This Saturday, Maccabi “Shachar” Tel Aviv kicks off against Maccabi “Shmuel” Haifa in the Israeli Classico of the Youth Premier League. The Yellow & Blue drew 1:1 with Hapoel Beer Sheva last week at Wassermil Stadium and will look to get back onto the winning track and cut into the Haifa lead atop of the table. One of the important players on Guy Tzarfati’s squad is Or Dasa, the winger who is putting up some fantastic numbers this current campaign with five goals and five assists.
Dasa explained how he has improved and why: “This is my second season with the Under-19 team so I am gaining experience which is helping me improve. Guy Tzarfati has a lot of confidence in me and is giving me more liberty on the attack which is resulting in some good statistics. There’s no question that in the second year there is more pressure to perform and this is being seen on the pitch in match action. You are making plays quicker and you are thinking less about what others are going to say about you.”
On his topsy-turvy start and improvement:
“The club changed head coaches at the beginning of the season, replacing Ori Uzan with Guy Tzarfati and it took some time to get used to. Now we are starting to collect points and giving up fewer goals. We went backwards a bit at Beer Sheva but I believe that we will be back on track against Haifa. If we can defeat them, then we will narrow the gap against a number of teams and the league will be that much closer and more attractive.”
Maturing as a group:
“Last season the majority of the players were in their first campaign with the squad. Today we are more mature and we have a lot of National Team players. I believe that the experience that we have gained will be a tremendous help this season. We’ve matured as individuals and as a team this season.”
About his brother Eli Dasa who he was able to train with on they First Team:
“It was a bit strange but it was a lot of fun. It’s normal for me to see him play and want to reach his heights and then all of a sudden I am training right beside him. I played with him on the same team in a training session and he assisted on my goal. I hope that one day this will also be the case in real games. I want to make it to the places that he has made it to.”
Desire to see more Yellow & Blue fans in the stands:
“It’s not as much fun that fewer fans come to Ramle and I hope that against Haifa they will be there to support us and be the 12th player on the pitch.”
