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Soccer / The goal glut: bad tactics or bad strikers? By Moshe Harush and Moshe Boker The scene three weeks ago was difficult for Israeli soccer fans to digest. Omer Golan, born and bred to be a striker, was sent out by coach Dror Kashtan to play defensively in midfield against Switzerland. Golan lost heart and meandered around the field like a lost little boy. Kashtan's plans came crashing down as the national team fell behind 2-0 and almost cost him the game. Goalscoring in the Premier League has been low during the season's first three weeks, leaving room for coaches and players to bemoan the state of Israeli attacks. So far, the teams have managed just 34 goals in 18 matches, an average of 1.94 goals per game. That rate is nearly half a goal lower than last season's average of 2.32 goals per game, and almost a full goal fewer than the English premier league, which sees 2.86 goals per match. Advertisement According to former striker Eli Ohana, the national U-21 coach, there are several reasons why the number of goals has declined along with the level of play. Whereas most coaches in other countries run their teams as they see fit, in Israel the coach has to consider "what the owner will say and what the press will do," he says. Ohana asserts that the media puts coaches in a damned-if-they-do, damned-if-they-don't bind. As team coach at Kfar Sava he was one of the most aggressive in the league, he says, and took flak for conceding so many goals. "I easily could have closed up games and played defensively - I am sure we would have conceded 25 percent fewer goals and I would have stayed with Kfar Sava in the league. But then they would have attacked me along the way. They would have demanded that I play more aggressively." Ohana reasons that the risks involved in playing more aggressively persuade coaches to tone down their attacks to avoid being fired. "I know that a scoreless draw wasn't bad," says Ohana. "It's nothing like a loss and the negative feeling it causes for a coach." He adds that the decline in goalscoring has reached the point where if a coach plays two strikers he is considered attack-minded. However, he points out, it's not about how many strikers are on the pitch but what their instructions are. "I've heard with my own ears," he says, "coaches with two strikers on the field yelling at their players not to move upfield but to stay in their positions and take long shots." "European teams score more because coaches give their players a lot more freedom of movement," Ohana claims. "It also works out that the big teams in Europe score more, but also concede more goals. Bayern Munich let in five goals on Saturday, something that would never happen in our league." Ohana also stresses the lack of quality strikers in the league. "It's no coincidence there are so many 0-0 matches," he says. "We haven't raised a generation of good strikers." He adds that the outstanding strikers in recent years are foreign born, such as Ghanaian Samuel Yeboah and Argentinian-Israeli Roberto Colautti. The national team is no doubt a microcosm of the league. Kashtan did not invent the tactical game that sterilizes the game of soccer, which should be attractive, full of goals and exciting for the masses. Coaches this season are simply following his lead, and the rest of us are paying for it. Six games so far - a third of all matches - ended in goalless draws. "Soccer today is more tactical," says veteran Ashdod S.C. striker Shay Holtzman. "Coaches first worry about defense, and few deal with scoring. Coaches want results, and for them not losing is getting results." Holtzman says coaches only think about themselves and not about the level of play or the fans. "Every coach today wants to cover his ass," he says. Before Monday's match against Hapoel Tel Aviv, Ironi Kiryat Shmona coach Michel Dayan knew he was facing a team that was tactical and organized, but far from deep in its front line. That didn't stop him from advising his players that "it's very important to get through the first 20 minutes without conceding a goal." The thought of starting out with a full-throttle attack on Vincent Enyeama's goal was not even on his radar screen. Dayan may have come away with a point, but his team has yet to taste a goal in three matches. "There's a problem with attacks in Israeli soccer," he tried to explain after the game. "It occurs because these days everything falls on the coach. He is not analyzed by his coaching method but by outcomes. So coaches are afraid to lose." Dayan's striker, Yuval Avidor, could only apologize for the team's defensive play. He is also thirsty for that first goal. "Soccer in Europe is attractive and full of attacking play," he admits. "In Israel teams come to play close and make it hard for the other team to play soccer. "It's too bad because fans are going to come less often if they don't get their money's worth," Avidor adds. "They come to see goals and leave bummed out. [Attendence] Ratings drop from year to year." When Maccabi Haifa hired Elisha Levy in April as its new coach, the club listed three positions that needed strengthening - defender, defensive midfielder and striker. He filled the first two spots almost immediately, but is still searching for the third. This reflects the prevailing attitude of taking care of the defense first and neglecting the front line, which may also stem from the fact that defenders come cheaper than forwards. Mazen Genaim, the chairman of Bnei Sakhnin, says that the combination of a lack of good strikers and coaches' fears for their jobs is deadly. The Israelis who have stood out, such as Omer Golan, Elyaniv Barda and Barak Itzhaki, left for Europe, he points out, with Itzhaki only now returning. "They don't raise talented strikers here," he says, "and when there are talented players, the coaches don't let them play." The reason, Genaim says, is that "coaches are afraid of going home quickly. They don't have patience. They don't have time to develop young strikers." He stressed the coaches' job concerns stem from the impatience of club heads who want immediate results. Guy Luzon, however, says its too early to tell. "Three games is no measure," he counters. "Wait and take a look over time. There were lots of chances to score this season, no less than last season. It happens to great strikers - they miss." Yossi Mizrahi, coach of Ashdod S.C., agrees with Luzon on the number of scoring opportunities, but says "we lack quality strikers." According to Mizrahi, players like Ohana, Alon Mizrahi and Avi Nimni would not miss those kinds of shots on goal. Rather, "soccer has changed," he states. "I saw all the league games this season, and every team had lots of chances to score. But, to score goals you need talent, and we don't have those kinds of players today. I saw, for example, Kiryat Shmona against Hapoel Tel Aviv: There wasn't a problem finding a chance to score. There simply weren't good strikers. The scoring rate lately is very low." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Beatle in Bethlehem Paul McCartney says West Bank visit shows he is carrying message of peace. Biden on the attack Democratic VP candidate says McCain presidency would benefit Iran, Hezbollah.

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