Despite the (temporary?) failure in talks with Pablo Lasso about the position of coach of the Israel national team, the basketball association is still examining the option of a foreign coach and is interested in bringing in a senior professional figure from abroad.
If indeed the move is successful, it will be the first time in history that a foreign coach will guide the national team in blue and white.
To this end, we contacted three former national team coaches and asked to hear their opinion on the matter - Molly Katsurin (1997-2004), Zvika Sharaf (1986-1987, 1993-1997, 2005-2009) and Eric Shibek (2009-2013).
What do you think about appointing a foreign coach to the Israeli national team?
Katsurin
: "In principle, the person who should coach the team is an Israeli coach, but I look at it in a broad way. We want the team to succeed, but the defensive ability of the Israeli player is embarrassingly low and prevents us from going far. Unfortunately, I have not seen that the Israeli coaches of the current generation excel On the defensive side, and therefore at the current point in time, a foreign coach with a defensive orientation should be brought in to improve this parameter. This foreign coach will provide further training to the coaches and will put an emphasis on other angles that are not taken into account. For example, the coach of Hapoel Jerusalem works on the defensive field and it stands out like a spotlight.
I am not looking for a foreign coach to come for many years, but for a specific campaign, and we will attach an Israeli assistant coach to replace him later.
Obviously, if someone is brought in, he should stay here and be involved in Israeli basketball.
Without the team saving, it will not be able to achieve.
It is always the defense that has led the Israeli team to achievements, and in recent years the coaches have not been able to make the team defend, and you cannot continue to do the same thing, and think that the results will change.
I'm not happy to bring in a foreign coach, but I think a change is needed.
You need to bring in someone clean from the outside, who will bring a different philosophy and assimilate it.
There are good Israeli coaches, but when it comes to the defensive part, they don't manage to get our players to save."
Sharaf celebrates with Tapiro during his days as the coach of the national team, photo: Reuters
resin
: "The Israeli national team has not achieved satisfactory results for many, many championships. It is true that some of the goals that were set were not realistic and therefore there was a disappointment. But if we regularly do not even come close to the quarter-finals, then something is probably wrong. In recent years, we have made wonderful achievements in the youth teams, But the transition to a senior doesn't work. It's easiest to throw it on the coach, in the crazy policy that every foul or loss then the coach is to blame. But I'm not sure that the whole problem of the team is just the coach. Of course he's part, but it's much more complex. All the lights flashed more before the European Championship, and no actions were taken to solve the problem and then what happened in the championship itself happened. The handling and treatment of the national team should be different. I have not seen anyone sit down and do an investigation of what happened to the national team in the European Championship. And now they want to bring in a foreign coach, but who will choose him? What are the criteria? How many national teams in Europe have a foreign coach? How many of the candidates have experience coaching national teams? I am against a foreign coach who is simultaneously coaching a Euroleague team in another country.
We lost the importance of the national team, we lost the pride of participating in the team.
The national team needs to be returned to its rightful place, the question is how to do it.
I am in favor of an Israeli coach who lives and knows here.
It is true that not every coach can be a team coach.
There is disagreement among people in the union about the agreed candidate.
The professional manager, Finney Gershon, who said a few months ago that he was withdrawing from the team after some of his candidates were not approved.
Then we got to Laso, he is a nice man and a good coach, but the Israeli national team is not at the top of his mind.
It could be that they are supposed to decide on the identity of the national coach and have lost their way.
The appointment became a farce.
The national team will play in this window with two temporary coaches.
It is also necessary to decide who directs the rejuvenation process and who will determine it."
Shivek with Raviv Limond in the background, photo: Alan Shiver
Shibek
: "The initial reaction is that we don't like a foreign coach in the Israeli national team, but from a global point of view, we see that Spain has an Italian coach and Germany a Canadian coach. We need to bring in the best possible coach, and if it's a foreigner, he needs to have a connection to the country and Israeli basketball, someone who knows the mentality. Especially in our country that wants immediate results. Before referring to the coach's citizenship, you need to understand what profile you want him to have - a good coach with connections and knowledge about Israel and the Israeli mentality. If you find a foreign coach, then it's definitely possible."
In the past, senior Israeli coaches were in demand in Europe, today we can't even find someone suitable for our national team. How do you explain the withdrawal of the Israeli coach?
Katsurin
: "The most successful and best Israeli coach is Nano Ginzburg. He has proven himself everywhere he has been, but he is under contract in the Czech Republic. If they do not appoint a coach until the summer, Nano is definitely an appropriate name. If you look at our basketball, there is no defense Everyone is based on alternating defenses and all kinds of tricks, and then we get to the higher levels, and it doesn't hold water. You can't save whole games with these defenses. Our coaches have specialized more in attack, the face of the league is the face of the coaches, and apparently at the higher levels it's not always enough Hapoel Jerusalem maintains that its coach is working on it, and the other teams in the test of the result do not have a continuous defensive game."
Katzurin in the uniform of the Polish national team.
In Europe there is no problem with appointing foreigners, photo: Tal Cohen
Sharaf
: "Today it is very difficult to get a position as a head coach in the Euroleague or at the higher levels. It is difficult to get a job abroad like it used to be.
There are very few top teams, and teams that are not top prefer not to have a foreign coach also because of the money.
In our league, coaches are not given enough backing or young coaches are not given a chance.
The excess of foreigners in Israeli basketball has also caused the coaches to have less control over what happens in the team, and when there is a conflict between the players and the coach, the team owners usually side with the players.
And this caused a devaluation of the status of the Israeli coach.
Today they want the coach to be comfortable and on the other hand to control the team.
Let's take Džikić for example - he is not comfortable with the players, he controls the team, thanks in large part to the fact that the current management at Hapoel Jerusalem lets him work.
If it had happened in other groups, maybe the situation would have been different."
Shivek
: "First of all, due to economic issues throughout Europe, fewer foreign coaches are hired and this affects Israeli coaches as well. There is good money in Israel today, so it is not always worth leaving and moving to Europe. But you definitely need to do your homework and understand what happened. I am the last to say that it is not allowed To bring in foreign coaches, because I have worked and am working abroad for years, but if someone like that is brought in, he should bring an extra and not just one because he is cheap.
We have very good Israeli coaches."
If you are today the professional manager of the Israeli national teams, who do you propose for the position of coach of the national team?
Katsurin
: "I don't want to just name names, but I do say what type of coach should come. I'm looking for the best solution for the national team. Whoever has a defensive package is the one who should be coached - there are enough good names. But first of all, the union needs to decide What do they want?"
Sharaf
: "I'm saying something very simple. There is a professional director in the union, Fini Gershon, he wants Ariel Beit HaLhami, so Ariel should be appointed. As soon as you appoint a professional director, you should give him the authority to decide. Unfortunately, today there is no professional forum that sits and decides what Go ahead."
Shibek
: "I prefer not to go into specific names, if asked I would certainly be happy to advise. What I can say is that some former national team coaches should sit down and write what profile they want from a national team coach, and after that look for the appropriate names. No coach will meet all the criteria , but it will definitely be possible to see who is the most suitable and who meets as many requirements as possible."
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