Neta Zer: On the promotion of Maccabi Haifa against Juventus

Azili was passionate, Bakr was the goat, Muhammad provided a master piece, but above them all was Neta Lavi in ​​a rare display of perfection.

Ron Amikam explains why it was not the biggest victory in local history, but it was definitely the best game by an Israeli team ever

Ron Amikam

12/10/2022

Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 11:15

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share by email

• Share in general

• Comments

  Comments

Tiktukno: summary of today's events in sports, 12.10 (Sport1)

In September 1961, Juventus visited here for an exhibition game in honor of the end of the sixth Maccabiah.

The Israeli national team, in one of its wonderful games in that period - and there were several - ended with a 3:3 tie.

The one who starred in this game was the pair of runners (50/50 ties) Gideon Tish and Aaron Amer, mostly Amer who gave a wonderful football presentation.

The Juventus men returned to Italy full of admiration, speaking in praise of the Israeli number 4.

During that period, no games were filmed and there was no documentation to display, so when fate summoned a meeting between Israel and Italy a few weeks later for a ticket to the World Cup in Chile, the Italian teams sent scouts to the game.

Israel was leading 0:2 and the scouts were looking for the tall and mustachioed number 4.

"Bear Marochino" (where is the Moroccan)?

They asked all the time.

Then someone volunteered to tell them: a few weeks after the game against Juba, he was injured as part of his work as a forklift operator at the port of Haifa.

A package of galvanized pipes weighing 750 kg came loose, landed on his leg and crushed it. "Akolo" (here he is), they pointed at a guy who was sitting in a wheelchair, next to the Israeli bench.

Offensive perfection in the first half and defensive perfection in the second half (Photo: Maor Alxalsi)

The Juventus people will return home today full of admiration, but we don't need them.

In the whole of Italy, and throughout Europe, they saw several Aharon Amerim yesterday, and none of them will have to go the next day to their work at the port.

And the Italians are known for looking for exotic players, so they now have a long list.

It was not the greatest victory of an Israeli team, there were more impressive results, but it was for sure the best game of an Israeli team ever: offensive perfection in the first half and defensive perfection in the second half.

In the first half, high and effective pressure, a fast passing game, with movement and passing options, and getting out of pressure and all the time attack, attack, attack, with an emphasis on entering the box and a threat from it, and all this against an Italian defense led by Leonardo Bonucci, one of Italy's greatest defenders in all the times

In the second half, a natural and compact defense against Juventus' waves of attacks, despite the fatigue from the Italians increasing the pace (first half they played at the pace of an Israeli team).

No casual exclusions, no awkward and typical mistakes, no surrender to speed.

Josh Cohen took one ball under the crossbar but other than that the Italians hardly threatened the frame.

11:14 to Haifa in attempts to conquer, 4:5 to Juba in attempts to frame.

This is not a game of "we stung twice", and not a game of "the balls whistled", it was a game in which Maccabi Haifa played better than a team whose financial value of its players is 25 times its own.

More in Walla!

Managing expenses correctly: 3 tips that will put you in order

in collaboration with max

Positions himself as one of the greatest Israeli artists of all time.

Barak Bacher (Photo: Maor Alxalsi)

A look at the lineup before the start of the game left us speechless.

Barak Becher was left without Dolev Haziza, the player who gives him the option to play with three brakes, because he does the role of wing-back impressively.

He decided to reduce the amount of defensive players and go up in the lineup together with Charon Sherry, Dean David, Omar Atzili and Frandzi Piero.

It takes a lot of guts to play like that against an opponent of this size, when you're looking for points, certainly when it leaves the bench empty of creative solutions.

Bachar came up to play the way he knows how, and above all he came up to play because there is no other way to get a result than to strive for it.

Bacher positions himself from game to game in these frameworks as the greatest of Israel's artists of all time.

This is his third victory over an Italian par team.

He beat Inter twice with Hapoel B.S., at San Siro and Turner after trailing here 2:0. There is nothing accidental here. It is true that Haifa won once in Parma and came back with a draw from Livorno - so they have a record against Italian teams - but the way Bacher faces Italian teams, whether they are coached by a Dutch coach or an Italian coach, is nothing short of impressive.

Remember the blocking exercise that brought Beer Sheva Miguel Vitor's first goal at the San Siro? Did you see how Haifa in the first 7 minutes entered the box for the exact heights of Pierre Corneux? Azili hits the net from four meters against an Italian defense? It's the farthest thing from a coincidence. Bacher prepared his team precisely and irritated Allegri's exposed nerves. Yes, it's always good when your opponent loses its anchor early, but even with Angel Di Maria She did nothing yesterday in the 22 minutes he played.

Worthy of mention 10. Neta Lavi (Photo: Maor Alxalsi)

There is almost no Maccabi Haifa player yesterday who will not take one moment from this game for a lifetime.

A noble Omar alone can take three moments.

Josh Cohen with the saves, Sondgren with a perfect defensive game, Korno with the knives he passed from the wing, Dylan with complete control in the area, the wonderful Sean Goldberg with a heroic game, Charon Sherry with the crossbar and Dean David with the dizzying break when he comes out of the thicket and also Piero who was not Versatile but just trampled the defenders in front of him.

And of course noble with the performance of a great actor.

But the story of the game is Tish and Emer, Hazan and Benin or actually Muhammad and Levi.

Such appearance of back ties is not obvious.

Israeli football creates back connections, but in the elections on the independence days for the all-time national teams, they are omitted, it is not attractive.

I don't remember such an attractive performance from two seemingly gray players.

Muhammad was as usual amazing, no less than that.

His possession of the ball against the pressure of three players much more physical than him is a master piece, but Muhammad pales next to the performance of Neta Lavi.

For years, the sports press in Israel has not given grades, but if it was up to me, Neta Lavi would have received a grade of 10. It was a perfect performance by midfielder 6: reading the game, going to the ball, controlling the ball, passing, aggressiveness.

There was a section where Lavi put in a shoulder and threw an Italian midfielder who was several numbers bigger than him.

No less than the fact that it is impressive how he came back from his long injury, it is amazing to prove that the Israeli national team has a high-level midfielder here for several good years.

Real news.

unusual strengths.

Maccabi Haifa fans (photo: Maor Alxalsi)

We are in the section of superlatives, so we should continue.

Maccabi Haifa's home games in Europe are Europe.

There is no other way to describe it.

A rare crowd, unusual strengths, coordinated like the players on the field.

There are wonderful crowds in Israel, the crowds of other teams should not be underestimated, but the atmosphere at Sami Ofer in this year's Champions League games is the craziest I remember here.

The crème de la crème.

And on the side of the audience yesterday was a rare show - or in his case not rare - of a Spanish referee: Antonio Matteo Lehos.

He is no longer a child, we know him, and know that these are his last years in refereeing, but it must be said: yesterday the VAR was unnecessary in his case.

Players demanded penalties, in the stands it seemed they were right, but Lahos immediately saw what VAR needed to confirm it.

After we experience Israeli referees - including one who referees in the Champions League - it was like watching a Messi performance.

They were not caught in a weakness for nothing.

Juventus players (Photo: Reuters)

It is impossible to close the summary of this game without referring to Juventus.

We have a tendency to say after every amazing victory of an Israeli team that "the opponent was weak".

It is true that Juba did not find a solution for Maccabi Haifa and did not take advantage of the many advantages it has in the squad, the pace, the quality of the game, but it is not just them.

We did not imagine that after "the greatest half of an Israeli team or national team" as they wrote after PSG, there would be an even better half than this.

Everything that happens in this Maccabi Haifa campaign: the 0:4 at Olympiakos, the comeback in Belgrade, the performances - all of them - in the group stages.

Haifa plays on an equal footing against bigger rivals in terms of budget, player roster and tradition of success.

Not all of them are weak and not all of them lose, Haifa is simply good.

So what will happen now against Hapoel Hadera?

What usually happens to people who return from a holiday in the Maldives Petah Tikva.

• sport

• Israeli soccer

• Super League

Tags

• Maccabi Haifa

• Neta Lavi

• Barak Bacher