"This is the biggest challenge I've had as a coach," Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Danny Franco says of the rollercoaster of managing a team in wartime.
Tonight, his team goes to their first "home" game in Belgrade. Rivals Khoventud Badalona eliminated the Reds in the Eurocup quarter-finals last season.
Hapoel Jerusalem fans sing the national anthem at a ceremony for the abductees
Franco describes in detail all the problems the club had to deal with during this time away from home: "Nobody has experience in this situation, because there was no situation like this. The distance from home is not only a problem for the Israeli players. Foreigners also need their home and their routine. We have exceptional conditions, but in the end it's living in hotels all the time."
"It's hard. We're trying to keep the business alive," the coach said. "We're in a training situation every day in a different place. Of splitting the group when Israelis return home for a few days and foreigners stay in Belgrade, of migration from place to place and uncertainty. Consistency is hard to maintain. It's hard to play our good basketball. I don't have half a claim to the players, I can only appreciate them. Everything is very fragile. We should say thank you for what we have. We have nothing to whine. We are the last ones who can grieve, because we are a small crumb in the midst of everything that is happening in the country. The terrible thing that happened to the country is a scar for many years."
Bar Timor, Photo: Reuters
How do the players react to the situation?
"Hats off to everyone, it's human beings. We are fighting ourselves and not just our opponent. The players' heads are not always there naturally. The longer the time goes on it doesn't get any better. Actors watch TV. They are up to date with every pip. It is impossible to ignore and disconnect. I feel like we live in a parallel universe. It's an unpleasant situation, and professionally it's very frustrating. The club invested a lot of money and there were a lot of expectations for this season. We want to keep our chances going forward. We must not miss the season because of this period. The goal is to preserve the embers."
How are you as a coach coping during this time?
"I have to deal with maintenance all the time, I have almost no time to think about the situation. There are constantly things to deal with. During this period, you have to balance between the need to demand from players and the need to understand and contain them. You're walking a tightrope. The players don't owe us anything. They can go to FIBA tomorrow and ask for a release, because they are playing for a team that is at war and they will also receive the release. Our players have offers from other teams because of the situation. They are constantly receiving inquiries. Everyone has an offer for more money than they get with us. Therefore, our task to keep the team is not simple."
And professionally, after four wins in the opening came two losses.
"Against Paris we played badly and didn't adapt to what they know how to do. We're missing Jacoben Brown, whose impact you know. We arrived at the game with Promitei in Riga after a bad week with a lot of uncertainty. Preoccupation before the game with the surrounding things bothered us. We weren't focused enough."
Fans of Hapoel Tel Aviv. They are missing, photo: Alan Shaver
Do you feel like you're ready for Badalona?
"We will go to our home game in Belgrade in an empty hall. It's a different world. When you don't have the warm, pushy crowd, it's awfully weird. We are a team that feeds off the energy of our audience. Even at the away games in Europe we had 400-500 spectators. Hosting outside the house and without crowds is a big advantage for the teams that will play in front of us. Think about what it means to them compared to coming to Tel Aviv. Think what a celebration there would be at the drive-in if this game against Badalona had taken place in Israel. An hour and a half before there was no parking. The preparation as usual is not ideal. We will need a lot to beat a team like Badalona. We will have to mobilize the forces from a place of togetherness, determination and will. We are doing everything we can to fight to keep all our chances of going far this season."
What do you think about the resumption of the league?
"The rumors of the return of the league almost broke up our team. The foreigners became anxious about the possibility that they would have to return to Israel. My opinion on the subject is different. This is in every case a season with an asterisk. There is nothing right, normal and just. That's why we had to pick up the gauntlet and make this season blue and white, only with Israelis. Bringing back the league with all kinds of foreigners who came here because we have no choice won't do good.
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"It won't happen because everyone with interests is pulling in their own direction. The league is back and we will do everything to perform our best. I hope most foreigners, maybe all of them, will come back with us for the league games. If that doesn't happen, it could hurt us badly. Hapoel Tel Aviv has been undergoing a process of growth and growth in recent years, even this war forced on us by subhumans will not stop this club."
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