive a warm welcome?
Definately not.
In Romania I felt comfortable starting my business because there was a market that could be developed in terms of real estate. I saw an opportunity and took it with both hands even though it is not easy to invest in a foreign country. I really love the State of Israel When I come to Israel and walk down the street, people shout at me and give a lot of love. It's not that God forbid I have anything against Israel, it's really not like that. In Israel, business is simply less profitable.
Throughout the conversation, it seems that Tammuz is careful not to make summaries of his career, which indicates his belief that he may still return to kicking the ball.
When asked what was the biggest moment he had in his career, his tone changes slightly.
"I had a lot of great moments but I do not want to go there yet. If I make the decision to retire I might be able to point to something specific. I can say that I remember well a lot of moments at Hapoel Tel Aviv.
"My acclimatization there was not easy because there was an amazing staff but I had amazing years there," he says excitedly. "I was happy to come to every game and every training and I wanted so much to give back to the Hapoel crowd because he gave me warmth like I never got."
The place where you grew up - Hapoel Petah Tikva is very close to the third league. How much does it hurt you to see that?
It hurts me a lot because it is a club that has given me all my foundations and all my values as a person as well.
You have to understand that my dream as a child was only to play in the graduates of Hapoel Petah Tikva. Not in Betar Jerusalem and not in Hapoel Tel Aviv, nor in the Israeli team because I did not dream so high but it happened to me quickly that I did not even imagine. This club is A huge club in Israeli football, is very important to the State of Israel. People do not understand its history. I come to Israel and come to my house in Petah Tikva on vacations in recent years, I hear how much this situation hurts the fans.
I wish it was up to me and things were different.
There are things that unfortunately do not depend on me and I very much hope that things will work out because Hapoel must be in the Premier League.
Do you watch football? Do you follow the league in Israel?
You could say it's the only thing I see on TV, it's my life.
I really like Maccabi Haifa this year and I think Barak Bachar put something in them that they were missing, I hope they will take it to a good place.
I think Maccabi Haifa deserves a championship but I believe that Maccabi Tel Aviv will win.
Where do you see yourself in 7 years?
Wow, you went too far.
I look at tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
Want to raise my girl comfortably and have a healthy one.
Everything else does not interest me.
