It’s been almost 40 years since Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Hadera have met in the top division and when the season began no one expected that the Matchday 7 contest would be one of the most interesting games of the season. But after five victories, a draw and 16 of 18 points good for first place, Hadera leads the Israel Premier League Ligat Japanika in a top of the table clash at Maccabi.
How did this happen and what does Hadera have in store for the Yellow & Blue? In order for us to learn a little bit more about the newly promoted side we spoke to an expert about the club, Raz Zahavi. The Sport 5 commentator and analyst has been associated with the outfit for many, many years. Zahavi was a keeper with the team in his youth when they played in the second division and over the past couple of decades has supported the team from its time in the lower leagues all the way back to the top.
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How well does Zahavi know Hadera? Let’s take a look at a small story to understand the depth of his knowledge. Up until 6 years ago, Zahavi along with Itzik Ben Torah, today one of the most important people at the club served on the Hadera coaching staff together. During that same season, the pair took the reins at the team’s most critical juncture – the relegation matches which could see the side move down to Liga Bet. The contests finished successfully in the club’s favor and Hadera remained in Liga Alef.
How can you explain Hadera’s success to date?
“First off, every day that the club is living the dream, I’m extremely pleased. The excitement in the press, the celebration after every league win is amazing. Every single win and every single minute isn’t something we can take for granted. On one hand, we have a very serious professional program in that coach Niso Avitan is personally responsible for the Club’s promotion and he’s becoming one of the leading coaches in the country. He’s the person responsible for last season’s promotion and this year’s success from putting together the squad with the lowest budget in the history of the Israel Premier League.”
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“The bottom line is that the foreign players have been a smashing success,” Zahavi added.” All of them are bingos and are main cogs in the system. From Austin Ejide the keeper, David Mateos the center defender, Tapoko the defensive midfielder, Ange-Freddy Plumain the midfielder and the striker Lucio. In addition, there are players who are very hungry that no one thought would be Premier League players and in fact very few played in the top league last season.”
“Everyone at Hadera is serious, professional and most importantly hungry to succeed,” Zahavi said plus he also spoke about an interesting statistic that other than the match against Kiryat Shemona the Hadera players ran more than the opposition. “This is more than a Cinderella story; it’s a dream. If we go back 3-4 years when Hadera was in Ligat Alef no one would have believed that the club would be playing in the Premier League. Three years ago things changed when a new president Oren Golan came aboard. He handled the operations and administrative side of the club the best way possible. They operate quietly and efficiently.”
Did the start of the season change some of the plans?
“The goal is simple; to get to 36 points and ensure that the team stays in the top league. As of now the goal hasn’t changed one bit. We’re happy about the success, we’re keeping our professionalism up and there’s no euphoria. If Hadera gets to 36 points the goal may change but as of now everyone just wants to stay in the league. There is already talk about other team wanting to buy Ange-Freddy Plumain and Tapoka why have out clauses in January. A player like Mohammad Abu Fani also has a clause that states that Maccabi Haifa can take him back in January. This means that we are worried about what may be but we are living day to day and we go into every match to play open and entertaining football. From the beginning of the season Hadera hasn’t been playing defensive football which means the fans have enjoyed the style of play and I believe that this will continue against Maccabi. The style of play won’t change as they’ve been playing this way for two seasons and Hadera can’t play a bunker style of game. The desire is to control the ball and attack quickly. Every player knows what is demanded of them and where they should be. Many teams play with an element of chance, however, Hadera has a set game plan that is very clear.”
Why do you believe that Hadera scores many goals near the end of the game?
“That’s an important point. The work rate, physical fitness and commitment plus mental strength are things that haven’t changed from last year. The style of play remained the same and it doesn’t matter who is playing. The goals in the final minutes isn’t something new to this club. It just shows everyone how strong mentally this team is and has prepared themselves properly for this coming season.”
Zahavi may have explained how Avitan and his players have made their way to first place, but at the start of the campaign he never really gave them a chance and now he’s paying for that. After one of the victories, the players put up a sign which can be seen below in his “honor” that he can get ready to eat his hat.
What’s the story behind the signs against you?
“One of the great things about Hadera is that they know how to look after one another just like a family and maintains their superstitions. On the other hand the professionalism of Niso is abound in the club, but some still want to have that community feel to it. At the beginning of the campaign on the Warming Up Show on Sport5 I said that Hadera will for sure be relegated and I believed it.”
So you’re going to have to deal with the situation…
“I’m shocked. It’s not that I’m surprised, I’m just shocked. I said that Hadera was a shoe in to be relegated. I was certain about it, convinced. I didn’t see it coming at all. Did anyone know who Tapoko was? Who’s Ange-Freddy Plumain? David Mateos? Who knew them? There are people in Hadera who won’t forget it and instead of focusing on the wins they are focusing on this. I also know that there’s another sign waiting for me. “Raz Zahavi, when were in the Europa League we won’t take you with.”
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After all of these fantastic results, where do you see the team finishing the season?
“I say between 9-11 place.”
That’s it?
“What’s wring with you!? That’s great. I know as part of my job as a journalist what the story is with the players and their out clauses. There may be one or two that will want to continue on. I don’t have a monopoly on intelligence, but I see things that may happen. Now that Niso Avitan is in first place if you’ll tell him he will end the season in 10th he’d have tears of joy. That’s the goal. Hadera has a player budget of 3.5 million NIS. There has never been a team in the Premier League with a smaller budget. The total budget is 9 million NIS. The people in Hadera would cry with joy to finish in 10th place.”
What are people in Hadera thinking about ahead of the Maccabi match?
“This is certainly more than just a regular Premier League match. This is a holiday and a dream come true. Asi Guma for example, the captain of Hapoel Hadera is a Maccabi fan. If you look at the last 40 years there was true joy when Hadera was promoted to Liga Alef and last season when the team was promoted in the match against Nazareth Elite there was true happiness just like there will be the same feelings now. I would put these three moments as the greatest over the course of the last 40 years. The fans in Hadera are talking about the match and how they are playing against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Many in the current never thought that this would be a possibility; that the day would come when there would be a match of this importance.”
Zahavi also discussed the relationship between the two sides:
“Maccabi is one of the biggest club’s in the country and there are people in the city who live and die by Maccabi. There is also a good relationship between the two teams. Oren Golan really admires Maccabi CEO Ben Mansford. Players such as Maksim Grechkin, Eliel Peretz and Prince Thomas were loaned at the start of the season. It’s a great feeling for a player like Grechkin who came from Maccabi that Hadera really appreciates him. He was one of the stars last match against Kiryat Shemona.”
And about the match itself?
“In Hadera they are talking about something simple, a point against Maccabi would be sensational. That’s a point that Hadera is not taking into account and as far as the management is concerned even if it ends 3:0 in favor of Maccabi as long as next week Hadera defeats Ashdod 1:0. This is a league that a win is worth 3 points and Hadera’s philosophy is that one point is nice but it’s just one point.”
Do you have Raz Zahavi story end the interview with?
“Sure. If Maccabi would have advanced to the Europa League, then Asi Guma’s wedding would have most probably fallen on the day that they would play against Hadera. He told me that never in his life did he have that much tension and pressure in regards to a football match. He finally relaxed over the past few weeks when it became a non issue.”
