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Soccer / Jan's comeback puts her in the position she wanted - underdog By Nir Wolf As Sylvie Jan leads ASA Tel Aviv into the State Cup final tonight against favored Maccabi Holon, she hardly shows the rust from coming out of retirement or any sign that not too long ago, she was determined to stay out of the game. Two years ago, Jan decided to hang up her soccer cleats - a radical step for someone deserving the title of the greatest female Israeli soccer player ever. "I wanted to distance myself from soccer as much as possible," she admits. "I didn't even go to the league games. When they broadcast the Cup final on television, I didn't want to watch. I wasn't interested in soccer anymore. I avoided it as much as possible. I couldn't even go into a sporting-goods store because it was hard for me to look at soccer cleats. And that did me good." Advertisement Jan says no one understood why she retired and people asked her to return to the league. "They kept pressuring me to make a comeback," she says. The 35-year old says she was adamant about staying away. She spent her time working in the family business. Eventually, she started working with the ASA Tel Aviv youth team and commenced her university studies. "Over time, I grew attached to this club," she explains. "Suddenly, all these feelings about returning arose. I hesitated at first, but the moment they asked me if there was a chance I would return, it took me maybe two days to make a final decision." Better to start again She says she took into account that her comeback could fail, but after two years she felt the itch to play: "In past years ASA was always in second place. Save for one championship, they took seven years ago they fail to take titles, and it suited me to joining the underdog." Jan stresses that ASA Tel Aviv represented precisely the challenge she had been seeking. "In my career, I won so many titles with Maccabi Holon, it got the point where I didn't have any challenges left. We would score 10 or 20 goals in a game; it wasn't fun anymore. You're always winning the championship and can't even enjoy it." Jan played with Hapoel Tel Aviv, spent time in the Norwegian league - considered one of the strongest in the world - and returned to Israel for a stint with Holon. She finished her career with 840 goals and a place of honor in women's soccer history. In January, Jan took up the challenge and joined ASA Tel Aviv. Though it won 20 of 22 matched - scoring 149 goals - the two losses to Holon kept the championship trophy in its permanent home. "It wasn't fun to return mid-season," explains Jan. "I'm the kind who loves to arrive at the beginning, to do preseason training, to get to know my teammates. I don't like being thrown into the water mid-season." She had time for one practice and started the very next match. "I wasn't even fully in shape, I went in that quickly," she recalls. Indeed, she scored 33 goals in four months, earning her second place in league scoring. After losing the championship, her goal is to bring home the State Cup when Tel Aviv faces Holon tonight. Although Jan plans to stick around one more season, the league's future looks very dim. It's a low quality, one-sided league with empty stands. "Womens' soccer in Israel is not developing because it doesn't interest anyone, and that's sad," says Jan. "In order to raise it a level, a basic infrastructure is needed, which is lacking here." She believes that girls should be divided into age groups. Now, soccer is more like an after-school activity, she explains, and girls are not learning the basics. She adds that if she had the last word, she would know what to do, but notes there's no money and no one has patience for women's soccer. "Everyone wants immediate results, and they don't think ahead," Jan says. "As long as control continues to rest with the clubs, nothing will happen. Only if private individuals take things upon themselves, can soccer here be good. But as long as the situation remains the same, there's no future and it will all fade away and disappear." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Benedict XVI in Israel Special Feature / Pictures, videos, analysis and breaking news from the pope's visit Sperm woes Study shows a 40% decline in the quality of Israeli men's sperm over the last decade

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