One of the most talked about sagas in Israeli football over the past year is the saga of Eran Zahavi not being called up to the Israeli national team, over his demand to sleep in meetings in a room alone, something Yossi Benayoun, the professional director, strongly opposes.
Every local football fan has an opinion on the matter, everyone is in a different support group, but the bottom line is that Zahavi himself will not be in Romania this Saturday night for the important Euro 2024 qualifying game, and the blue and white squad will have to find solutions to forget the fact that a player who has scored so far, when we are only at the beginning of September - ten goals in all competitions - has not been called up for one of the biggest tests of our team in recent years.
Thai youth football team player Abd in an interview
If you look at the table of the Israeli home and our list of goalscorers, you get a worrying feeling. Israel has scored a total of five goals in four matches so far, and the goals have been scored by Dor Peretz, Shaun Weissman, Oscar Gloch, Raz Shlomo and Manor Solomon. In other words, out of this limited list, only one striker can be seen, which puts even more emphasis on the lack of the "9" position. In all the first games of the campaign, Israel did not display great football, got stuck quite a bit in the attacking part, and it was evident that there was a lack of someone who would make movement in front of the opponent's brakes and be a target for the talented midfield players.
When the FA released the final squad for the games against Romania and Belarus last week, there was again a sense of concern stemming from the fact that the attacking squad is built either from wingers who are not goal forwards, or from those who are wide forwards but have not received enough minutes, if at all, this season.
Bribo cells,
Shaun Wiseman, the only striker to score so far in the campaign, is in a complicated situation with Granada. The team from Spain's top league bought him from Valladolid for three million euros, but is not counting on him. They were looking for another team for him before the European transfer window closed, and coach Paco Lopes did not share him for a single minute from the start of the season and it is doubtful that he will give him a chance until the January transfer window opens.
Another striker who has already worn the national team uniform and scored in it, but does not come fit, is Thai Bribo. The player, who started against Belarus, got his first 18 minutes in MLS this week for his Philadelphia Union team. Although he was in summer training camp with his former Austrian club Wolfsberger, he is not fit to play and does not seem to be an ideal option for Hazan.
Alon Hazan, Photo: Alan Shaver
Two other strikers who have been called up and can start games for the two biggest teams in the Premier League - Dean David from Maccabi Haifa and Dor Turgeman from Maccabi Tel Aviv. David did participate in Maccabi Haifa's qualifying campaign in the Champions League and scored 5 goals in all competitions this season, but over the past few seasons he has not maintained stability and it is unclear how he will withstand the pressure of a national team striker in an important game. Turgeman, who had an amazing summer with the youth team at the World Cup and with the youth team at the Euro Under-21 tournament, played in two league matches for a total of 29 minutes and scored one goal in the Conference League against Celje. Great gate, but at Garbage Time.
"Hazan and Benayoun entered the national team, among other things, to let young people play. I would go for Turgeman," Alon Mizrahi, Israel's greatest conqueror of all time, told Israel Hayom. "He has had an outstanding campaign in the youth teams, and he is the future of the national team. In 31 years, we came second once and that's our team. Even with the big and veteran stars Monas Dabur and Eran Zahavi we didn't achieve anything, so we have to give the younger generation a chance. Turgeman may not have played much this season, but his abilities and potential cannot be disputed. He was courted in Europe. Obviously if you play for a team you're in better shape, but there's no guarantee of anything."
Many coaches around the world who are in a situation without a good 9 striker often place a mock 9 player, one who on paper is placed at the forefront of the attack, but actually moves backwards and sideways, helps members of the attack move the ball and switches places to throw the opponent's defense off balance. The problem is that the game against Romania is critical for the Israeli team, and Alon Hazan has no maneuver for experimentation and error.
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No matter who is ultimately elected, it will be considered a gamble. And if the offensive attempts fail, the Zahavi saga will again be on the agenda. And that's something both Cantor and Benayoun really don't want to happen.
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