Summary of Maccabi Tel Aviv's 0:5 win over Bnei Sakhnin in the round of 16 of the State Cup (Sport 1)
The Christmas vacation is over and most of the Israeli legionnaires have already returned to their teams in Europe.
Those who play in Austria will return at the end of the week and Elon Almog is among them.
He also has to return to Hartberg, his team in Austria, although if it was up to him, he would have preferred to join Aitor Karanka, who replaces Vladan Ivić at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Almog has two goals and two assists in the first half of the season in Hartberg in both frames.
But while Matan Baltexa, for example, did not play in Austria Vienna due to injury and thirst for playing minutes, Almog wants to return to Israel and is in a difficult situation.
The 24-year-old winger played for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Conference League qualifiers against Zira from Azerbaijan and because of these performances, he cannot move to a third team unless it is in opposite leagues such as China, USA, Sweden and Norway. That is, if he stays on track The conventional European or returns to Israel, he must continue in Hartberg or return to Maccabi Tel Aviv.
It could have been simple and easy if Maccabi Tel Aviv had been waiting for him.
The thing is that Kiryat Shalom are not sure that it would be right to bring back another Israeli attacking player, while Eran Zahavi and Djorja Yovanovic start every game, Yonatan Cohen is dying to accumulate minutes and Dor Turgeman must step up and play more.
The team also has a plan to strengthen in the January window with a foreign attacking player, so Almog is not in the plans.
Two performances that in retrospect were expensive.
Almog in front of the arena (photo: Danny Maron)
The beginning of Almog in Hartberg was a dream.
He arrived in the sixth round, scored in the debut and the small team beat Reid 0:2.
Four days later, Almog also scored in the Austrian Cup in a loss to Dornbirn from the second division.
But since then the direction is down.
In Hartberg's next two league games, Almog started and was replaced at halftime and in October he already lost his place and participated mainly as a substitute (except for one game against Austria Lustenau).
Since that successful debut of the Israeli, Hartberg has won only once - a game in which he was not included in the squad.
That means Almog has not tasted victory since August 27 and his team is in last place in the Austrian league.
All these figures are too little for someone who was defined as one of Israel's future players and at the time Moshe Hogg wanted to put 1.5 million euros on him and transfer him to Beitar Jerusalem.
Almog, who will celebrate his 24th birthday next Sunday, has a contract for another season at Maccabi Tel Aviv and the club has an option on him for another season.
If he hadn't wasted his performances on the two qualifying games in Europe with Maccabi Tel Aviv, he could have moved here to any team in Israel for half a season and most of them would surely be lining up and trying to convince him to land with them.
Now he is in a difficult problem.
He has a contract with Hartberg until the end of the season, but life away from Israel is far from rosy and Maccabi Tel Aviv is not signaling yet that his locker in the locker room is empty for him.
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Elon Almog
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