Israeli football has seven disappointments and not just at the graduate level.
We had flickers as teenagers, especially remembering the Bnei Tabak team from 1996, when Yossi Benyon and Shlomi Dahan starred on the pitch against Germany and the team finished in third place in the Euros, but that's big.
An Israeli team has never won the Euro until the age of 19, and certainly did not qualify for the World Cup - the World Under-20 Championship.
This is certainly true of the number of players registered in the association, the quality of the facilities, and the crooked perception of our league's position in relation to other leagues and its real purpose, which is to be a league that gives young players a stage - to get to quality leagues overseas as quickly as possible.
Euro semi-final
up to the World Cup up to the age of 20 ✅
chills 🤯🤯
A historic achievement for the youth team that secured a semi-final at the European Championships and the first ever ticket to the World Cup up to the age of 20 next year # elel_israel 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/aNfNYnkfQK
- ISRAEL FA (@ISRAELFA) June 25, 2022
But something good has happened here in recent years, both at the association level and especially at the group level.
A number of youth departments have taken a significant step forward in the level of coaching and training, and also in the Oren Hasson Association decided to invest more money in the youth departments and made a change in the coaching staff and the shell given to the team, and the results came faster than expected.
In contrast to the young Euros and the boys' Euros where 16 teams play, the Euros youth qualified only 7 teams with the eighth being the host Slovakia.
The very fact of qualifying for the championship was a huge achievement for Ofir Haim's team, certainly if we take into account that football powers like Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands remained at home.
So what is different about this team from other teams, perhaps no less talented, that made it reach the European Final Four and the historic World Cup?
1.
The attitude of the coach and the team - Tactically, the team did a wonderful job.
Haim went on an offensive set of 4: 2: 1: 3, with nice patterns of ball movement and a desire to attack and move a ball even under pressure.
Defensively, the team showed many minutes of high pressure, with the message coming from this tactic being the confidence of the team in the abilities of the players and the lack of fear of the opponent.
It is not for nothing that the team knew how to lag behind Serbia, recover from the disappointment that was after an equalizer we absorbed in the 93rd minute, and deal impressively with an excellent Austrian team.
Ofir Haim.
Lots of shares in reach, Photo: UEFA official website
Haim managed the games excellently, felt the players and even when he had to make an unusual move, like a substitution in the goalkeeper position after the opening game, he went for it because it was the right thing to do.
The coach and team also realized that if our strength is in talent up front, it makes no sense to bring in another less defensive player, at the expense of a quality attacking player, even if it means we will be a little more vulnerable from behind.
And so, even though the team conceded 4 goals against our rival for second place, it scored six and went up impressively.
2.
Despite the young team being in the tournament, with seven of its players belonging to the 2004 yearbook and being able to participate in the next championship, fortunately, perhaps also because of the corona, many of the children have already received adult minutes and some even significant minutes.
It is very difficult for youth players, who play most of the season on synthetic turf and at a low pace, to deal with players, even if they are their age, who regularly play in senior teams, even if these are second teams or lower league teams.
Compliments go to Ziv Arieh, who gave significant minutes to a 16-year-old boy, Ahmed Salman.
To Mladen Krastić, who I doubt would have been another coach who would have believed in that special talent like that, Oscar Gluch, and tells him that his stage and he can start dancing.
The same is true for Kobi Refuah, who was not afraid to let the 19-year-old brake, Autumn Lemkin, hold his defense.
Gluch.
Received credit from Krastić, Photo: UEFA official website
Maybe after this championship, more coaches will understand there is no reason to be afraid to give the keys to a talented kid from the youth, probably in the strong youth departments.
Even if the beginning is not simple, with a little patience and faith the profit will be all ours.
Pay attention to the names - France, Italy, England and Israel.
We are there with the greatest and even if it is teenagers, this is a great achievement for Israeli football.
Now we can only hope that we will be able to leverage the championship, we will encourage the departure of players to senior leagues in Europe and as soon as possible, and maybe in the future these wonderful children will make history even in adulthood.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
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