"Eight years ago, I sat with Auto Center VP Amir Ben Azri and friends and we talked about football.
Ben Azri stopped me and said 'Avishi, you sound very hoarse when speaking, go check the reason'.
I thought the hoarseness was from my yelling in training at the Maccabi Haifa football school, where I worked with children.
But I didn't neglect it, I went privately for tests at the Assuta hospital.
Doctor Yaakov Shabiru did a biopsy on my throat, tried to calm me down and told me not to get excited.
I arrived, like in football, right in the 90th minute.
"The test was because I have a wart on my vocal cords. It was explained to me that it is pre-cancerous, but it will be treated, and not to get stressed and not to get excited. That's how I acted. Professor Aaron Popovitcher did laser surgery, a burn on my vocal cords. He told me ' Avishi, the Creator of the world loves you, the hoarseness will remain, go home, everything will be fine'. I say every day that God loves me, for all the good things I have done, preserves the grace of my youth. The successful operation is my greatest victory. Now I arrive at the hospital for a check-up Every six months, and apart from the hoarseness that remains everything is fine, there is no drama here for me, God willing."
Avishai Zhanno in front of Stefan Shaloy in the great days of the 90s (photo: Maariv, Adi Avishai)
Avishai Zhanno was born in Israel on July 19, 1970. He owns a second-hand car business and is in charge of Yaakov Shahar's car company.
He is married a second time, from his first wife he has three children and two grandchildren.
His wife Yamit has an eight-year-old boy, in whom Avishai hopes to continue his path.
"We are 15 brothers in the family, five girls and ten boys, I am number 11 on the list. At the age of 13, my father Amram passed away after an illness."
Your first name is Yaish.
"When my mother was pregnant with me, one of the righteous and accepted from Morocco who immigrated to Israel met with my parents. He said he had no children and asked that the newborn son be named and immortalized his name, Yeaish, and this was indeed done at my circumcision. Only when I arrived after the army in Maccabi Netanya, I was told there that Yeaish It's not a footballer's name, the name Avishi is more suitable for football. I added the name Avishi, which caught on quickly. Already after one of the first games in Maccabi Netanya, the headline in the sports newspaper was 'Avishi brought Shai for the holiday'. I get along with both names perfectly."
He began his career in football in the seventies in Nazareth Illit, today Nof HaGalil.
"As in the whole country, the soccer games started in the neighborhoods, in the schools where I showed good ability. My oldest brother, whose name is Achi- Meir, took me to train children for Hapoel Nazareth Elite. I was excellent in the training game, the coach told me, 'You are very talented, but small Physically, we'll see in a year. I came home with tears, I knew my future would be in football. I said to myself, 'I'll show them what kind of player I am.'
"I asked my mother to enroll me in the 'Neorim' boarding school near Netanya. There it was customary to go home every second Saturday. A guy named Yehuda Sivan saw me and was enthusiastic about me, he took me to the boys' training of Maccabi Netanya, which was conducted by Albert Gazel, Ravid's father. After a quarter He took me out for an hour and sent me home to get two passport photos. On Saturday I was already playing for the Maccabi Netanya boys team. I quickly moved up to the youth team, which caused me great excitement, as well as faith in my path to become a successful footballer in the first league, my dream every hour and day."
Follow up every six months.
Jeanne with his son (photo: courtesy of the photographer)
When he was 16, Hapoel Tel Aviv came to Nazareth Illit for a tribute game on Independence Day.
"I was invited to the game, I hadn't shaved yet and I was on the grass in front of a full stadium in front of their stars, including my uncle, father's brother, Maurice Jeanno. I had a great game, at the end Maurice came up to me, hugged me and said to me 'you will get on from here quickly For the national league, for the big teams in Israel, you will also be in the Israeli national team. Remember to be a good boy, work hard, it will come from the Lord. At Maccabi Netanya I went up to the youth team, coach Zavik Zeltzer included me in the senior training at the same time as the youth team."
Then comes Shia Feigenboys.
"Shi'a joined me in the training camp in Frankfurt. When we got back he called me and told me that I was very talented, he suggested that I go to a team from the second division for a year or two. Feigenbaum promised me that he would send me back to Maccabi Netanya."
He enlisted in the IDF, where he served in the Air Force in firefighting, first at a base in the south in Ovda, and later close to home, in Nazareth Elite. Guided by Feigenbaum's suggestion, he went to gain experience in the lower leagues: "I arrived at Maccabi, my brother Nazareth, where they welcomed me with love Big, and even in Hapoel Nazareth Elite I was ready to return to the top league, to a big team.
I received a call from Maccabi Netanya to come to the club's offices."
closed circle.
Zhanno with Ilan Bowron at Maccabi Netanya (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)
In the office he met Mutala Spiegler and the late Avi Cohen. "It was a meeting from the movies, Mutala asked me to bring my player card from Nazareth Elite.
Spiegler told me he would arrange everything for me, including salary.
I cried from happiness.
I lived in Nazareth Elite, I had a hard time with the long bus rides, the people of Netanya arranged a rented apartment for me."
Tell about the exciting debut training.
"There were names in the dressing room like Kobi Beldev, Pudi, Roni Levy and others, that I almost wanted to go up to them to have them sign my notebook Signatures.
Beldev, who was a neighbor of my parents in Nazareth Elite, hugged me and said that he was here to watch over me, to play freely as I know."
You had an offer from Bayer Leverkusen.
"There was a friendly match between Maccabi Netanya against Leverkusen, an excellent match of mine.
After him, their coach turned to Netanya, and said 'I want this child'.
Spiegler supported the move, promised to fly with me and help.
But the truth is that I was afraid of moving to Germany, I was only 21 years old, and it went wrong in the end."
And what about the salary at Maccabi Netanya?
"In Netanya I didn't think about money, I didn't come with demands from them, what they paid me I said well, thank you very much."
Jeanneau and Jeanne.
Avishai with Telesnikov in the national team training (photo: Maariv, Adi Avishai)
He remembers his biggest game in the team very well.
"It was in the 1993/94 season, in which we finished in sixth place, the championship season of Maccabi Haifa. We beat Hapoel Haifa at home 1:7. I scored two goals and added four assists, each in the paint."
Then Giora Spiegel takes you to Maccabi Haifa.
"Spiegel asked me to come to Tel Aviv. There was an early agreement with Maccabi Haifa, according to which Netanya, which was in a financial crisis, received a financial loan in exchange for my player's card. I arrived at a huge club, El Yankala Shahar and the manager Spiegel, who was top notch. It was fun with training theory And his game."
The first title came in 1998 after 0:2 in the cup against Hapoel Jerusalem.
He was a partner in the championships of 2000/1, 2001/2 and 2003/4.
"The first was a major championship, in which we were seven points ahead of Hapoel Tel Aviv, a season in which I scored three goals. The disappointment was in that season the loss in the semifinals to Maccabi Petah Tikva 2:3 with the performance of Guy Yitzhak. A year later I won another championship, in the cup final we lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv in penalties 4:5".
Has Maccabi Haifa sorted you out financially?
"I had a respectable salary under Yaakov Shahar, 80 to 90 thousand dollars per season. I didn't do nonsense, no gambling and nothing else tempting. I helped the family, bought a big respectable house in her room, everything was fine."
A career rich in green.
Jeanno (right) against Paris Saint-Germain (Photo: GettyImages, GABRIEL BOUYS)
In the Israeli national team, Zhanno cooperated with Avi Namani, who looked into the possibility that he would come from Haifa to Kiryat Shalom ("I loved Yaakov Shahar and Maccabi Haifa so much, even bigger money didn't tempt me").
He wore the blue and white uniform for almost a decade, from 1994 to 2003. "I had 16 appearances under Shlomo Scharf and Grant. I loved every practice and every game there."
Then he received 'Zo 8' to return to Nazareth Illit, which was promoted to the Premier League.
"The owner of the club at the time, Avshalom Nourial, called me, we finished honorably in fifth place with 46 points, we missed participation in the European factory. Later it did not go well, we were relegated within another season."
Later, Lali Gutman recorded a final return to Netanya: "In the first training sessions of 2006/07 at the players' assembly, he gave me as an example: 'Be like Zhanno, a player who kills himself for the club'."
A year later he finished his career at Hapoel Tiberias.
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Avishai Zhanno