Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., December 28, 2008 Tevet 1, 5769 | | Israel Time: 01:47 (EST+7)   Back to Homepage web haaretz.com Haaretz Toolbar Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File

Soccer / Last in the pecking order By Yaniv Kubovitch Tags: Israel news This past March, when Eli Cohen resigned from his job as head coach of Bnei Yehuda, everyone knew the season was over for the orange squad. No one in the club thought otherwise, and they decided to appoint Yaakov Assayag as a kind of default choice. After saving the team from relegation in impressive fashion, Assayag refused to ride the wave of success and declined the club's offer to stay on for this season. It was a surprising decision, or, perhaps not - when one looks at the slew of firings this season. "I made it clear from the first moment that I wasn't prepared to be the coach, and it didn't matter what happened," he recalls. "Now I'm number two in the club, and the last thing I want is to look for adventures. The status of a coach in Israeli soccer is comparable to that of a prostitute, and I'm sorry to say this. The coaches take being treated like crap because they just want to work and not to lose their jobs." Advertisement In Israel, he continues, a coach holding a practice today "knows that if tomorrow he loses, he'll be sent home and could end up there for a year or two." Figures from the past two years indicate that there is more than a grain of truth to Assayag's harsh words. Before the Premier League even reached its halfway point, four coaches were fired - Yitzhak Shum, Ran Ben Shimon, Freddy David and Michel Dayan - while Guy Azuri quit after receiving obvious hints in the press from his owner at Maccabi Petah Tikva. Azuri, who was replaced the same day by former Maccabi Haifa coach Ronny Levy, is pained at the lack of collegiality among coaches. "The status of a coach amounts to nothing," he vents. "The press puts pressure on the coaches and gives them a lot of grief." He says that management is also vulnerable to pressure, and makes many decisions because of fan pressure. "The fans are a very important component, and there's no need to ignore them, but there's no sports culture here and nothing around it." According to Azuri, "Everyone permits himself to say what he wants. It's become a jungle, and there's not even one law. We, the coaches, should know how to deal with this problem. The reality is so unstable and insecure, and coaches probably play a big part in this. There's no respect between coaches. The situation is catastrophic." Michel Dayan was caught relatively off-guard by his pink slip. While Kiryat Shmona initially announced that his departure was reached by mutual consent, owner Izzy Sheratzky later admitted that he decided to fire Dayan because of a technical disagreement about putting up players in hotels before games. "Owners try to please the fans, and the first one to pay the price is the coach," says Dayan. "The profession is being cheapened. If five coaches lose their position in the Premier League and we haven't even reached January, that says it all." Uri Malmillian, a former star who has been out of the Premier League coaching circuit for years, believes that coaches are not fully professional in Israel. "Some don't belong in Israeli soccer at all - they're only advantage is that they brownnose all the owners," he asserts. "This profession has been reduced to prostitution." Malmillian points to another problem: salaries. "Coaches now earn as much as a mediocre second division player," he says. "They take any price and let the owners treat them like dirt, as long as they can stand on the sidelines." He says that Maccabi Haifa chairman Yaakov Shahar should be everyone's example, as someone who is thoroughly professional. "No one else comes close to him," adds Malmillian. By this measure, Maccabi Herzliya chairman Ariel Shayman is light years away from Shahar. Shayman has a reputation of not being afraid to rag on coaches. He set a new standard this season, when he fired Eyal Lahman during a game. The chairman argues that this generation of coaches refuses to work together with owners. "They are the masters of everything," he says. "They are responsible for bringing players, and that's one of the reasons coaches are fired nowadays." Shayman counters that the problem is the coaches' egos. "They should learn how to listen to owners. What's wrong with sitting with a coach and giving him a few helpful tips? Why not?" Representing the more moderate camp of owners is Hezi Magen, chairman of Bnei Yehuda. Magen showed patience this season with Guy Luzon, even as his coach won only one game in ten attempts. Still, Magen says sometimes there's no choice. "The owner is influenced by several factors," he says about his colleagues. "If he hears the fans yelling and cursing, and listens to the press being critical about his team, he can't allow himself to remain indifferent. I don't envy any owner who reaches the point of firing a coach. It's really not easy." He adds that because it's impossible to change the players, "the coach is the option to shake things up, but it should be done as a last resort." Bookmark to del.icio.us   'shock and awe' Israel's strike on Gaza is the closest thing there is to a war with Hamas. Looking for support As it confronts terror, Israel expects understanding of the international community.

Read & React At least 225 dead, over 780 hurt in IAF Gaza strikes Responses: 228 Palestinian rocket accidentally kills 2 young Gaza girls Responses: 131 ANALYSIS / A hard look at Hamas' capabilities Responses: 95 Israelis voice horror at rejection of Arab child from Jewish daycare Responses: 124 Report: Iran preps humanitarian aid ship to Gaza Strip Responses: 96 Benjamin Weinthal: Berlin conference dangerously equates anti-Semitism with Islamophobia Responses: 78 More Headlines 01:36 IDF mobilizes tanks, reinforces troops along Gaza border 01:33 After IAF strike kills 225 in Gaza, Hamas chief vows third Intifada has come 00:24 Disinformation, secrecy and lies: How the Gaza offensive came about 21:41 ANALYSIS / IAF strike on Gaza is Israel's version of 'shock and awe' 00:27 One Israeli killed, 4 hurt as Palestinian rockets hit Negev home 21:01 Bradley Burston / The worst anti-Israel charges you'll hear in wartime 23:36 IN PICTURES / The Gaza Strip under attack 21:43 U.S. demands Hamas end terrorist acts, urges Israel to avoid civilian casualties 22:48 Israeli Arabs react with violence to IDF operations in Gaza 21:45 Israel to mount emergency international PR effort in wake of Gaza campaign 21:46 Palestinian rocket accidentally kills 2 young Gaza girls 07:26 Report: Iran preps humanitarian aid ship to Gaza Strip 11:48 Peres: Israel has no plans to enter Gaza, won't ignite regional war 10:20 Arab journalist blasts Egyptian FM for failing to censure Livni Gaza threats 22:23 Israeli Arab party meets leftist Palestinian faction led by convicted terrorist 01:40 Elie Wiesel charity vows to fight on despite being swindled in Madoff affair Previous Editions Select Day 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec 18 dec 17 dec 16 dec 15 dec 14 dec

Special Offers Advertisement Summer in Israel Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009 SURF RAMBAM Keep current about new-wave medical care, education and research. Summer Camp in Israel The best place for your children this summer Academic Studies in Israel All the Q & A at the IDC HERZLIYA Open House, January 9,2009 Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Car rental in Israel Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates. Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved