Closing the circle of the Israeli fan in Thessaloniki: "Eran Zahavi reminds me of Shaaras"

As a child, Dor Marina closely watched Maccabi Tel Aviv defeat Aris in basketball, and testifies that "since then my view of fans has changed."

Tonight (21:00, Sport1) he returns to the city, explains what attracted him to the Greek audience and is convinced that he will complete a double in football

Ehrle Weisberg

11/08/2022

Thursday, August 11, 2022, 2:27 p.m

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Tonight (Thursday, 21:00, live broadcast on Sport1), when Dor Marina enters the gates of the Kalantis Viklidis Stadium in Thessaloniki, he will miss one figure in particular.

Almost 15 years have passed since he last visited the city and closely watched the match between Ares Thessaloniki and Maccabi Tel Aviv;

So, when he was 12 years old, it was in the legendary Alexandria Basketball Hall - and his beloved team won in overtime.

Dor was there with his late grandfather, Eitan Harlinger, by his side.

"Grandfather then took me to the game, and that was the first time I encountered this kind of crowd," Marina recalled in a conversation from Greece.

"As a child, my eyes sparkled when I saw what was happening around. The crazy energy that the fans bring to the players, the hall that just shakes with noise, the waterfall of white confetti that is thrown from the stands and simply prevents the game from starting. I remember and talk about it, and I now have chills. But what I take the most With me from that trip is the fact that I was privileged to share it with my grandfather."

Lamarina, 26 years old from Beit Dagan, was in the business of caravan trips in Europe.

He is a student of physical education, and in his spare time he plays basketball in the lower leagues.

Starting tonight, he will probably become one of the few fans in yellow who were privileged to be guests at away games against Aris - in both basketball and soccer.

"We will win 1:2".

Dor Marina in a selfie with his friends in Thessaloniki, today (photo: courtesy of the photographers)

"I went to my first match abroad at the age of ten, when I joined the family in the Final Four in Prague.

Since then I have been with Maccabi in 14 different cities outside of Israel, in both branches.

The visit to Thessaloniki changed something for me when looking at fans: I feel that this game opened me to the world of encouragement and energy.

I learned something new that I didn't know before, and this time I come in a different way: I have since experienced derbies in Austria, Greece, Serbia and Croatia.

I hope that I will be able to give similar energies to Maccabi, even though it will probably be quite noisy from the Greek side of the stadium."

"He is very warm, and energetic, and no less than that - he understands and lives the game. Lots of fans come to cheer regardless of the developments on the field, and in this respect the Greeks are similar to the Israelis, because they understand when the team needs a push from the stands. In 2012 I was in the fifth game in Athens, between Panathinaikos to Maccabi, where we lost by a point, and it was a crazy experience. The hall has 18,000 seats, and they put in 4,000 or 5,000 people beyond capacity, and they just lifted the floor. I felt it strongly and clearly there, and there was a feeling that even the referees could not remain indifferent to why happened all around".

"At Bloomfield I sit in gate 11, and with Eliyahu I have an appointment to gate 4. When there is a clash, I compare which game is of greater importance. Both from a professional point of view, and from the point of view of the audience. And if there will be a game of life or death in both branches? You will probably see me in the Euroleague ".

Will there be an extension this time too?

Marcus Pfizer spoils a generation with a pair of horns, in 2008 in Thessaloniki (photo: courtesy of the photographers)

- What is your first memory as a fan?

"In 2004 I started going to basketball, and I remember Maccabi defeating Maccabi Ramat Gan in a league game by 40. From the first second I saw Sharonas Jasikvicius, I fell in love with him, and to this day I wear jersey number 13 because of him. When other children were afraid of monsters at night Under the bed, I suffered from nightmares because of Marcus Braun and Matias Samudish.

"I was introduced to football in a less favorable time, before the bar mitzvah, when Ilya Yborian and Guijermo Israelevich played for Maccabi and it was floundering in the league.

There was no particular player that I admired or caught my attention until Eran Zahavi came along.

In his energy, wininess and style of play, he really reminds me of Charas."

"When we were there in 2008, we went to Maccabi's final practice, the night before the game. With the innocence of a child, I approached Yot Halperin and asked if he could play one-on-one. He said yes, and came to call me right after practice. I have a record of a basket I scored About him... to this day there is an argument in the family as to whether he just gave up on me."

"Maccabi 1:2".

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Tags

• Maccabi Tel Aviv in football

• Maccabi Tel Aviv in basketball

• Aris Thessaloniki