"After a youth game in Tel Aviv, I decided that the car that drove us would not return to Jerusalem, it would simply go to Bloomfield for the Beitar game.
We asked Robi Rivlin for about 20 tickets and it caused an uproar, after all our away game.
Rivlin approached us outside Gate 7 and said to me, "Come here, little Azulai, this is the first and last time." He put the team in the game, hugged me and said, "When you become the captain of Beitar Jerusalem, we will win the championship title."
I was a high school student, Rivlin called Abram Levy and made it clear to him to take care of my finances for studies."
Considered to have appealed to high society.
Hanan Azoulay in the championship season of 1986/7 with Gary Vandermolen (photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)
Hanan Azoulai was born in Jerusalem on 3/23/1958, married plus 4 with four grandchildren, lives in Moshav Tomer in the Jordan Valley.
"The family with 9 children first lived in a conversion near Jerusalem. Only when I was born, we moved to an apartment on Yohanan Ben Zakai Street in Emek Refaim, very close to Hapoel Jerusalem's field. In my childhood, as everywhere in the mid-1960s, we played neighborhood soccer in any free space. Me, The little one, I was mainly sent to stand in the goal. I was really a very good goalkeeper. I got attached to football, but not really with all my will and strength. The family was a Beitarite, I was considered someone who turned to high society, I was a loyal member of the 'Olim Camp' movement.
I loved folk dances more than anything, connecting to moshavim and kibbutzim."
His brother Haim was one of the outstanding stars of Beitar Jerusalem and its captain in the era of Rubovitch, Shaul Mizrahi, Davidoff, Chernoha and others.
"My other brothers and I went to Eli Ben Rimoush's Hapoel Jerusalem games and training because he was closer,
Five footballers from one family.
Azalea (photo: courtesy of the photographer)
Five footballers came out of the family.
"Chaim was an excellent striker and the captain of the team in the sixties and early seventies. Shlomo was an outstanding defender, but in the military service he stopped playing football. Oded was a talent that did not break out. Meir was a midfielder in the seniors, engaged in karate for 6 hours every day, left and moved to Puerto Rico, and of course I The heads of the Yamler club didn't like that there were many players from one family."
Where did football start for you?
"I started without a regular ticket in Hapoel Jerusalem. One day Samuel Reznik, from Kochavi Beitar and a coach in the youth department, approached me and said to me, 'I saw you play, on Thursday you are not here in Hapoel, come to Beitar training'."
Do you remember your first senior game?
"Definitely, in 1975 against Maccabi Petah Tikva in the right-back position. Their wonderful winger, the late Danny Spokoini, played in front of me.
I took excellent care of it and was praised."
Then you went down in a kind of escape to Kibbutz Ayelot in the south.
"I loved taking care of the vegetable garden there. I was not in contact with anyone in Jerusalem. A call came to the secretary from my brother Chaim, who made it clear that I had been called to Shafer's youth team, and if I didn't come he would come to take me home from there. I left back to Jerusalem. In the youth team, Shafer taught me not to run As a defender only on the longitudinal line, he demanded to dribble into the middle and not be a drab defensive player. I owe him a lot, Shafer was a football genius."
There was a story of a backpack and a stick and its disappearance in the Judean desert.
"My greatest love to this day is to travel and tour around Israel. At the age of 17, seven guys went on a trip with a backpack and a stick in the Judean desert, we got lost there, stranded. After 24 hours the search forces found us safe and sound."
Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kolek with Azoulai (right), Malmilian and Danny Neuman (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)
Nissim Bachar came to Beitar in the 1975/6 season and that's where Azoulai's first incident occurred. "In a personal conversation with Bachar I asked if I had a place to play with him
He replied, 'No, who are you?'
I said, "If that's the case, I'd like to leave the BTR. He immediately replied, 'You can go.'"
He was already on his way to Ashdod.
"They were very happy to receive me, but in Ashdod's training match against Beitar I was excellent.
Ruby and Lazy Rivlin entered me and shouted to me, 'You are from the Azoulai family, you are not leaving anywhere'.
I stayed in Beitar."
He remembers the end of the 1975/6 season very well.
"We lost the championship to Hapoel Beer Sheva in the last round. We lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv 2:0 and then it turned out that Maccabi Jaffa won in Beer Sheva, the championship was almost in our hands. We reached the cup final against Maccabi Tel Aviv, after passing Maccabi Netanya in the quarterfinals with a 2 win: 4. In the semi-finals we beat Hapoel Kfar Saba 0:1, a game in which I was injured and sat on the bench. 55,000 spectators came to Ramat Gan, Beitar won 1:2 after overtime goals from Neumann and Malmilian."
He was a partner in the second cup in 1979 Full. "We finished in second place again.
In the final we met the champion Maccabi Tel Aviv with Peretz and Spiegel.
We won 1:2, the state cup was then like a championship."
The next season was less successful. "A failed season, last place in the table and only four victories.
We went down together with Beitar Tel Aviv and Hekh Ramat Gan to the national league. A season later we finished in second place after Beitar Tel Aviv, we went back to the national league."
The most painful loss of all was the 3:1 loss at the YMCA to Hapoel Tel Aviv, a loss that prevented a historic championship.
What was there with David Schweitzer?
"With Schweitzer, it was known that there is no such thing as losing twice.
After losses we knew there would be huge, justified shouts and lots of fitness runs.
He used to say 'I'll show you, you don't lose'.
Before the game against Hapoel Tel Aviv we knew that a win equals a championship.
We knew that most of Hapoel's players would prefer not to play, including their big star Moshe Sinai, and were convinced to come up right before leaving for the YMCA. Schweitzer unequivocally ordered Shlomo Kirt to guard Sinai. The game was not important to them. Kirt was a player that could not be passed. He accepted Sinai, but left him alone. He thought we were taking it in stride, no need to guard. It was a serious mistake on our part.
"At the end, the players and fans were shocked by the loss.
I burst into tears, and then Gili Landau came up to me, hugged me and comforted me from the bottom of his heart.
In the 1970s and 1980s, high-profile players played in Beitar - Uri Malmilian, Danny Neuman, Yossi Mizrahi, Eli Ohana, and more, but he was the one who wore the captain Azoulai's ribbon, with the number 10 shirt. "At the age of 24, I received the ribbon.
Being the captain of Beitar Jerusalem was not just changing flags and cheering for the starting side in the game, it was a full time job. Beitar had no money in those years.
You needed a player in the dressing room who would be the address mainly in times of need.
Abram Levy didn't have a driver's license, I went everywhere with him, medical treatments and doctor's appointments, who would fix a car, who would take care of the furniture in the house and most importantly - take care of the salaries, who would receive, who would be denied the payment."
Yes, that was the choice. Who would receive and to whom They will reject. "It was a difficult financial situation, players who contacted Apsnai Amiel replied that there was no shoe polish to take care of the most important work tool."
How do you handle the lack of shoe polish?
"I turned to the local correspondent of Jerusalem, the late Roni Dion, and told him.
The headline on Friday, the evening of the game on Saturday, was 'There is no shoe polish in Beitar.
' Are you coming to train due to not receiving a salary?
"There was a time when, due to income tax foreclosures, the salary was not transferred on time.
I had a message for the management - we will not train without receiving part of the money.
This was avoided at the last minute after Dadash arrived at training and handed his personal checks to the players.
Uri Malmilian stepped up several times, when he gave up his salary so that other players could get paid.
Avram Levy gave his all, thanks to him we survived for a long time.
The senior players such as Neumann, Mizrahi and Uri, trained and went home at the end, the captain had many hours of additional work for the club, including organizing trips,
Went on Saturday to get shoe polish.
Dadash (center) with Avraham Levy and Dror Kashtan (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)
Dror Kashtan did not like your statement in the media that the team is going to the championship.
"There was a financial problem in the team, we held the 1986/87 season under chairman Ronnie Barr in Bloomfield.
Kashtan didn't like my headline about the championship, claimed that it would energize all the teams against us and sent me to a disciplinary committee.
Bar On intervened, saying that the things I said were his idea."
This was one of the greatest seasons in Beitar's history.
"Fans from all over the country filled the stands in every game. We played offensively, we didn't think about defense. Ohana and Malmilian scored 15 goals each, Sami Malka scored 13 goals."
And finally, did you manage financially from Beitar?
"I received 15,000 dollars from Beitar Jerusalem from the general salary, to purchase a room on the roof of a building next to the YMCA for my wedding.
Dadash made sure that I then got a car that was a hit, B.M.
W 315. I was able to obtain a license to build a penthouse in the room around it, which still stands there today.
Still sore from lifting the trophy.
Malmilian and Avi Cohen in the photo, Azoulai La (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishai)
Let's move on to the 1988/89 season, the captain's movie affair.
"It started out of nowhere, I injured my ankle before two matches of the 1988/89 State Cup round of 16, against Hapoel Tel Aviv, away and at home. I went to Kashtan and told him that I was receiving injections for the injured ankle, I would not play in the first match, I would return for the second leg at the YMCA.
We lost in Bloomfield 2:0, in the second leg we beat them 5:0.
Since Kashtan turned on me, he decided to delete me.
I don't understand why Kashtan entered the stars, I didn't understand why as the team captain he ignored me."
And what did you find out after a thorough examination?
"In the semi-finals we beat Beitar Tel Aviv 0:1 and advanced to the cup final. Uri Malmilian, who was already on his way to Maccabi Tel Aviv, as a mule from the club should have hoisted the trophy if we won it with the captain's ribbon. In the semi-finals, I came in towards the end to pass time and keep the advantage goal, without the ribbon."
Did you have a meeting on the subject with Malmilian?
"I met with Uri in a cafe at the YMCA, the topic was a central conversation in the group.
I asked Uri if it would be possible for him to lift the trophy as captain in my place.
Uri said, and I believe him, that there is nothing on the agenda, 'I don't know about such an intention, talk to Dror Kashtan.'"
Then comes the final game against Maccabi Haifa.
"I was sent to the substitutes' bench, the captain's armband on Malmilian's arm.
Maccabi Haifa was in excellent shape, at half time they only led 0:1 after they slaughtered us professionally.
The fans in the stands shouted my name, wanted the coach to let me in, the one who entered was Jacob Schwartz.
Later on, I replaced Ronan Rockman, but my friend Uri didn't give me the captain's armband he had left on his hand.
After Malmilian, Avi Cohen scored our advantage 1:2, before Ofer Mizrahi's tremendous goal that equalized in the 90th minute.
I scored a goal for my father, in overtime."
The game went to penalties.
"I went to the bench and didn't approach the group around the coach to let me kick. Eli Ohana, who came to the game from Belgium, saw this, came down to me and yelled at me, 'Get out of everything, go quickly and kick, you have to kick. I kicked successfully and we took the cup.'
Then he saw the full picture.
"At that moment, everything was understandable and clear to me. While the players burst happily towards the crowd in the stands, Kashtan took Malmilian to raise the trophy, so that there would be no problems. I appreciate Uri and support him, I do not want and think of hurting him with my words. Uri raised the trophy, And it could have been done differently then."
In 1990 he was injured and retired.
"Betar was playing in the neighborhood against Bnei Yehuda, Roni Levy was playing for Bnei Yehuda at the time and he, with his weight, broke the ligaments in my right leg.
I had an operation, it was very successful, but football has already left my nose.
At the age of 31, I decided to hang up my shoes, to fulfill a dream of running away from football and becoming a coach."
But you continue with football training.
"With the help of the head of the Jordan Valley Council, Alon Azoulai, we established a football team in League C, Hapoel Jordan Valley.
Today I wake up every day at 04:00 in the morning to run a soccer academy for children, where 25 boys start their day at 06:00 with first training."
Did you have a dream that came true as a player for the Israeli national team?
"As a national team player, I had a dream to be in this position as a coach.
I fulfilled my dream as the coach of Israel's boys' national team, from which Golsa, Gadir, Tavatcha, Dor Micha, Eli Desa and others came out, among others."
sport
Israeli soccer
Super League
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Hanan Azulai
Uri Malmilian
