In recent years we have come across a trend (welcome to say), where more and more athletes from all fields are going out to try their luck overseas.
But what's really going on behind the scenes, after the official photo in the team uniform or a second before that famous photo with the luggage from the airport and the big smile on his face?
Tomer Ginat's post this week has penetrated the hearts of us all.
It's time to expand and explain how much he is not alone.
Yes, it seems seemingly easy and simple. We read about another actor coming to Israel from one of the European countries, or alternatively about a new legionnaire who goes out to try his luck overseas. Flight tickets have been ordered, a photo from the signing class is being published in all the media and now is the time to get on the pitch ...
wait, stop. Behind every such deal is a person who uproots his life and moves to another country, where sometimes the lifestyle, expectations and form of play are completely different. Most of these things are not exposed to the public eye at all. The player is only seen in the warm-up, his success is measured by the statistics, exact dedication or ball possession data, but most of the variables that will determine his success or failure are not at all related to what happens on the court.
Let me write to you this time in the first person, because the subject of the article is also part of my experience. Just recently I moved with my footballer husband Neil Nehemiah to the Greek town of Sparta, to fulfill that European dream. The first difficulty comes at all before the official signing of the contract. It exists by the very proposition. On the one hand, the desire to fulfill the dream and on the other hand, an entire life remains in the country. The difficulty is exacerbated in cases where there is also a spouse or family in the picture. The actor will likely agree to start a whole life in a new place in favor of that dream, but what about his wife or children? The same woman who has to leave (or temporarily stop) her job and career, the same little boy who is suddenly forced to be uprooted from the educational framework in her country and his friends?
There is a whole family cell that needs to be given up, for a certain period of time for a whole life and a certain comfort that exists in the country.
This decision is one of the most difficult and complex that an actor has to make in his life, mainly due to the fact that apart from him, it also affects the important and precious people in his life.
In our case, to be honest, it was a little different.
The same offer actually came through me, thanks to the ISCOUT agency, so for me the decision to give up and leave everything was actually made beforehand.
Living on luggage after landing, and who knows for how long.
Nitzan Peled's equipment and the sound of Nehemiah (Photo: Nitzan Peled)
Most of us travel to Greece and usually visit places like Athens, Rhodes or Crete, but how many of you have visited Sparta? Let me guess - since history classes you probably forgot about its existence at all. Do not worry, me too. I was told that Sparta was very close to Athens, I asked how long it was, they told me "nonsense, two and a half hours, maybe three". Almost an entire road to Eilat. Be amazed, here it is considered "close".
So all my luggage and I got to Sparta. And what now? As a Tel Avivian who is usually used to hearing sirens, standing in traffic jams, queues or crowded places of entertainment, here everything is actually quite spacious, quiet, rural, calm or in other words - boring. If my life were going at a pace of 180 km / h, here everything is around 40 km / h, 50 max, it takes time to get used to, you have to adjust yourself to the pace.
Upon arrival at a new and foreign place, every person naturally wants to settle in the area, in the apartment where he will have to live, get to know the population around him, but this is not always possible immediately.
An apartment is a logistical matter that the group needs to take care of.
It depends not only on it, but also on the market situation and the quality of the apartment.
Needless to say, the apartment must arrive fully furnished, "only arriving with luggage", for real.
Such an apartment is not always easy to find, so there are cases where the player arrives and the team has not yet found the right place.
In such a situation the player is usually housed in a nearby hotel temporarily.
Sometimes it makes the landing softer, but sometimes it actually makes it difficult for the player to integrate and adapt.
After all, he can not really unload his luggage and equipment, get to know the environment and the city in depth, he cannot prepare the food he is used to or eat at times that suit him.
After such a shaky transition, all a player is looking for is a home, this simple and "obvious" thing, takes on greater meaning than ever.
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Not exactly the busiest place.
Sparta Center (Photo: ShutterStock)
Upon initial arrival in Sparta he was indeed at the hotel until they found us an apartment. The suitcases occupied half of the room. And the food? Very different from Israel. This becomes more complex when it comes to kosher food and staff at a hotel that speaks bad English. Go explain that you ask for the meat and milk separately.
The player comes to a foreign country, with a different culture and sometimes a different form of play and different professional requirements. Needless to say, the language is also foreign, and basically everything is just different. The team is committed to taking care of the player in all its aspects - from apartment to health insurance, and of course to help him adapt as much as possible. In case there is a woman or family in the picture, things are a little more complicated. It is not obligated to provide a residence permit and health insurance for the actor's family, or a kindergarten or educational framework for his children (if he so wishes), to open a bank account and other bureaucracies. These are matters that the player has to deal with and resolve on his own, sometimes with the help of the team in contacting the right parties, getting a quote or getting relevant forms.
The degree of help and assistance depends on the means of the team and of course on the status of the player, how much the team wants and needs him.
These seem small and insignificant details, but a family of a foreign player can not stay in another country permanently without insurance, and when it comes to children - an educational framework is a necessary thing.
These matters require a great deal of preoccupation, especially in a new place where the procedures are unfamiliar.
The more the team has the power to assist the player in procedural matters, the softer the landing will be, the head and mentality will be directed to football only and his integration will be faster.
What to do?
In most cases, the player will arrive first, adapt to his apartment and the new place and only then will his family arrive.
Usually the team appoints someone on its behalf to take care of all the player's needs.
It could be the team leader or someone else on her behalf.
His job is to make sure the player adapts and take care of everything he will need personally and professionally.
Adaptation is not easy.
The sound of Nehemiah in Sparta (Photo: Nitzan Peled)
It is important to understand that treating a foreign player is almost identical to a baby just learning to walk. The more we support him, the faster he will progress. A foreign player, unlike a local, needs assistance both personally and professionally. He comes to a league he is unfamiliar with, sometimes the requirements are different and so is the form of the game. The clearer and more transparent the team is about its goals, its form of play and its expectations of the player - the smoother its professional adaptation will be.
Beyond the professional interest, you just have to adjust to a new routine and live at a different pace. In Sparta, for example, on Saturdays only half-day workers, on Sundays everything is closed (including writers and pharmacies) and also on Mondays you need "freedom from freedom" - only half-day workers. Conclusion - Do not be sick on Saturday and Sunday and especially pay attention to what is missing in the refrigerator, a little different for those who are used to the branch of AMPM and Super Pharm under the house. This article, for example, was also written from the smartphone, because the charger of my computer was destroyed and in the meantime I just could not find a store in the area that has the desired charger. When you are in a foreign place, even the simplest things become a little more complex than usual.
So the next time you read about the next foreign actor coming to Israel, or the next Israeli becoming a "legionnaire," you will know that not all that glitters is gold.
Under the promising shell there are quite a few difficulties and variables that affect the success of the player in his new team.
Football itself speaks the same language all over the world, with such and such changes of speed and physicality, but it is still the same game, except that everything around is different and foreign.
Not one, it is what decides the spoon and determines what the future will look like.
The author is an acting agent at the iscout agency.
Her husband Tzlil Nehemiah is an Asteras and Achioti actor.