Recap: Maccabi Netanya vs Maccabi Haifa 5:1 (Sport1)
Maccabi Haifa's season was so long that we kind of forgot who started it so perfectly with a resounding goal into the Olympiacos net and then an exciting advantage against PSG of Messi, Mbappé and Neymar. Charon Sherry's first goal on Monday against Maccabi Netanya could quietly be called a championship goal, amounting to 13 goals and 8 assists, or a total of 51 goals and 37 assists for the Dutch midfielder in Israel.
We began with a typical Shimon Mizrahi question, which of the three championships he won in Israel is the sweetest of all. "The first championship was the sweetest," he says. "Both because Haifa hasn't taken the championship for 10 years and also because it happened in the last game of the season, and we beat Be'er Sheva 2-3. It was such a big game, it was unbelievable. But wait, he also qualifies: "This year, it was also wow. Last season there was a little less because we lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv and took the championship because the opponent lost."
And it's the same excitement?
"It's still the same excitement. Of course there was pressure this season because Be'er Sheva was good and Maccabi Tel Aviv too. They seemed to make things difficult for us. We could have taken the championship in Beersheba but lost in the last minute. We made some mistakes in the last few games that left the others in the picture."
But not really.
"Every game we wanted to win, we won. We lost because of us, not because of the rivalry, because we didn't play well. We were better this season than the previous two seasons, only at the end of the season we lost games we shouldn't have lost. I give perspective to every opponent, but we are a better team and more technical than the other two opponents."
"I feel him with my eyes closed." Cherry with Rukavitzia (Photo: Kobi Eliyahu)
What makes Maccabi Haifa so strong? The owner, the coach, the players, the audience?
"All together. The coach is amazing, everything he did both in Haifa and Beersheba. I don't know the other Israeli coaches, but I don't see anyone like him. No one can replace him either, but it's not just him. We had a very good squad, with a very good bench. We played without so many players in the last game and won 1-5. We have a lot of players who can replace important players. Nikita Rukavytsya, for example, who is a legend in Haifa, didn't play for a long time and I'm telling you that if he had played all season, he would have finished with 20 goals, so anyone here can."
You really wanted Nikita in the group, you pressed for him to come back. Was that true for him in retrospect with a single goal in 33 games?
"First of all, Nikita is Maccabi Haifa. He was a legend here, even the year he left for Beersheba. We have a crazy relationship. I feel him with my eyes closed. The situation wasn't easy for him, but that's professional football. Don't know why he didn't play, but I was glad he came back. I still think he's an amazing player for our team."
Let's focus for a moment on Barak Behar.
"For me, Barack is a special coach. I don't know if another Israeli coach will come, we won't be champions either, but from what I've seen from him, there's something special about him that makes you believe in him. He's very calm, he doesn't transmit pressure. He controls himself and the players, even when things don't go well, and he gives confidence to the players."
"It's a good time for him to leave," he advises. "At the end of last season I asked him why he wasn't leaving. He said: 'I want to go to the Champions League with the team.' He went on his own time and that's okay because he accomplished what he wanted to accomplish. We have to thank him for what he did for us and the club. Now let him look for challenges."
And can it succeed there?
"He has the ability to manage himself in a similar way in another country. I truly believe he will succeed in Europe. I think he can reach Belgian teams and maybe other countries. Red Star is a big club in its own right and we should not forget that they secured their place next season in the group stage of the Champions League. That's also what led him there. He can do something nice there."
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"Will succeed in Europe as well." Barak Bachar (Photo: Maor Elkeslassy)
Your mental coach, Danny Inbar, said at the end of the last game that at the beginning, when you lost a few games, Netta Lavi and you took the team on your shoulders mentally.
"It's hard for me to tell about it alone. It's not me, or just me. Neta and I have an excellent relationship. I think Netta is an excellent personality and captain. I always went with him. If anything happened, I knew he would give me his back. The group believed in each other. We knew that together we could beat any team. We created a different approach, we talked a little before the games in front of the players, but we were not alone in this matter."
In the game between you and Maccabi Tel Aviv last season, you caught Oscar Gluch and really praised him. It's not a trivial thing about the rivalry here, but the Maccabi Haifa crowd wasn't angry with you. How come?
"I understand the rivalry between the crowds, but this kid was only 17 and a half years old when he played against us. After all, I'm a football player, and I like to see young players. I can be his father in terms of age. I told him: 'It's a big game. Try to be yourself and enjoy the game.' I hugged him only because I knew that at this moment he needed support, even if he didn't listen to me. I saw immediately that he was a great player. The funny thing is that we continue to talk to this day and he invited me to see him in Salzburg."
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"We continue to talk to this day." Sari and Gluch (Photo: Ariel Shalom)
In such a successful team, which naturally generates a lot of antagonism from fans of opposing teams, how come you are exceptional and get a lot of respect from everyone? What is the reason?
"Amazing question. First of all you said that everyone loves me and that's wow. Sometimes actors can't behave naturally, but I'm always me, even if I'm just approached by people on the street. Maybe because I speak at eye level. People tell me that even though I'm a football star, I'm still accessible to everyone. I'm also always relaxed, because I'm happy that people enjoy my game."
Israel is a racist country for foreign soccer players, as they said in Senegal to Abdoulaye Sek, or not? How do you deal with it?
"I don't know how to answer that. I don't understand Hebrew, so I'm not sure I'm the one who needs to talk about it. I love Israel and want to maintain good relations with everyone here. There are Arabs, Christians and Jews here, and this is a wonderful country for each of them. Hope peace will come soon. I don't feel any racism towards me, nothing. On the contrary, I feel loved very much. I really appreciate that I came to Israeli football because they really like the way I play here. I completely understand Abdoulay, but I have no idea what he was told."
"I took the pressure off the shoulders of the fans." Sari vs PSG (Photo: Maor Elkeslassy)
The recap stage arrives and Sherry is asked to choose the big moment of the current season. "The big moment was that I scored an advantageous goal against PSG," he is hardly surprising. "I understood that before, in the previous campaign in the Champions League, Maccabi Haifa didn't score at all. Like I took the pressure off the shoulders of the fans, people were really crying. It's a big moment to score against a team that normally you're going to see them play, not play against them."
And in our league?
"We just took the championship, also for the third time. There was enormous pressure here. There was a lot of relief and happiness. People who cook here for the players, people who work at the club, the owners, everyone was happy. If a new player came to Maccabi Haifa today, he would feel like he has been playing there for 10 years. It's something unique, this place."
And will you retire at Maccabi Haifa?
"It's hard to know, I can't tell you <>% that I will retire at Maccabi Haifa. Apparently, yes."
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- Charon Shree
- Maccabi Haifa
