Another journey: the wonderful, unconventional and rewarding way of Dia Saba

After years in which he starred far from the mainstream, didn't get the appreciation he deserved and laughed all the way to the bank, the hot striker also conquered Turkey and opened new doors for himself, and for Israeli football as a whole.

Tonight (22:00, Sport1) he will try to continue tearing down nets in the Conference League against Cluj

Inbal Manor

27/10/2022

Thursday, October 27, 2022, 2:30 p.m

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Istanbul in Shakhsir - Sivaspur 2:0 (Dia Saba scored a double) (Sport1)

Dia Saba did not want to leave the UAE.

He enjoyed every moment there, flying over the lifestyle and seeing the family flourish and be happy.

If it had been up to Saba, some argue, he would have finished his career in the Emirates and stayed to live there even after it.

Therefore, when all efforts to find him a new team in Emirati football after the end of the contract at Al Nasser failed, Saba took time to think.

The thought of lowering the standard of living was difficult.

Sivaspur?

As he testified himself, even after he was convinced to come after many weeks and had already landed in the city, he just wanted to escape.

After two dreamy months, we can already say that his illusory Cinderella story is progressing in the right direction.

Saba continues to maintain an unconventional career path, but one that is carefully planned.

After a series of bad decisions at the beginning, Saba went on his own path, far from the mainstream.

Reminder: Sheba, the prospect that Maccabi Tel Aviv brought in at the age of 18, did not get opportunities, "missed" the Jordi Cruyff era when he chose to move to Be'er Sheva, continued for half a season in Sakhnin, almost got relegated with Maccabi Tel Aviv and in the summer of 2014, landed for trials at Maccabi Yossi Mizrahi's Netanya.

After missing most of the 2015/16 season due to a knee injury, Saba exploded with Netanya in the national team and from there, more or less everything started to work out.

also financially.

Saba went through a professional process under Drapich and Breda.

The two were amazed by the phenomenal individual abilities, but noticed that everything was happening far from the gate.

"I have never scored a goal from the box," he told them.

"Including children".

They worked with him personally on deep movements and wide entries.

Set personal goal after personal goal.

"Every time the ball reaches the link, you sprint deep," he was told.

For him (and thanks to morals at the level of Eran Levy), they followed the diamond method and reinvented Saba as number 10. For them, only virtuous individuals in modern football can fulfill the role.

Seven is one of them.

"Seva has crazy absorption, they explained it to him once and he turned into a monster," recalled an official in Netanya.

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Saba arrived in China riding high on the dizzying success of Eran Zahavi.

He left a little behind when the Chinese league, which returned to play in the summer of 2020 under strict corona procedures and unbearably difficult restrictions, began to take a step back in regards to big money for foreigners.

He came to the Emirates carrying all of Abraham's agreements.

The normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates paved the way for the historic process and both things happened more or less at the same time.

Saba was the ideal candidate.

A big enough name, that comes with receipts and numbers from a prestigious league, and of course one of the top players in the Arab sector.

"Seva's arrival in the United Arab Emirates came at incredible timing," agrees journalist Uri Levy, founder of Babagol and an expert on football in the Arab world.

"They raised a veil here for the wedding between Israeli football and Emirati football - and then it met the test of reality."

Expectations from a foreigner with a salary of about three million dollars per year were that he would tear up the league.

Double figures goals and assists.

Al Nasser saw Saba as the successor of Albero Negredo, the former striker of the Spanish national team, who scored 25 league goals in a year and a half.

Saba was not far from there, but somewhere along the way the initial enthusiasm waned.

Saba had 20 goals and 14 assists in 58 appearances in all competitions.

He improved the numbers in the second season, which was less good for the team.

"Statistically, he was successful and I can say that from my conversations with professional managers in Emirati football, they all agreed that he is a great player who has improved a lot and they would be happy to add him. It was not a matter of money. In the Emirates, the sheikhs dictate everything from above and there are quite a few hidden reasons. If you did not come Well, you don't have a chance," Levy concludes.

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Left China with the abandonment of the big money to foreigners.

Saba (Photo: GettyImages)

In the summer, the opposite process happened in the Emirates to the one that caused Saba to leave China.

The profile of foreigners has changed.

Levy explains that the Sheikhs were looking to raise the attractiveness of the league with huge names.

Big stars after the peak of their career who come for free in favor of huge salaries.

That's how Andrey Yarmolenko, Adrian Silva, Miralem Pjanic, Pako Aleksar and Jason Denier came to the league this summer.

Saba did not convince that he was attractive enough, that he had to stay in the league.

"He's not a superstar from Europe and not a young foreigner who can be sold. Now it's no longer attractive enough for them. It's a pure business decision."

Even before the official decision not to extend his contract, the analyst Khaled Obeid analyzed Saba's time at Al Nasser and claimed that his numbers did not affect the team: "Saba did not provide the desired output in relation to his costs. His goals and assists did not help team success. Many were optimistic when Saba He arrived and they thought he would step into the shoes of Albero Negredo, but he was not able to influence the team like the Spaniard."

By the way, Adel Teravat stepped into Saba's shoes this summer.

The 33-year-old ex-Tottenham, Milan and Benfica man meets all the "new demands" from outsiders in the league - a former star who is old and free.

Saba was not able to do for others what Zahabi did for him in China or what Eliniv Barda did for Israelis in Belgium from his time until today - to open the door.

There are those around him who claim that Al Nasser's disappointment with the Abdullah Khalil deal also led to a cooling off in relation to Saba.

Either way, despite professional evaluation within the league, he didn't stay.

"Dubai life is perfect and it's clear that Saba wanted to stay, but the offers weren't good enough," say people around the actor.

Saba landed in Sivasspor at the end of August after a lot of deliberation and consideration.

Those around him claim that the professional upgrade to a higher quality league with the addition of a team that plays in the European group stage outweighed the economic consideration and the quality of life consideration.

"Seva made an excellent decision that is good for him and will prolong his career. The club fits him like a glove," say those around him.

Sivaspor is a competitive, ambitious and well-established club for its size.

The team was promoted to the top league in Turkey for the first time in 2005 and four years later, with Finney Belili in the squad, finished as runners-up to Besiktas.

Then came less good years and also one season in the second league.

Since returning in 2017, Sivasspor has established itself as a top division team and last year celebrated its first historic title - winning the Turkish Cup.

Provided a quick return.

Saba in Turkey (photo: official website, Sivaspor)

Sivaspur insisted on Saba and received a quick return from him.

A spectacular goal in the debut against Besiktas (3:1) helped the first impression, but the performance against Istanbul in Shakhsir (0:2) already made the Turks excited.

It was Sivasspor's first league victory. "Before the game, the coach told us to play for the families," said Saba in an interview in Turkey.

"Our chances were low, but we knew what we could do and we believed we would win. I heard a lot about Turkish football and I have friends who played here. That's why I was happy when the first offer came and after researching, I decided that Sivasspor was the right step for my career. They welcomed me warmly and I acclimated well."

With a record of five goals and four assists in all competitions, Saba completes two dream months.

A home victory over Cluj will ensure a ticket to the next stage in the Conference League and also in the league, the trend is positive.

In Turkey, unlike the Emirates, things move much faster.

A player who stands out, was quickly kidnapped by the greats of Istanbul.

In fact, in the last three years, four Sivas players made the transition to the luxury clubs of the big city.

Saba, who will be 30 next month, has definitely put himself on the radar.

These two months were a direct continuation of the wonderful, unconventional and rewarding journey called Saba's career.

This journey happens far from the Israeli mainstream.

Amazing things happen to him, which somehow failed to penetrate the average Israeli football fan.

From a rare explosion in Maccabi Netanya to a record move within the league to three million contracts one after the other?

When it's so unusual, the road to consensus is longer (just ask Sean Weissman).

Saba can perhaps rightfully feel underappreciated, when it is easy to ignore him, but at the same time he can also laugh all the way to the bank and not just there.

The reality is that Turkey is neither China nor the United Arab Emirates.

This is a strong league full of foreigners with a big name and Saba does something special in it - he manages to stand out quickly.

If Saba continues in his current form, quite a few senior options within the league will open up to him.

He will be able to do in Turkey what he was unable to do in Dubai - open the door to Israelis that was closed after the Balili days.

Besides, he will already be in the right profile - over 30 years old, free and after a record season in European football - to return to huge Dubai and live like a king.

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