Summary of the State Cup: Maccabi Tel Aviv - Maccabi Petah Tikva 0:4 (Sport1)
Rarsh Ilya's departure has been in the air for weeks.
The French media already reported when the window opened that Nice was looking for a team that would take him on loan for the young Romanian.
In Romania, they started fantasizing about returning home to Rapid Bucharest.
There were even those who claimed that here, another young player returns too quickly because it is a bit difficult.
They talked about the mentality of the Romanian player.
Is someone calling you?
Rapid coach Adrian Motto had an overwhelming answer: "We've talked on the phone a few times in the last few weeks," he said last week.
"Raresh came to Romania due to a personal problem, but I did not consider returning him. I do not recommend him to return to Romania or to Rapid. He needs to continue, bite his lips, train properly and his day will come."
His day will come at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Aitor Kranka did claim that Ilya did not come as a replacement for Oscar, but in practice, there are many points of similarity between the two - the age, the potential, the hype, the story and also the professional abilities.
The Yellows brought in a creative, versatile player who can adapt to several playing methods and should complete what was missing.
Maccabi Tel Aviv took advantage of a last-minute opportunity and took it - which is basically the essence of Deadline Day in January.
If you have the patience to wait, you might find a real bargain at the end of the day.
Ilya is a very impressive name and has huge potential, but this deal raises one essential question: Will Maccabi Tel Aviv be able to get what it needs from him to achieve its goals in the short term?
In another league: Maccabi Tel Aviv won 0:4 over Maccabi Petah Tikva
Kanikovski: "Aitor Karanka brought with him a new spirit and energy"
Ilya will get minutes on Saturday: "We buy Jovanovic's start"
After four months without playing, he has four months to take a championship.
Ilya (Photo: Ariel Shalom)
Dumitro Dragomir, the former president of the Romanian Federation, used to attend the games of one of the children's teams of the ACS Juniorol club to watch his nephew.
There, he encountered Ilya for the first time and told everyone who was willing to hear this: "When he was 14 years old I said he would be a great player. At 16, on my recommendation, he was called to the national team's training and they said about him that he was a player from another planet. Raise the boy properly, family Good, smart parents. He received a proper education and has the qualities of a phenomenon. In terms of controlling the ball, there are not many players like that in Europe."
Juniorroll has a cooperation agreement with Rapid Bucharest.
Talents pass and the modest club keeps 20-25 percent in its hands.
Ilya passed through adolescence, and from there things flew at a dizzying pace.
When Motto was appointed to the position of coach during last season, the young midfielder did not move from the team.
He already came to the European Youth Championship as a marked player and it was clear to everyone that a big move was a matter of price.
Rapid knew how to tell about offers from clubs in all the top leagues.
Ilya signed in Nice.
Five million euros transfer fee, of which one million to Juniorol's bank account.
Ilya still had time to conduct the final training in Rapid ahead of the opening round in Romania when his father called and told him to pack quickly.
To the reporters who accompanied him to the airport, he said: "I think I'm ready. I'm not too young, it won't be easy, but I didn't start playing football to stay in Romania forever and I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity. This is what I've always wanted and I trust myself," but in the same breath He added: "I didn't expect to be paid so much money, at least not this summer."
Along with the enthusiasm, in Romania there were those who wanted to cool down the enthusiasm.
The skeptics immediately claimed that it would be difficult for him to prove himself, also physically.
At the same time, they demanded that there be patience towards him.
"We don't need to have a heart attack because of a player who is sold for five million euros, when today there are players who are sold for tens of millions," claimed the veteran Romanian coach Laslo Boloni, who currently coaches Metz.
"Let's leave the enthusiasm aside. He will need time to acclimatize and then the talent will speak. It will be difficult for him to prove himself and we will all have to be patient."
More in Walla!
Kanikovski: "My goal is not to be Oscar, but to be Gabi"
To the full article
Ilya's performance in Romania
Ilya was signed in Nice at the request of the coach at the time, Lucien Fabre.
The Swiss claimed in one of the interviews: "I saw a player who feels comfortable with the ball, brave, with dribbling and the ability to score. If I were to go to Gladbach (with whom he negotiated before signing with Nice - AM) I might take him.
He is a good boy, a young man with great potential." At the same time, there are those in France who claimed that Fabre and Nice considered at a fairly early stage sending the midfielder for a loan year at the subsidiary Lausanne of the Swiss second division. Good ability in the pre-season games changed the plans.
After the debut in a friendly match against Roma, Ilya received compliments: "He showed on the field everything Faber saw on the tapes. Two good breakthroughs on the wing, a threat on the goal, gets between the lines, control of the ball and game wisdom. Although he disappeared for long minutes and needs to gain muscle mass, But it's a good start."
Faber was also impressed: "It wasn't bad at all," he said at the end of that game and talked about the role on the field: "He can play 9 and a half (a sort of second striker), a position where he feels comfortable or on the left side in a 4-2-3 formation 1 or 4-4-2. If playing 4-3-3, it can also be used as number 8".
Ilya was quickly thrown into the water, perhaps too quickly.
He started the games against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Europe and also in two of the four opening rounds.
When the grandiose project faltered with poor results, Fabre moved his prospect aside and he disappeared.
In fact, Ilya arrives in Israel after not playing for four months.
When the coach was fired in January, the meaning was clear:
"I acclimated as much as possible," said Ilya in an interview in Romania in November.
"It's completely different from home, but I'm taking it step by step. I hope to establish myself here as soon as possible. I didn't expect the first French league to be the station where I find myself, but I'm happy. I have no choice but to be happy and keep working. It's a strong league From what I expected and different from what I know. The players are much stronger and faster, but I will reach everyone's level. I can handle it."
Everything, just don't go back to Romania.
Ilya in a Nice uniform (Photo: GettyImages, Catherine Steenkeste)
When the professional problems began, the Romanians waited for Ilya to return home.
"I came back in 2010 when I had problems in Porto and a year later we won the Europa League," claimed Christian Sponaro, Ilia's friend from Mimi Rapid who himself was sold at a young age.
"I understand that he has a problem with the coach and that's why he doesn't play. He should go out on loan. When a player plays, other clubs see him. When you don't play, who sees you?".
Ilya had other plans.
He wanted to go to an easier, relatively bigger place, get playing minutes and go back through the front door.
He mainly did not want to enter the list of those who returned early to Romania.
That's not the type.
In Romania he was described as a fighter, a winner and one who does not give up.
He testified about himself in the past: "I am very ambitious, proud, even a little arrogant. I want everything to be perfect and sometimes I put pressure on myself and challenge myself. This is something that not many people know about me."
The networks celebrated Ilya's arrival at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
There is no doubt that this is a high-profile signing.
If you will, Maccabi Tel Aviv replaced Oscar with a kind of Romanian Oscar.
Yes, there were players here who were bought for millions at a young age and played in prestigious clubs, but not at this age.
Not half a year after the peak of the hype around them.
Belgian scout Jacek Kulig, an expert on young footballers with a Twitter account of 234,000 followers, wrote about Ilya this summer: "He is strong, technical, creative, hardworking and quite prolific for his age. He may struggle in the first year, but this is a good transfer from Nice. Strengths: Passing, game vision, technique, creativity, ball control, elevations and stationary situations."
For dessert, Kulig claimed that Ilya reminds him in style of Christian Eriksen.
"He is an attacking player with a lot of qualities and if you are looking for a big comparison, in my opinion he is actually more reminiscent of Kaka in his style," said a Romanian professional yesterday.
"He is very fast and full of potential in terms of personal ability. The move to France was too quick and too big for him. There is a huge gap between the Romanian league and the French league. He is a very good player, but he still needs to mature to succeed at the highest levels. Yes, there is hype around him. He is a player which we are already waiting to see in the national team."
One of the role models.
Eriksen, right (Photo: Reuters)
On paper, Maccabi Tel Aviv is getting the versatile offensive player it has been missing since the beginning of the season.
He will allow Cranka to play in his preferred formation with four in defense.
The physical disadvantage that stood out in France will be less significant here and the personal abilities will help to fill the gap after Gloch leaves.
During his short career, as Favre noted, Ilya played as a left winger (with the opposite leg), as an attacking midfielder and as a central midfielder.
"Moto taught me how to become a versatile player who uses all areas on the field, he improved my game," the player said about himself.
It's an impressive deal, but also a trick.
Not something we have seen from Maccabi Tel Aviv in the past.
Maccabi Tel Aviv does not like to see itself as a transit station for players.
Its style as a big club does not allow it.
I mean, she can buy someone in order to make him better like she did with Frederic Raykovic, but the question?
No option?
January does not allow too much margin.
You can buy a player from a smaller team - as Maccabi Tel Aviv did with George Jovanovic last year - or choose someone stuck from a more senior team looking for playing minutes.
There is of course no guarantee of success in any situation, but when it comes to such a young player - the risk is greater.
There is a serious problem - time.
Maccabi Tel Aviv needs an immediate donation.
She has no privilege (or reason) to cook slowly, she cannot afford to lose points because the championship will run away.
She has four months to max out a player who hasn't played in four months.
Will he excel, help bring a championship and return to Nice?
This is the optimal scenario that everyone associated with Maccabi Tel Aviv signs.
When you look at it this way, the discussion about the purchase option is redundant.
Success with Ilya will rise and fall on one parameter - the ability to benefit from it immediately.
Daniel Panko, the coach of the young team, sounded skeptical yesterday: "He didn't play for a good few months and the league in Israel didn't stop during that time. He will have problems from a pace point of view, not to mention getting used to a new league, a new team and new friends. The most important thing for him is to play." .
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