An Israeli coach in England? - Haaretz

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Last update - 11:48 24/09/2007

An Israeli coach in England?

By Shlomi Barzel

Israeli soccer fans and their British counterparts were equally amazed by Avraham Grant's appointment to coach Chelsea. The Israelis have become familiar with Grant over the past two decades. He has coached senior teams in the Premier League as well as Israel's national soccer team. The English, on the other hand, found themselves last Thursday with a new manager who was virtually unknown to them.

The question "Avram Who?" best captures British astonishment over the appointment. It encapsulates the two secondary questions: Who is Grant, and how is it possible that an Israeli will be coaching one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious teams?

Both questions are legitimate ones, for until last weekend, the English had little reason to devote attention to Grant. True, he has been involved in British soccer for the past 18 months - first as Portsmouth technical director, and then, as of this summer, in a similar post at Chelsea. But not even the wildest scenario ever envisioned such an eventuality - which, for the British, is quite apocalyptic. Considering Britons' lack of appreciation for Israeli soccer, it is not hard to understand their shock, disappointment and doubt about the appointment of this unknown.

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Still, there was something out of line in how the British press handled Grant: It treated him as it would a garden variety soccer fan. The media's unabashed scorn, condescension and abuse replaced impartial reporting, which could have raised the same doubts as to Grant's suitability. Grant became a pinata for competing reporters and newspapers, each trying to out-swat the other.

Had they at least equipped themselves with information on Grant's past performance, one could have consoled oneself that the reporters were acting properly and not out of pure malice. But when a respected journalist asked Grant whether he thought that coaching an Israeli team through six Champions League games could attest to his ability to succeed at Chelsea, it served to expose British journalism's true colors - because Grant has never coached any team through the Champions League.

Spearheading the vicious assault on Grant was David Mellor, who once served as a minister in the British government. The gutters to which Mellor descended in his column in the Evening Standard raise serious doubts about the validity of the stereotype of the British as possessing good manners. Mellor called Israeli soccer "the bottom of the barrel" and described Grant as one of the former's "lowly products."

It may merit mentioning that Mellor had to leave his governmental post after barely surviving two public scandals. One involved adultery: The minister was said to have had extramarital sex with a television actress, whom he reportedly instructed to wear a Chelsea t-shirt while engaging in intercourse with him. Later on, evidence suggested that Mellor had gone on a free trip in 1990 that was paid for by the daughter of a Palestine Liberation Organization official. There was also a trip paid for by the ruler of Abu Dhabi. It was this that led to his resignation.

In the meantime, Mellor had had a confrontation with an Israel Defense Forces officer at a checkpoint in the territories during a visit there. He is a harsh critic of Israel, and is regarded as a staunch supporter of the Palestinian struggle against Israel.

But even disregarding Mellor's past and his disturbing presence in all of this, the handling of Grant's appointment by the British press reeks of xenophobia. In recent years, the British have increasingly been losing their national soccer to foreigners, who are manning more and more key positions in British soccer, including ownership of teams, coaches and managers. The same goes for the actual players. The local product is gradually losing the exclusive status the British once attributed to it. Grant, through no fault of his own, is perceived as the straw that broke the camel's back.

Complaints against the British hostility toward Grant are quite legitimate. But they represent a chance for us to look in the mirror, and we should take the opportunity. Israeli sport - which is still not considered a leader in any field - has seen quite a few foreign players and coaches entering its ranks. The treatment they received from the Israeli media included quite a few of the characteristics that proliferated in the past few days among the British media.

The impressive or unimpressive resumes that the foreigners who entered Israeli sports brought with them had little effect on the coverage they received here in Israel. After all, we, too, hasten to ask: "Who are they, anyway?"

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1.	Shkomi why are you afraid of using the `A` word?	12:45	\|	Polite Israeli	24/09/07

2.	David mellor couch potato	12:49	\|	ky	24/09/07

3.	Hold it, for aminute!!!!	13:16	\|	Abergil	24/09/07

4.	#3Abergil	13:51	\|	ky	24/09/07

5.	Fucking Chelsea	15:16	\|	L A	24/09/07

6.	Grant	15:33	\|	Ed A	24/09/07

7.	Chelsea Fans - Laughable	16:20	\|	Eric	24/09/07

8.	Hold the front page!	16:51	\|	KickerConspiracy	24/09/07

9.	not everything is anti-semitic	17:01	\|	Rasta	24/09/07

10.	hang on	17:11	\|	Nerys	24/09/07

11.	Who cares about english soccer anyway?	18:50	\|	Matt	24/09/07

12.	Im sorry Its not Anti-semitism	19:26	\|	Mike	24/09/07

13.	Polite Israeli # 1 is right on the spot.	19:27	\|	Fortuna Benmayor	24/09/07

14.	To Mike and Matt	20:06	\|	Eric	24/09/07

15.	Re: Eric	21:01	\|	Mike	24/09/07

16.	Grant is rubbish and he was the chavski "fans" deserve	21:02	\|	Reuben Jacobs	24/09/07

17.	Eric, who cares about english soccer anyway?	21:09	\|	Matt	24/09/07

18.	RE: Eric Who cares about english soccer anyway?	21:14	\|	Matt	24/09/07

19.	Matt and Reuben	21:53	\|	Eric	24/09/07

20.	article is nonsense	22:00	\|	dierre	24/09/07

21.	Paranoia	22:37	\|	Vitor	24/09/07

22.	Eric - the reality is quite the contrary I`m afraid	00:25	\|	Reuben Jacobs	25/09/07

23.	RE: Eric Who cares about english soccer anyway?	01:30	\|	Matt	25/09/07

24.	To Eric	01:55	\|	Matt	25/09/07

25.	Re Eric	02:57	\|	Matt	25/09/07

26.	anti-Semitism	15:56	\|	Adam	26/09/07

27.	British anti-semitism	12:43	\|	Brian	12/10/07

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