"The Australian called me a 'dirty Jew'. I acted stupidly"

34 years after the famous incident in New Zealand, Avinoam Ovadia is still sorry ("I got depressed, I didn't understand how it happened to me"), he remembers how he was torpedoed in the transfer from Mashaun to Maccabi Tel Aviv ("Yehudai told me he would rather amputate his right hand") and during the relegation season (" huge pain")

Asher Goldberg

11/08/2022

Thursday, August 11, 2022, 4:40 p.m

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"At the beginning of March 1988, I went with the Israeli national team to the pre-Olympic tournament, which included the national teams of Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Israel. It was decided that Israel, which was placed in Oceania, would play three games in Australia and the three return games would be played in New Zealand. After a loss to the Australians in Melbourne and victories over New Zealand and Taiwan , we went to the city of Christchurch against the Australians. The interest was at its peak, we believed we would win. Coach Miljenko Mihic placed Avi Cohen from Jerusalem as a right defender, I played in midfield with Daniel Brailovsky and Uri Malmilian.

"In Australia, a striker named Frank Farina played, a wild man. Right from the whistle, he played wildly, a dirty player. Every time I was close to him, or tried to fight for the ball, Farina repeatedly called me "Dirty Jew, Fucking Jew". We dominated the game, they They were under pressure, and in one of my tackles on Farina, after which he uttered his harsh statement at me again, I made a spitting gesture at him. The referee who was standing nearby decided to remove me from the field. It was a stupid act, I had to ignore it and not be in a storm of emotions. The game ended in a 0 draw: 0, everyone was concerned with my expulsion which supposedly prevented a victory. I became depressed, I didn't understand how it happened to me, I didn't want to return to Israel. It hurt me a lot, a feeling of injury to the team. In our next two games we defeated Taiwan 0:9 and beat New Zealand 0 :1 But it didn't help, because Australia beat New Zealand with a winning goal by that Farina. The game against Australia was my last in the team."

Didn't come back after the spit.

Avinoam Ovadia in the uniform of the Israel national team (photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)

34 years have passed since then, and Avinoam Ovadia does not forget.

Anyone who was a valued midfielder in Samson Tel Aviv remembers that wild game well, but there was also a bright spot.

"The general disappointment was great, I felt that everyone was looking at me. The surprise was at the airport in Lod. About 400 Shimshon Tel Aviv fans came to the place, encouraged me and supported me."

Ovadia was born in Nahariya in 1960, a senior manager in the sanitation department of the Tel Aviv Municipality, under his 120 employees.

He is married plus three with five grandchildren.

One of them, Eli, plays in the children's team of Samson Tel Aviv, the team where Ovadia spent most of his career.

The son Roy is the CEO of the team, which he re-founded after it disbanded, and today plays in the First League.

When he was young, his family lived in the "Yemen neighborhood" in Nahariya, where they sympathized with the denomination's flagship team in the national league, Shimshon Tel Aviv: "I grew up in a traditional religious home. I started my career with Hapoel Nahariya, a League A team. On Saturdays I went to synagogue with my father, And during the prayer I stood by the door, I went away to soccer. Before I was 16 I was already playing in the senior team of Hapoel Nahariya."

"The player I admired was Gidi Dammati, he filled my thoughts, a childhood idol. In Nahariya there was a man we called a 'talent catcher' and he recommended me to the heads of the club. Ben Zion Yehudai and Ami Paztal came to my parents' house, they promised my parents to take care of my apartment and all my needs in the big city. I moved to Samson for a very short period of time for the youth in the offensive part, in the striker and midfield position."

From the synagogue to the field.

Ovadia Hayom (photo: courtesy of the photographer)

His familiar role in the seniors was a right defender.

"Coach Aharon Kapitolnik promoted me to the debut game in Bloomfield against Beitar Jerusalem.

He called me for a conversation and explained that in his 4-4-2 formation in the front part he has Damti and Yoel Masuari and placed me as a right defender, in front of Danny Neumann.

I did a good job in the new position, which became almost permanent for me."

Ovadia was part of one of the most famous and infamous games in the history of Israeli football - the final game of the 1981/2 season against Hapoel Kfar Saba.

"It was a bad season for us, a season of three relegations. On the eve of the last round, it was understood that a draw between us would guarantee them a championship and us a stay. The game was in the crater in Givatayim, there was a silent understanding along the lines of the game between the German and Austrian national teams in the World Cup, a good draw for everyone. There were no talks Between the players, the issue of money did not arise. The game was played entirely in the middle of the field, with absolutely no scoring opportunities. When one of the players advanced towards the opponent's goal, they made faces at him. In the end, Kfar Saba won the championship, the relegated teams were Hapoel Rishon Lezion, Beitar Tel Aviv and Hapoel Fatah Tikva".

"Chairman Amir Davidson met with me and offered me a long-term contract with a lot of money.

At Samson I earned 10 percent of Maccabi Tel Aviv's offer.

I came with the release form to Ben Zion Yehudai so that he could sign the transfer for me.

He turned pale and told me that he would rather cut off our right hand, and not sign to me.

It is important to note that at Samson Tel Aviv I never had a contract, everything was oral in front of Ami Paztal, and every conclusion was as he spoke and above that.

Paztal helped me purchase my first apartment in Givatayim and also the current apartment in Chen areas.

In Samson they torpedoed the passage, I boycotted the trainings, there was tension.

One day I was called and Yehudai sent me to one of the managers and I was promised that they would sign my release.

I brought the form to the familiar and well-known man in the Yemenite vineyard, believing that he was going to sign it.

He gave me an affectionate peck on the cheek, took the release form and tore it to shreds.

'Avinoam, go back to training,' he whispered.

I returned".

childhood idol

Gideon Damati (Photo: Reuters)

In May 1986, Shimshon and Ovadia reached the cup final against Beitar Jerusalem. "In the league, we finished in tenth place.

We had Vicky Peretz in the lineup and we wanted this trophy more than anything, especially for Damti who everyone wanted him to win.

The stadium was full of our fans, Ohana scored 0:1 for Jerusalem, Ephraim Arbiv made it 1:1 and the game went to overtime.

Uri Malmilian's winning goal clearly stands out and broke us.

I, as captain, wanted to let Gidi lift the trophy and bring it to the celebrations in the vineyard.

Today, when there is light, this would not happen."

A year later, Samson won the Toto Cup, one of the first in the plant that started in 1984/5.

"We reached the final of the Toto Cup against Maccabi Netanya. On the eve of the game we had a celebration of music and songs, we saw it as a release of pressure before the game. Paztal arrived at the team meeting upset. He addressed the players, 'I just returned from a meeting with Yitzhak Land from Maccabi Netanya. He refused my proposal that the proceeds from the game The finals will be evenly split, regardless of the result. I come back humiliated. I promise you that if you win and win, you will get a 10-day trip to New York, from there you will continue to the training camp in Germany. I scored both goals in a 0:2 victory, Paztal kept his word and took the team to the United States. A year later we won again after 2:4 against Bnei Yehuda, I scored one."

An ending chapter.

Ovadia in a Samson uniform against Alon Mizrahi in Bnei Yehuda's championship season and the decline of Samson (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)

In the 1989/90 season the story ended.

Shimshon finished last in the table, reached the final of the state cup, lost and that's where the chapter of the club was closed.

"It was a huge pain," he recalls, "in the season in which Bnei Yehuda won its historic championship. We were relegated together with Hapoel Ramat Gan. We reached the final in relatively good shape after we defeated Hapoel Petah Tikva 1:4 in the semifinals. In the final in Ramat Gan we met Hapoel Kfar Saba. Gideon Simon's goal in extra time created an unimaginable feeling of disappointment for us."

"The financial situation after the relegation to the national level was not good, I went on loan for one season to Maccabi Jaffa and played against my Shimshon. Maccabi Jaffa finished in seventh place, and I returned to Samshon."

There he had another chance to return to the National League, but Shimshon failed the promotion tests against Hapoel Haifa and from the point of view of Ovadia this was the signal for retirement.

"It was decided that there will be two test matches. In the first match in Kiryat Eliezer we won 0:1 and we were with a foot and a half in the first league. Together with other players, I asked for the return match to be played on the small Makhtesh pitch, to close and get a good result. The club asked for a high financial income and moved the match to Ramat Gan , where we lost 3:1 and did not win. I announced at the age of 32 that I was retiring from football. I went through a coaching course at Wingate, together with Eli Derricks, Ionir and Nir Levin. The Manhariya boy's career as a footballer ended here."

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