Eyal Berkovic speaks: The former footballer who became a commentator addressed all the burning issues – from Maccabi Tel Aviv, through Maccabi Haifa to the Israeli national team – in a special interview for “5 on Air”.
Regarding Maccabi Tel Aviv, who was eliminated yesterday from the cup against Maccabi Petah Tikva, Berkovic said: “If you go up with a third goalkeeper then you deserve to be eliminated. Do you know how important a goalkeeper is? How do you go up with a goalkeeper who doesn’t play football? What is that? This Robbie Keane’s mistake in choosing the lineup and it cost him dearly, very simply.”
“It is very difficult to win a double. I was lucky enough to win a double, the last double for Maccabi Haifa in 1990. It is very difficult, but yesterday Maccabi Tel Aviv failed because of mistakes by a coach, this is my opinion. Eli Ohana knows it, and I know it too, and the greatest players You know – these rotations are unbearable. They used to say, “Quarterfinals of the Cup today, rest?” There is no such thing.”
“What is an excellent squad? An excellent squad should play with Eran Zahavi, the first goalkeeper plays and the brakes play. It’s time we stop the word rotation. In football, whoever is good plays. As long as he can play, he should play from the first minute.”
“Enough with the excuses and the stories. Maccabi Tel Aviv and Cain messed up yesterday, it was not allowed to lose a game like this. If he wins a championship, they will forget about this game, when you win a championship there is euphoria and she has not won the championship for several years. But at one point it hurts Cain’s status a lot, it is not allowed to lose a game such a”.
“At the end of the year, when the owner calculates whether to keep him or give him a longer contract, he calculates the whole season, not just the championship. He calculates the management of the game, the cup and Europe – everything is taken into account. Against Olympiakos, the style of play was a mistake. It is important Let him play open and score 2 or 3 goals again and then he got it. He should have played a lot more in the morning, and he didn’t do it.”
“Dor Turgeman’s generation is young and he needs to be given a chance. I don’t judge a kid based on four games. We need to give him 20 games and then see. It could be that what catches on in the youth team doesn’t catch on in the Premier League. If Maccabi Tel Aviv wins, it won’t be a championship That you say `wow, look what a championship’. She will take it because it is less bad. It is not there.”
“Robbie Keane is a football personality and was a Premier League star, so don’t compare him to Masai Degu who was a national league player. In the seniors’ dressing room when the coach comes in the players have to show respect, and if that doesn’t happen then the whole season goes to shit. Big clubs need charisma, Robbie Keane has that This. In the road test, I have a bit of a problem with him. If he takes the championship, it’s a difficult question. The fans are very disappointed with the road.”
About Maccabi Haifa, Berkovic said: “When Masai Dego was appointed, I raised an eyebrow. I said, ‘Maccabi Haifa is a huge club, they need an authority on the lines.’ And they said, “What a coach.” I’m still in my prime – Maccabi Haifa deserves a coach who is an authority, it’s a big club that needs authority. When you enter the dressing room with Dego, it’s not like Ran Ben Shimon, Barak Bacher or Marco Belbul. Marco is an authority, yes.”
“Maccabi Haifa needs a coach who is an authority. Sherif Kioff is not a good enough goalkeeper for the championship and they need a striker at a higher level than Frantezdi Piero. This is not a player, this is not Maccabi Haifa, sorry. Someone who does not know how to turn a page for me is not a player for Maccabi Haifa.”
Later, we were asked about the issue of the coach in Haifa: “I would replace Dago Baran Ben Shimon. Maccabi Haifa needs an authority on the lines. Maccabi Haifa is like Real and Barcelona – you can’t bring a coach who failed in the national league to a big club.”
Later, Berkovic also referred to the Israeli national team, after the failure in the Euro qualifiers: “First of all, I think it’s a shame for all the money being thrown into the national team. To date, we haven’t gotten anywhere and we can be more modest – if it’s salaries, if it’s the fact that each coach brings 20 people with him. Regarding Bacher, if they chose him then he deserves it. He is a successful coach even though he failed miserably abroad, but he is successful and he deserves it.
“I know that Yankel doesn’t like to go back and repeat things, and Maccabi Tel Aviv has proven to this day that they don’t want an Israeli. Only Bacher knows the possibilities, I don’t. I think that him going to the national team is a big mistake for him. I think that the chance to advance from the cup qualifiers The Nations is almost zero and the chance of advancing to the World Cup is almost zero. Going and spending millions upon millions is unnecessary.”
“The team failed from the first moment to the last moment. We went backwards. I think we don’t need a professional manager in the team. In the test of the result it’s a big failure, in the test of the road it’s an even bigger failure.”
“The Israeli national team is Barak Becher’s default. If Goldhar calls Barak, he doesn’t think about the Israeli national team at all. Becher wants to come with all his guys. This team costs millions together with him and he wants everyone to work 24 hours a day at full salary, for a year Solomon for four years. In the national team they say “For what?”. Zahavi? Whoever is good plays, but when you are 38-39 years old, it’s time to finish.”
“Put Shlomo Sharaf with two other young guys on the team. Why throw away NIS 20 million in four years? Why what happened? If you said there was 30% then I would say bring Becher and the whole team, but our chance is 5% so for what?”.
“I have a question – take fifty coaches from Israeli football, including those who coached and now are not coaches. Is there one who will say to him “I need to think”? If Bacher said that then he should not be the coach of the Israeli national team.”
Another burning issue is the question of punishment in the courts of the Football Association. Berkovic responded: “I’m in favor of the punishments from the court, we tried everything and that way maybe the fans will understand that it hurts the team. I can’t find another solution. The only other solution I would find is to stop the game when fireworks are thrown onto the field. Go home and come again.”
Regarding Maccabi Netanya, who this week fired Guy Sarfati, Berkovic said: “It’s a disappointment, everyone knows. And it falls on the person who built the team, and that is Almog Cohen. From a professional point of view, there is confusion in the top 3 of the coaches in Israel, without a doubt at all. The question is how do you connect with Marco, If Netanya knows how to connect with him – which is not easy, then Maccabi Netanya will succeed with him. He is a special person, only those who know know that.”
“Eyal Segal should leave Marko confused in any case, even if we don’t stay in the league. There’s no shame in being a coach in the second league. If he took Maccabi Netanya, Eyal Segal should say “You’ve been here for two or three years, want to do something together.”
And finally, Berkovic also referred to the deteriorating situation of Hapoel Tel Aviv: “If I were Yossi Aboksis, I would have already left Hapoel Tel Aviv. I haven’t seen anything like that. I haven’t seen anything like that, sorry to say that. I’ve never seen a team like Hapoel Tel Aviv that doesn’t score in seven games and looks so bad.”
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