Ticked: Sports Events Recap Clip, 6.6 (Sports1)
Dan Einbinder has endured the "toughest season of his career" but is looking optimistically at the future of Hapoel Tel Aviv. Still carrying trauma from celebrating ("Ronnie Levy, Drapich and Barda were ashamed of his way and did not cooperate").
The story of Dan Einbinder's bizarre season can be started just before the season opener. He spent most of the summer recovering from abdominal muscle surgery and returned late to training. Hapoel Tel Aviv's physiological team prepared a plan to bring him to a situation where he could be in the squad for the first game, against Hapoel Haifa outside, but then Baltam arrived."Just before the final training session, my wife started contractions and we drove to the hospital," Einbinder says, "I knew that if I wasn't in this training, I wasn't in the squad.
We went to the hospital, arrived, my wife's mother is a gynecologist and accompanied us. We saw that things were delayed and my wife told me, 'It's all good, there's still time, go to training and if there's anything we'll update you.' I went, it was very important for me to be in the squad, I told Erez Naaman, the speaker, that he was the national alert, and if something happened, he pulled me out in the middle of training. When the training was over and I got to the parking lot, my wife called, 'Come quickly, it's happening,' and I managed to be with her the whole process."
If the opening game was not simple, the game that effectively ended the season, with the promise of staying in the stands against Ironi Kiryat Shmona while sitting in the stands due to accumulating yellow cards, certainly did not add health to the Reds captain: "The feeling was very difficult because you are helpless. You can't help and be a part, and in the first half it hurt more, because you want to be with the players in that pain, to feel the difficulty with them. On the other hand, in the second half with the comeback and the crowd that swept the team, I cursed myself in my heart how I didn't play in a moment like this, because there was an atmosphere that penetrates the bones."
Einbinder adds: "There was fear at the level of faith of whether we would be able to return. I was also afraid that even if I had to play the decisive game in Hadera, I wouldn't physically eat because I wasn't fit. I was very worried. And it doesn't end, while this pressure goes through your body, you check the results in the other games on your phone. Then CEO Liran Mukhtar came to sit next to me and as soon as he saw all the powders he said to me, 'Wei Dan, we have probation.' I realized that suddenly the point that could be lowered for us could also be significant, and all the pressure shifted to a state I don't remember. At the end, it was like I played 90 minutes."
A tough season from the first minute to the last. Einbinder (Photo: Maor Elkeslassy)
Let's go back to the summer, get you into a conversation with a very clear
clue"There were two conversations towards the end of last season. One with Boksa who told me that I was the face of the club, that I was the most senior, that it was amazing what I was able to do and make an impact in such a short time. And at the end of the season I got another call and they told me they were going for a foreign back midfielder who would somehow compete with me for the minutes."
It's a clear clue, you don't put a player in to tell him that he'll have competition
"I don't know if it was an expectations coordination call, but from the vibe of the conversation I left feeling less good, especially in light of the previous conversation with Boxa. In general, the professional team that started the season and built it had a desire to make bigger changes than what was actually done. At the end of the day, once the changes weren't made, the whole strategy had to be turned into a situation of, 'OK, this is the roster we have and let's see the good things.' If something was missed, it was that there was some frustration and lack of meeting the expectations of some of the players who didn't play enough and there were quite a few problems that had an impact."
There was gossip all the time. Players claimed they weren't playing because it was Boxenbaum's decision or vice versa. "
A lot of times we didn't feel the vibes that felt outside, but over time we felt that things that sounded outside like the situation between Boxa and Kobe — the media noise around — ended up in the locker room. Things one says to the other, to the agent, to a friend, to the media... Things began to trickle down. The quiet and togetherness, the ability to neutralize noise – these are things that make a team successful and vice versa."
After the loss, Sakhnin said they made a lot of mistakes at the beginning of the season. Were you angry with Kobe Medicine?
"No, I don't have an ounce of anger at him. I've been through so many coaches, close to 30 Israelis and foreigners. With every coach without exception I was a key player, a player who is shared, knows what you get from him. They always wanted me to go to war. Kobe may be the only coach who was less appreciative of my contribution. It's not reflected in minutes played, but in feeling. Fortunately, I finished this season in the best personal way - performances, numbers and influence. If I can look at it today, then Kobe appreciates me more than he did when he coached us."
The ones who looked after you this summer were the Nisanov brothers, they were your
biggest back"I came to Hapoel Tel Aviv a lot because of and thanks to Nir Klinger. He fought for me in an almost impossible situation. 3-4 games after I arrived, Itzik Nisanov came to me and said, 'You will finish your career with us.' I had a good relationship with all the owners who gave me a lot of trust and backing, and also tried to do the best for them. To make an impact, to help in the dressing room, I appreciated that backing."
It's weird. Everyone there is a Hapoel fan and you came from Beitar, always looking with apprehension at a player making the transition between the clubs
"As soon as I made the transition, I felt quite a bit suspicious from the crowd, the owners and some players in the dressing room. But if I go back - these suspicions disappeared after a very short time. Today I get endless love from the crowd and also from people inside the club."
"Kobe is the only coach who underappreciated my contribution." Einbinder with medicine (Photo: Maor Elkeslassy)
"I won't say a bad word about a
player I played with, it's also not my job to criticize, the situation with Stefan was that he came to the club after the incident with the crowd last season and the noises and noises from outside also came in and affected him. Perhaps something about the mentality Stefan grew up with and came from was out of sync with the demands and expectations at Hapoel Tel Aviv. Shatkus? The professional team determines, in my experience with Ernie I can say that he is an amazing goalkeeper, a true professional, does not miss training and has the right character to give us in mind, it was fun to go to war with him."
How much of an impact did the departures of Elias, Davida and Leidner have had in the summer?
"In the first half of the season after I arrived we finished with a good squad and we had to keep it. At the end of that season, Altman, Abu Obeid and later Danny Gropper and Lidor Cohen left – in the end we did not retain the squad. The next season we again built a team that was close to Europe and suddenly Elias, Davide and Leidner were sold and we went back. When there's a constant rebuild, it's very hard to succeed."
After the fire in the Khodorov complex there was a heroic performance in Teddy. It seemed that you were on the track and then there was a
sharp decline"From the inside you can understand that. We came to the game from a very low place, we went up to a very high high, but you have to remember that the day after we entered a new reality without a training complex, wandering between fields, things don't go smoothly on a daily basis. Even after we returned to the complex it was no gym, no treatment room, things didn't feel the same. It's also something that caused damage to energies that couldn't get up."
How does it feel to have a third coach in a season?
"Failure. I'm always of the opinion that once a manager resigns or gets fired for failing, the players have a lot of responsibility for it. When two coaches are replaced, it's even more pronounced. Almost every moment of this season we felt like we were failing. For me personally, it was very difficult to see Slovo go - I have a connection with him - and it was also difficult to accept Silves. I remember the first meeting of Haim was amazing and we all talked about it, followed him. In one of our first conversations he said to me, 'Dan, smile,' and I said, 'You don't understand how hard it is, you came new with new energy.' That was after 6-0 In Turner. He wanted a different vibe and a good atmosphere, but I told him I couldn't, that we were in a very, very low place."
Coaches crashed at Hapoel Tel Aviv, Silves also tried to fight for his image despite being up to the
task"I will start with Slobo who really wanted to get to Hapoel. He really wanted to make it better and in his image, he came to a team he didn't build, with players who didn't fit his style. He thought about a lot of changes in January and things that would happen in the long term and next season, but it hurt in the short term. As for Chaim, I think that in the next challenge he will take he will succeed in a big way because this season he has dealt with a lot of things that have been dealt with over the course of an entire career. He came in an attempt to change energy and got a team whose most offensive tool, Hisham Laius, wasn't even found – and we still managed to stay in the league."
The Americans are also targeting a significant number of young people on the staff
." This is part of the advantages of Hapoel Tel Aviv as a club, with many talented players, who are good at Hapoel Tel Aviv. They are also good kids. It's an advantage for next season because there are players who have gained experience and are now having a crazy summer at the World Cup. This can help them, but it can also raise the expectations of audiences and media who will already expect more from them. We – the more mature and more experienced players who can guide, direct, support and give confidence – will have to be there for them and find the balance."
This is what happened to the god Sea Kanzpolsky after the European Championships. The crowd expected him to hold the worker
"If there is a mistake made this season It's that we as a system couldn't understand that the players who made a crazy achievement in the European Youth Championship would come back with some very big high and the expectations accordingly. They are very immature, young people who need their time, players who need to integrate little by little, especially when it comes to quite a large number of players. Now we will receive them with another achievement, even crazier and more amazing and everyone is in a crazy euphoria. We're going to have to be there for them to help them get involved and understand that it's a different opera."
"They are very immature, players who need to integrate little by little." Einbinder alongside the young people (Photo: Bernie Ardov)
How do you explain that a lot of players who succeed in the young teams don't express it in the seniors
?" In the end, they return to a different competition, a different framework, a different pressure and different expectations. Everything is different, the competition is very great and you return to being part of a squad where the competition is daily, with players who are no less good than you and no less talented than you, with a lot of tension and nerves. It's completely different, after a loss there are 500 people in training, involved in money and daily communication on every pip. It's something else, even though these young people have experienced a lot of difficult things this year that have tempered them and it will shape their character more quickly."
You supported the addition of Antoine Conte, whom you knew from Beitar, and he almost relegated the team to the league"There are two parts to the
answer. When Antoine arrived in Israel we didn't understand what he was doing in Israel, on the professional level he is a player who is not supposed to come to Israel for any team at any stage. On the other hand, we know why he came to Israel, and from getting to know him and talking to him, I can say that he suffered from many problems on a personal level that no one knows about. This season it has made it difficult for him to get into things well and concentrate on football the way he needs to. At the level of his abilities as a player he has been able to help us a lot this season."
You know, you've already made a top playoff with Hapoel and that's the goal in the future, but what will symbolize a change is winning the derby
"They keep saying 'monkey on your back', I think it's more than that. It's a painful and unpleasant subject. We're talking now that there's still a lot of time to start the season and it's hard to set goals when things haven't come together yet, but it's something we'll definitely set ourselves as a goal this season. How do we bring something different in terms of spirit, belief and desire to give our fans pride back, because they deserve a derby win this season."
There was a lot of pressure from the crowd to get a new contract and keep going. Could it be that Hapoel fans value your added value more than other clubs?
"I got to be part of very successful teams with a lot of good players. I always felt loved and an actor to connect with. Over time, the Hapoel fans got to know me better and understood how important the place I play is to me, how hard I work for them and for the club. Last season I felt very, very big recognition from the audience, and as a result, I also want to give back to them all the time. The love of the audience is not taken for granted."
Let's go back to saying goodbye to Beitar. Was the ouster from the squad by Hogeg the most humiliating moment of my career?
"Professionally, last season with Hapoel was my hardest, but there is no doubt that the hardest moment of my career was when they violated my agreement at Beitar and I became a player without a framework for four months. It was sad, and humiliating. You're 31 years old and suddenly out of nowhere, you become an actor without a frame. A very difficult time."
It was a weird detraction from the roster, because the coaches wanted you
" In the end, the media fed off what they were given. Hogeg kept making sure to drip that they didn't want me, and on the other hand, the professional staff told me they wanted me and I was important to them. They were ashamed of it, uncomfortable and didn't want to be part of the situation, but it was out of our control. I guess the considerations were financial, he couldn't understand that you can find good solutions and not go against the team, and sometimes when you climb a tree it's hard to get off it."
I don't even participate in training games taught from above, how do you get through periods like this?
"One day Yossi Benayoun called me in the morning and told me that there was an order from the owner that I would not be on the staff. At noon I arrive for training with a trainer and fitness and see Roni Levy on the field. There had been a game a few hours before, but he came and stood for an hour watching me practice to show me that he was with me and not taking part in it. I was very moved by it.
"There was also a situation with Slovo and Breda, which was a training game in the neighborhood of Hatikva. There were 22 players involved and I sat down90 minutes on the bench. Every time our gazes collided, they looked down, because they had a very hard time with the situation. It is difficult to explain the difficulty of this period without a framework. People go through harder things in life, but those months when you pick yourself up every day, go to a workout and two workouts, hire a team of a fitness coach, a mental coach... For months you walk into the house, look at your wife and you are immersed in this difficulty. My family, who has been with me since I was young, was also disappointed along with me, these are moments of crisis when you enter a room and close in on yourself. A very, very difficult time."
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