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Belgian flood reverses course By David Maruani and Yaniv Kobovic After a flood of no fewer than six Israelis to the Belgian premier league and a decent number of prospects, it seemed last year that Israel was reconquering the soccer domain of this small European nation. The arrival of the likes of Barak Itzhaki, Salim Tuama and Elyaniv Barda was reminiscent of the days of Roni Rozental, Eli Ohana and Shalom Tikva. However, now the flood gates are emptying out. It started with Tuama's desire to return to Israel last season, continued with Gent's interest in releasing Gil Vermuth through the uncertainty over Omer Golan's future and ended with the media-hyped return of Itzhaki to Beitar Jerusalem. Itzhaki may have learned to think twice before he considered another team beyond Bab el-Wad, but more than anything, this experience has taught the Belgians to think twice before signing an Israeli player. At least that is what Willy Reinders, the sport director of Racing Genk, feels. "I don't want to generalize because despite everything Barda adjusted to us really well," he says, "but it will set off a warning light with us. The exodus of the Israelis proves it's very hard for Israeli players to mentally adjust to a league like we have in Belgium." Advertisement It's lucky we still have Barda there. According to him, "When you go to Belgium," he explains, "you are in fact fulfilling your dream of going to Europe. You work morning, noon and night at the highest levels there are. The demands on you are very high, but you don't get the glory people like Yossi Benayoun get for going to the top leagues. The gaps between the expectation and what really happens lead to a breaking point. If a player doesn't know how to get past that, it will get really hard." Vermuth, who still doesn't know where he'll end up, concurs with Barda, but stresses his possible departure was forced upon him. "If I'll be in a position like last year I'll do what's needed," he explains. "There's a very deep roster here, and there are at least there players at my position, one of them new. Meanwhile, I'm practicing as usual but it's very hard to live and work in another country when you're not in the starting lineup. In the coming days, I'll know which club I'm headed to. I don't rule out returning to Israel." Lokeren's general manager, Willy Verhoost, also believes he learned something about the Israeli soccer player. Speaking from the experience of having both Golan and Avi Strool, he says, "I don't really understand Israelis who want to leave Belgium. Perhaps it's hard for them when they don't play in the lineup." He says that similar to African players, "the Israeli player takes a long time to adjust to our league. It's a fact that Golan also took a lot of time to acclimate. I think he started feeling better the moment we brought him Strool. Until today he finds it hard to deal with the physical demand of practices, but he already looks a lot better." Verhoost recalls coming across a video tape of Baruch Dego. "They offered me Dego, and he didn't seem right to me," he explains. "Recently because of Barda's success, the impression was created that Israeli players can play in the Belgium league, but that's not the situation. I've decided to draw the line at national team players. We may not be Barcelona, but we won't settle for less." Dominique D'Onofrio, sport director of Standard Liege, feels the problem of Tuama, who played under him, was mainly psychological. "Tuama had a hard time acclimating in Belgium, especially competing for his spot in the lineup. After a short while, he asked to go back to Israel. It seemed to us he gave up too early, and it's a real pity. We're a big club, and we won't start dealing with players who couldn't adjust to the city and the club. Itzhaki's well-publicized return to Beitar touched a nerve for Belgian coaches. Genk thought at first it was a family problem, but when they figured out it was Beitar's offer, they felt they were victims of manipulation. "Itzhaki sat with me in the room just four weeks ago and told me about the problems he was having in his family," said Genk coach Ronny Van Geneugden. "If that was all nonsense," he added, "it points to a severe mental problem that should worry him more than us." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Brown's ultimatum British PM to Knesset: Iran must suspend nuclear bid or face global isolation. One giant leap VIDEO: Israeli-developed device allows paraplegics to walk again.

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