There is something special this year about the State Cup final, which brings together Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Netanya, two teams considered empires in Israeli football that collapsed or were close to economic collapse. They have another point in common – they have both been chasing the trophy for many years. Beitar has not lifted the trophy since 2009, Netanya has been waiting for 45 years.
"The demand for this final is something I don't remember having in the two finals we took," Aviram Brochian, 38, a former captain of Beitar Jerusalem who won two championships and two cups with it, said in a special interview with Israel Hayom.
"Every day I received dozens of calls and messages from people, from my aunts, who didn't come to the games during my time and now want to reach the final. There's something sweeping, maybe the hunger for the title and the connection between the crowd and the team this year."
Does Beitar Jerusalem have any professional advantage in this final?
"There is no final more even-handed than this, except that our audience is going to arrive in larger numbers and will be more active. Like anyone who knows a bit about football, Ran Kozuk knows exactly the strengths of Beitar, which is Beitar's front trio in the transition game.
"But Netanya is also a physically strong team that presses high, so there's not too much of a surprise here for both teams. What's more, Yossi Abukasis is sick of these games and surpasses Kozuk."
Avoxis. He has priority over Kozuk, photo: Danny Maron
What is the role of pressure on players?
"There are players for whom pressure does good, and there are those for whom it is not good and paralyzes them. To tell you that there are players in Beitar for whom the pressure will do them good? I'm not so sure. I don't see Beitar as one or two players who can take the final on themselves. In my time we had a lot of players, and we were thirsty for that pressure. If we hadn't made it 2-3 at half-time, the crowd would have booed us. The crowd will be the X-factor in this game. This final is going to be a great joy and a tremendous tragedy. There will be madness."
Can you compare your team, which has won two trophies, to the one that will play tonight in the final?
"These are different teams and not at all at the same level. My team was made up of many more proven players who took trophies, players of the season and national team players. There was a game we started with the national team, nine Beitar players and two more were on the bench. That team was crazy, we had foreigners like Alvarez, Fernandes, Boateng, Laroi, Agnso - these are players you dream of seeing, and today there is no chance of them coming here."
Aviram Brochian and Barak Yitzhaki. Partners in the last trophy, photo: Alan Shaver
"Without exploding salaries,"
Brochian retired from football two years ago and admits that it is still "itchy for me to put on the Beitar shirt and play, but my body doesn't let you imagine it anymore." He is, first and foremost, an avid Beitar fan, talks eagerly about the team as if he were still its captain, and is even moved by Avishai Cohen's invitation to the national team: "There is no more beautiful story than the story of someone like Avishai, who came from below and now comes to the Israeli national team."
Brochian had many great moments in his career, but the 2007/2008 season is forever etched in him. "The season of the double was the most amazing thing in the world, because until that season Beitar had never won the double," he says, "We took the championship quite by walking, but what happened in the cup final against Hapoel Tel Aviv, with the penalties and all the drama and tension, is something I will never forget.
Beitar Jerusalem Model 2008/2009, Photo: Alan Shaver
"I went on the radio at the time and they said to me, 'Are you aware that Eli Ohana, Uri Malmilian, all these greats didn't get to take a double and you did?' We couldn't believe we had done something so great. We have forever entered the pages of Beitar's history."
In the summer, when Beitar was on the verge of dissolution, did you believe you would be so close to the title?
"At the beginning of the season we just wanted the team to stay in the league, and then Barak Abramov arrived. The team brought in one player after another and Abukasis gave his part, but with all due respect to Shua, Nicolaescu and Esperia - who are really players at the highest level - Beitar's biggest reinforcement this season is the crowd, which returned to being the 12th player. Without this crowd, there is no way Beitar would have made this crazy journey this season. It used to be said that teams lose points on the way to Jerusalem. That's how it was this year thanks to the crowd."
The 2009 trophy marked the end of the Arkady Gaydamak era. Could winning tonight usher in a new era?
"I don't think Beitar will begin a new era of championships and titles, even if we win. I see Maccabi Haifa going to rule here for years. In general, with everything that happens at Sammy Ofer, Maccabi Tel Aviv will invest more because it cannot stay on the sidelines. There is nothing we can do, Beitar cannot cope with the big money, and any star, such as Atzili, will unfortunately prefer Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv or Hapoel B'Sheva to Beitar Jerusalem.
"I think Beitar finds its place at this time through modesty. Without exploding salaries it will try to compete at the top, but as a big club we will have to aspire to the top for a few more years."
Beitar fans at the 2009 final. Back as the 12th player, photo by Alan Shaver
"I want to help Beitar" Ahead of tonight's final, Brochian uses the stage to encourage the Beitar players: "
I would like to write to them that in 90 or 120 minutes it will be one of the moments they will never forget, that with their own feet they can give happiness to so many people in the country. You can't imagine the celebrations after winning the cup, the days after that, when people keep stopping you on the street.
"Only then will they understand happiness and joy. In my opinion, the people want Beitar to take the trophy, the team that had no money and almost disappeared and is now in the final. There is not a single fan in Israel, except those whose hatred of sports is extreme, who does not want Beitar to take it. There will be supreme happiness here, it will be something for all the people of Israel."
Ibram Brochian. In Beitar uniform, photo: Alan Shaver
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Finally, is there any chance that we will see you return to football in some capacity?
"I have a soccer academy, and I coach kids there from all the clubs in Jerusalem and its environs. I am involved in football, but I would be very happy to enter the Beitar Jerusalem system, I would be happy to contribute and help.
"I believe that in time it will come, but now I am privileged to have the AFEX Academy in Jerusalem as mine. There are many former players who run the academies in other cities, such as Yossi Shevchon and Arik Benado, who is also the owner. We provide tools and help children in development. It's a lot of fun, but the main thing is that we bring the trophy."
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