Summary: MS.
Ashdod - Maccabi Haifa 5:0/Sport1
Fans fall in love with a foreign player when he has an outstanding quality.
He can steer the ship quietly and coolly like Miguel Vitor, be a silent killer like Tony Wakame, hot-headed like Josua, elegant like Charon Sherry, tactful like Rada Frizza or with an ability to immediately connect with the culture and people like Giovanni Rousseau.
What they all have in common: thanks to these qualities, they bought themselves a place in the hall of fame of the ultras stands, even if most of them moved here for a few years.
Franzi Piero has none of these qualities.
He is sometimes clumsy, clumsy, seemingly indifferent.
His facial expression is always tired, he looks exhausted whether it's the first minute or the game goes into extra time.
From the moment he stepped on the grass for the first time in the Champions League game against Hapoel Be'er Sheva last year, he was marked as a flop.
The sequel is known.
Piero was at all the important points of Maccabi Haifa in the last two years.
He carried it on his back to the Champions League, scored significant goals in the league last year and this season became even sharper.
With the 15 goals he is on the safe way to the goalscoring crown this season, and his goal in the first game against Ghent was supremely and supremely elegant, contrary to the whole image that stuck to him.
In addition, he is a positive figure in the locker room, one that the players want to see him succeed.
So what's not to love here?
For many the whole is still less than the sum of its parts, but the naysayers will keep nagging, and the Haitian (I swear I checked) will continue to deliver the goods.
apathetic?
dormant?
Let him yawn all the way (maybe) to the championship.
The detractors will continue to denigrate.
Piero/Liron Moldovan
If you ask a player what is better - to start and go down to the bench in the 70th minute or to come off the bench in about the same minute, he will most likely not like both options, but will choose the first option.
If you ask Eran Zahavi, who experienced both scenarios in the last week, she is the one who is much worse.
The benching of Zahavi in Netanya was due to professional reasons, but was mainly intended to send a message that no one is above the club.
When it was over he was jumped back into the lineup.
On Saturday he was substituted with the game completely live, his most dramatic substitution since that 2013 game against Mohamed Salah and Basel.
Zahavi's facial expression left no room for doubt.
He was disappointed, probably also in himself.
If he had won the penalty, he probably would have gone out later to the substitute - of Standing Ovation.
As far as Cain was concerned, he stepped beyond the mountains of darkness and nothing happened, at least for now.
Zahavi remains silent, also as of now, showing maturity and understanding of the situation.
He knows that despite the sympathy for him in the stands, the general sentiment is not with him.
This is not the same situation as throwing the captain's ribbon against Macedonia, when an entire audience whistled at him and wanted to harm him.
And yet, the situation is foreign to him and the insecurity only deepens.
He will have to recover quickly, because after Maccabi Jaffa, Maccabi Petah Tikva awaits him, a difficult challenge in itself to crack these days.
Maccabi Tel Aviv's problem at that moment was not Zahavi's replacement at all, but that of Joris Van Overeem.
As soon as he went down to the bench, Maccabi Tel Aviv stopped touching the ball.
If there is anything that should concern Keane it is the question of why he does not currently have a suitable replacement for the position of number 14.
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His replacement was more problematic.
Van Overeem/Ariel Shalom
In December 2015, Hapoel Beer Sheva arrived in Bloomfield, haunted by demons and plagued by miscarriages.
No one then expected anything but another stinging defeat of the southerners against the proud champion.
Already in the second minute Eliniv Berda subdued Frederag Raykovic, Maor Malikson added another goal and Beer Sheva came out with a monumental 1:2 victory, which not only turned out to be the one that gave them the championship, it also reshaped the balance of power between the two teams on the way to two more title wins .
February 2024. Breda the coach again comes to Bloomfield and, as in previous years, fails to beat Maccabi Tel Aviv there.
Yes, he had that 1:3 in the semi-finals of the cup, but that was the exception that does not indicate the rule.
In the league, he has one draw, five losses and a goal ratio of 9:2.
Obviously there is something built in here.
Where is the player and where is the coach in this segment?
He is the face of Beer Sheva for many reasons, not just professionalism.
The boldness, one of Breda's hallmarks in the past, disappeared again in Bloomfield and the anemia of his players, the one that enveloped them in the first round, reared its head again.
The winning streak was interrupted last week because it is impossible to win indefinitely.
The statement of intent that it was just a glitch in Beer Sheva was supposed to be provided on Saturday, but when you consciously choose not to go up with your strongest lineup and actually replace your most dangerous player when you are behind - the odds are not in your favor.
The interior of Beer Sheva for many reasons.
Breda/Ariel Shalom
Throughout history Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv have relied on the thesis "There will always be two worse". Beitar's last decline, in 1990/91, came after two consecutive seasons of financial and managerial catastrophes and following the loss of a number of key players, led by Uri Malmilian and Avi Cohen.
Hapoel Tel Aviv's two relegations followed even more extreme messes that resulted in a significant reduction in points.
Picantry lovers will note that both dropped points this year as well, but in the overall picture there is still Hapoel Petah Tikva and the disgrace called MS.
Ashdod, who currently look like certain candidates for relegation, including Hapoel Hadera and Hapoel Yerushalayim who failed to generate escape momentum in the style of Maccabi Petah Tikva.
Where is the problem for Beitar and Hapoel Tel Aviv? First of all, relying on dynamics and a belief that "it won't happen to us" could turn out to be fatal. Beyond that, what kept both of them in the league in the past seasons is a good reinforcement in January that included players with character and experience, if that Dan Einbinder, Emilius Zubas, Fred Friday or Grigory Morozov.
And what about the season? Beitar did not get stronger, Hapoel Tel Aviv added sin to crime and got weaker.
The departure of Michael Valkanis was a necessity, but the parting with Yav Gurfinkel, and also to some extent with Jose Rodriguez, could have been avoided.
Whoever thought that strengthening the position of the coach would be enough, could have seen the energyless face of Yossi Abuxis in Petah Tikva.
He understands that the material he has is not good enough and above all he is not experienced enough to deal with the situation.
Until proven otherwise, the "there will always be two worse" theory stands, but this playoff won't be like the other playoffs.
If there is no substantial change, Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Jerusalem will enter the mix as both, at the current point in time, are in danger of relegation.
The recovering Hapoel Hadera gained experience in the struggles of the underground and you will know what will happen if Hapoel Petah Tikva beat Bnei Rayna tonight.
In short, it is better for Hapoel Tel Aviv and Beitar to do something they have been having difficulty with in recent months: play football and especially win.
The phoenix woke up.
Ben Shahar/Kobi Eliyahu
in the small
Ben Shahar has gone through several difficult seasons.
At one point, even in the current season, his career seemed over, and then the phoenix woke up.
Ran Kozhoch demands pressure on the opponent's defense, any opponent.
Shahar listened, faced and went to battle.
The second goal on Saturday began as a result of his rescue from the Hapoel Tel Aviv defense, a move that ended up finding himself in front of Zobas and Hershit.
The overall result - three goals worth four points and maybe also a place in the top playoffs.
Bnei Sakhnin is known for adhering to the 80s slogan of Tel Aviv night clubbers - "It doesn't matter who you come to the club with, it matters who you leave with."
The last time a coach of Bnei Sakhnin started and also ended the season was in 2016/17.
Most coaches know they are coming for a temporary assignment.
Slobodan Drapić is going to (hamsa, hamsa) break that pattern.
The mission is not complete, but with a relatively comfortable schedule that includes Ashdod and Rayna at home and Herda away, there is a reasonable chance that we will see Bnei Sakhnin in the top playoffs this season - with the coach who led them there from the beginning.
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Maccabi Haifa
Franzi Piero