Europe Corner of Ramat Gan: 30 years since the European premiere of the Israeli teams

Suits vs. windbreakers, injury from a tennis racket, playing against postmen and gardeners and more memorable moments.

Ahead of the opening of the 2022 campaign, we returned to the first evening of the Israeli teams in Europe and to the strange double show in reciprocity.

Zohar, Levin and Nemani are mentioned in the summer of 1992

Tomer Yitzhak

19/07/2022

Tuesday, July 19, 2022, 3:30 p.m.

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On April 18, 1991, Israeli football received a valuable gift in honor of the country's 43rd Independence Day.

The association's chairman Shaul Sviri, his deputy Azrikam Milchen and CEO Yaakov Erel reached an agreement with UEFA President Lennart Johansson on the integration of Israeli teams in the European Cups starting in the summer of 1992.

Less than eight months later, at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee Held in general in New York (before the 1994 World Cup qualifiers), the official confirmation was also received: the Israeli champion will play in the Champions Cup and the winner of the state cup will participate in the holders' cup.

We will join the UEFA Cup two years later.

This move created enormous expectations and many dreamed of the coveted tickets to Europe, all the more so at a time when all of Israeli football was suffering from financial problems and no club was in private hands (Yaakov Shachar became the owner of Maccabi Haifa in the summer of 1992).

There was no competition in the league and Maccabi Tel Aviv galloped to a predatory championship after 13 years, but in the cup final they surrendered to Hapoel Petah Tikva and so they both became Israel's first representatives in the UEFA factories. No more intertoto, but the real thing

. And to the strangely double double show.

Maariv Sports Gate after the first European evening (Photo: Maariv Archive)

The qualifying lottery went well with the two Israelis, but inevitably hid a much higher hurdle in the next round.

Maccabi Tel Aviv received Valletta from Malta knowing that a victory would send them to a meeting in the first round with the Belgian Club Brugge, while Hapoel Petach Tikva guerrilla Stromgodst who was relegated to the second division in Norway, with the prize for the winner being a meeting with the Dutch Feyenoord.

The debut of the two was scheduled for that evening, August 19, 1992: Maccabi Tel Aviv at 18:30 in Malta and Hapoel Petah Tikva at 19:00 in Norway.

Mummified in Segal fashion suits and excited about the class, Maccabi Tel Aviv players showed up at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of takeoff to Malta.

Itzik Zohar, then without a new contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv and after threats to enter quarantine, decided to fly in spite of everything.

"Danny Laufer told me, 'Get on the flight and everything will be fine,'" number 10 recalled in yellow.

"So there were fewer agents, we worked on a word. Still, first game in Europe. I decided it was more important than the contract."

Coach Avraham Grant was late ("everything was planned for him," Zohar claims) and his late assistant Emanuel Ofir lost his passport, but the show in Malta was stolen by board member Manny Kasif and team doctor Dr. Natan refused.

"We are all excited for the game and talking to each other at the hotel, and suddenly Kasif and Serbo show up with tennis clothes and rackets," Zohar says.

"They boasted that they were tennis players, people who are over 120 kilos, so we arranged an intervention between us on their game. Already in the first blow, the bat flew out of Serbo's hand and hit Manny's head. The doctor had to wear it and we did not stop laughing.

This is the biggest story of this trip.

Go play after that. "

The Maltese were not at maximum concentration either. The local coach probably did not understand that this is not a national team game and wondered why Roni Rosenthal (then a Liverpool player) did not come with the team from Israel, and the expectation of 4,000 spectators seemed detached from reality." Europe, it was more like Gaza, "laughs Zohar.

Maafan pitch, 200 fans.

Where is it and where is Europe. "

Depending on the atmosphere, the game itself was also run lazily.

Maccabi Tel Aviv missed several times against goalkeeper Charles Curtis and in the 75th minute was punished after losing a ball to Gadi Bromer, but did not panic.

In the 82nd minute, Zohar cooked from the corner to Avi Cohen of Jerusalem, who slammed in the equalizer after a bad exit by the goalkeeper, and after six minutes, the captain also added cooking with a wonderful depth ball to Avi Nemani, who completed a makeover and prevented embarrassment.

"It's one of the most memorable games for me," Nemanji describes.

"I passed the goalkeeper and scored the winning goal right towards the end. I was a young player then and it was really something special for us, to represent the country and Maccabi Tel Aviv in such a historic game."

"I decided the game was more important than the contract."

Itzik Zohar (Photo: Flash 90, Moshe Shai)

At the same time, the trophy holder also made its European debut, only with less style.

"I saw that Maccabi Tel Aviv went to Europe with suits, we hardly have windbreakers," Yedioth Ahronoth was quoted as saying by Guy Gat, who was forced to return to Israel due to injury while his friends flew to Norway from the training camp in the Netherlands.

Hapoel Petah Tikva was then in financial trouble, leading players were sold, chairman Gavri Levy signed an agreement to hold home games in Ramat Gan (as a warm-up for Maccabi Tel Aviv) and later also transferred the management to Meir Tamari and Eitan Cohen

. A newcomer named Jan Fibrnik, who in 1976 was considered the best right-back in Europe after winning the Euro with Czechoslovakia, arrived in Israel after working in Kuwait. A salesman, a social worker and a lawyer win 1: 4 in a game in the second division in Norway.

"We were after a season of winning the cup, but in the league we finished in fourth place and that was a disappointment for Hapoel Petah Tikva in those years," emphasizes team star Nir Levin.

"We always had issues of pitch and crowd and money, but we knew how to overcome it because we were connected. This is also what made the trip to Norway unique. It was the first official game of an Israeli team in Europe and at that time flying abroad was not as routine and common as today. So the excitement was twofold.

For me it was like an experience with the guys in the army - no matter what was going on around, we came first for each other.

The main

thing is that we are together "

And scored the first ever goal of an Israeli team in Europe.

Maariv Sports Gate after the rematch (Photo: Maariv Archive)

Two weeks later, he and Yam Jansen, formerly one of the big names in the Dutch national team, had to stand under the scorching sun at the Ramat Gan stadium.

September 2, still with the heat of August, and Hapoel Petah Tikva has to play at noon following the same agreement for a double play with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The fans blew up the training the day before and protested in front of the house of Hapoel chairman Yoram Oberkovich, but what happened was not answered. The time was set: 16:00 noon, first performance in Ramat Gan.

Several Stromsgood players have stayed home for their daily jobs, while their friends and coach Halbar Thorson, who was considered Norway's greatest player in the 1980s, almost fainted at the national stadium.

"Their face, how much they suffered," recalled Levin, who scored from Besson's header in the 16th minute and returned an assist in the 69th minute en route to a 0-2 draw.

"We also had a hard time in that heat, but they were just red. We felt sorry for them."

The one who left immediately after the first goal was Jansen, who later told the Dutch media: "The game stopped interest me after about a quarter of an hour. I preferred to go out and look for a hotel for our visit."

The Feyenoord coach was not impressed with the 1,500 spectators who came, and stung: "This is an audience reminiscent of basketball games in the Netherlands."

The main show also did not have a large audience.

Only about 4,000 fans came to Maccabi Tel Aviv's first home game in Europe and saw Meir Malika from a small 0: 1 order with a beautiful goal for the Valletta network and maintains 100 percent success of the Israelis in the UEFA factories. "We were a strong and very balanced team A dimension of professionalism, "Zohar clarifies." The rival from Malta did not really illustrate what Europe is.

I knew in advance that we would get Bruges and we could also beat them in Ramat Gan, but in the game in Belgium we realized that we are far from the European level. "

While Maccabi Tel Aviv lost twice to the Belgian champions and the perfect balance sheet deteriorated, Hapoel Petah Tikva almost caused a sensation against the trophy holder from the Netherlands.

After a narrow and dramatic 1: 0 loss in Rotterdam ("They said we would get 7, I had to score there in the 80th minute", says Levin), the Malabes already led 0: 2 against Feyenoord in a rematch in Ramat Gan from goals by Levin and Moti Kakon, before a knock by Hank Fraser Shattered the dream.

They were dismissed because of an outside gate, but were left with the memories.

"The formation held us then and remains to this day," Levin boasts.

"We had fun together, we gained unforgettable experiences and it makes up for everything. That's why we're all in touch until now, even 30 years later."

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• Maccabi Tel Aviv in football

• Hapoel Petah Tikva