Sami Malka: "I was not aware of the commotion I created" - voila! sport

At the end of the 1979/80 season, Beitar Jerusalem was relegated to the national league from last place in the table and returned after one season. Captain Danny Neumann left for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Uri Malmilian was injured for most of the season. Despite this, Beitar Jerusalem finished in second place and qualified back to the top league together with

Beitar

Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa. A young player, only 18 years old, stood out in the team.

It is the group, mainly the veterans, whose statement at the end of the following season led to a two-year exile at Hapoel Be'er Sheva, because it allegedly harmed the "kingdom" and honor of Malmilian

.

We will reconcile. We will reconcile.

Sami Malka and Melmilian in the beautiful days (Photo: Maariv, Adi Avishi)

"We played in the national league," recalls Malka, "we beat Hapoel Lod 0:2 at the YMCA with goals from Ohana and Shelly, we returned to the top league.

Kol Israel Rosendorn handed me the microphone and asked about the season and the qualification without Uri Malmilian.

To Tomi I answered simply that we managed without Uri.

That night I flew with coach Jack Mansell to Argentina for the World Youth Championship qualifiers.

I was not aware of the media uproar in sports that was created in Jerusalem the day after the game."

"Yes.

Father met me in Lod, and told me 'Don't ask, Uri Malmilian is angry and there is a commotion following your statement.'

I really had no intention of hurting Malmilian.

I met with Uri, I explained everything to him, he understood and I think everything was closed with a clear understanding."

"This is a mistake. Eliyahu Ofer became the coach of Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Beer Sheva was coached by Shimon Shanhar.

Ofer asked for defender Uri Binyamin for the team, and Nahar ran in his place in Negev Oti.

I did not oppose the move, and it was implemented.

I did my military service in the South Command, and I lived in a stable house in the city."

He returned from Buenos Aires and did not realize the extent of the mess.

Sami Malka in 2018 (Photo: Yossi Tsipakis)

Malka was born in Israel on 4/7/1963, married plus two with a grandson named Rafael "who is my whole world", as defined by Malka.

"Beni Eden was a talented soccer player, he came and played for Beitar seniors, but an injury stopped him and today he is a physical education teacher.

I am an instructor in sports classes at the Yuval Community Center from the age of 6 to 100, director of a football college and doing my job is to give values ​​and education to at-risk children and teenagers who will not roam the streets. I coach Beitar's 2nd team of boys, whose mission is to advance to the league." The

parents of Malka were born in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, and immigrated to Israel in 1961, about two years before he was born. "I grew up in Kiryat Yuval, father Ilan was a left defender at Beitar Jerusalem in the early 1960s, he accompanied me all the way and was very involved in my career. I studied elementary at home The book 'Guatemala' in Kiryat Menachem, the actors I admired were Spiegler, Shalom Avitan and Melmilian. In high school I studied electronics at Lady Davis,

Sami Malka scores the first goal in the championship game in 1986/7

How did the football chapter at Beitar Jerusalem begin?

"In the mid-seventies, there were still no pre-schoolers in our football, and it was customary in all clubs in Israel to invite 12/13-year-old children to mass tryouts, in which a small number were selected for the children's and boys' group.

Beitar Jerusalem gathered over 250 children in the soccer garden, tests with the former soccer player David Davidoff. After two days I was selected together with Eli Ohana, Avi Cohen, Moshe Ben Arush, Shlomi Malka, Udi Ashash and several other children to attend training and start at the YMCA.

I played my debut game in the 1979/80 season under Nissim Bacher against Hapoel Petah Tikva.

In September 1981, Maccabi Tel Aviv came to host Beitar. "In a 1:1 situation, Yaron Adib scored a goal for Beitar Jerusalem, which was disallowed by referee Avraham Klein due to the raising of a flag by the linebacker. The crowd and fans, like our players, did not see the cancellation The goal. Adib ran madly, with raised arms, I was the one who knocked Adib down on the grass, to the crowd of players on top of him. The one who took advantage of the celebration was the substitute Motti Ionir, who restarted the game from a pass by the goalkeeper Marcus, dribbled alone for 80 meters, without any players Ours and in front of the goalkeeper Mizrahi scored the winning goal for Maccabi, free and happy, while we are still celebrating Yaron Adib. When we stood over him the score was 1:2 to Maccabi Tel Aviv, there was confusion and a lot of disappointment."

Klein, by the way, hits on a sin more than 40 years after he approved the goal: "It was a mistake of my judgment, I would not do that again. Everyone makes mistakes, I have yet to meet a person who does not make mistakes. The luck is that it happened at the YMCA and not in Rome, Buenos Ayres or the Marcana of Brazil".

From Be'er Sheva, the game he remembers most was played in April 1983 - again, against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but this time the result was different.

"We defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 0:3 with an own goal by Ionir, a penalty by me and a goal by Ben Hamo within 5 minutes towards the end."

You are back home to Beitar Jerusalem.

"This season we finished in the respectable third place.

The heads of Hapoel Be'er Sheva approached and asked to purchase me, but Moshe Dadash and Abram Levy unequivocally vetoed it.

I returned to my great love."

"I asked for a long-term contract for four years, at the end of which I asked that they give me an apartment. It was not easy to get it, I had a fight, I did not go with Beitar and coach David Schweitzer to a training camp in Europe.

In the end, I got my request, an apartment of the same age where I live to this day."

In the 1984/5 season, Malka won his first degree with Beitar.

In the semi-finals we had a great match against Maccabi Petah Tikva, a kind of cup final with 3:3 at the end of 120 minutes and a fascinating penalty shootout, 4:5 for us.

Eli Ohana's goal in the 85th minute decided against a formidable attack by Maccabi Haifa.

I played with the number 14 shirt that I inherited from the great Danny Neuman." A year later, Malka and Bitar repeated the feat with a 1:2 in the final against Shimshon Tel Aviv.

He received an offer from Panathinaikos ("The Greeks heard about me and came to watch me. They submitted an offer to the heads of Beitar Jerusalem, which Moshe Dadash rejected out of hand") Then came the historic championship season, 1986/7. "It was a wonderful season with coach Dror Kashtan, We had a huge dressing room.

Ohana came to the game in the box against Maccabi Netanya with a temperature of 41 degrees, wanted to play and was sent home from the hotel.

Momo Shirazi was a player with a soul, an experience to be with him in the dressing room and on the field.

From the right: Shlomo Shirazi, Michel Dayan, Sami Malka, Shaul Sevieri, Eli Ohana, Eli Derix at the Maariv season selection ceremony, 1987 (Photo: Adi Avishi, Maariv)

That season Beitar played in Bloomfield, where they also celebrated the championship with 0:2 over Maccabi Tel Aviv, with Malka scoring from distance. "Almost every week we went to a hotel on Friday and we weren't at home.

We beat Bnei Yehuda by 15 points.

We were a very attacking team.

I scored 13 goals that season.

In the semi-finals of the cup we lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv 2:0, we were denied a perfect season."

In the 1990/91 season, Malka and Beitar were relegated to the national league.

After the team returned to Laumit Malka received an offer to move to Hapoel Ashkelon.

"I had a conversation with Dror Kashtan, who left the decision in my hands. I moved to Hapoel Ashkelon, but a knee injury for six months stopped me. I also played for Nes Ziona under coach Shaul Albucher and Beitar Lod under Yitzhak Eskatlan and retired from active football."

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