Shlomi Barzel

If, one weekend, we were all to decide to stay away, and swear never to come back until the stables have been cleaned out, then, without a shadow of doubt, all involved would finally get around to doing something.

Beitar may be on top of the league after the first round of play, but Gaydamak wants attractive soccer and for that he deserves credit.

Beitar Jerusalem has a coach. His name is Ossie Ardiles; he is an Argentine with an illustrious past as a player and a less formidable record on the sidelines.

Israel needs Tal Ben Haim back in the center of defense, placated, at one with himself.

In a rare show of nobility for these parts, Eli Dricks, aka vice president of Maccabi Tel Aviv, took professional responsibility for the club yesterday.

Nir Davidovich is Avraham Grant's first choice in goal. Dudu Awat has known that for a long time, but after his fiasco against Malmo, it was Davidovich who needed to be reminded of that fact.

Anybody who follows the current Israel team knows there is something different about it. You can criticize some of the decisions made by the coaching staff, but as far as its play and its mentality are concerned, it has been a long time since we have something so real.

Avraham Grant faces quite a dilemma tonight - whether to play for a win or to go for a draw. The temptation is enormous.

Just like previous tests in the current campaign, last night's game with Ireland has left two questions unanswered: Will it be enough at the end of the day and will Israel be able to do better when push comes to shove?

If Berkovic appeared to have been in control before the news conference at which he announced an end to his European career, and later when Hapoel Petah Tikva slammed five goals past Maccabi Haifa, the tables have definitely turned.

No matter how hard Israel tried to change its attitude ahead of the game with Cyprus, somehow things went askew. Once again we appear to have lost our grip.

Nir Klinger spoke once again last night of a feeling of disappointment, only for once one can identify with that feeling.

As an integral part of Betar for the past three decades, Ohana has encountered the ugly face of the team's fans on a number of occasions.

Gili Landau's departure from Hapoel Tel Aviv was no great surprise, but it is all the same a cause of embarrassment for all involved in the fleeting episode.

Ajax had to win last night and it did so almost effortlessly, making a joke of Nir Klinger's proclamations that Maccabi could come away from the game with at least a point.

Israel coach Avraham Grant will hold a final training session today for the national squad before the team heads off to France later in the evening, ahead of the opening game of its 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday.

While it may have to struggle on the court, Maccabi Tel Aviv will be unchallenged in the stands, where it will have some 10,000 supporters among the 11,000 seats at Yad Eliahu. The question, however, is will the home court advantage play in Maccabi's favor, or will the pressure be too much too handle for the perennial Israeli champion?

In his five years at Hapoel Tel Aviv, Dror Kashtan has proven as skillful at manipulating the media as he is at managing his players on the field.

With every round that passes in the Premier League, Bnei Sakhnin's success in its first season in the top flight is proving to be more than mere coincidence.

A moment before or after we lift our hats off to those who said 'we told you so' about Bnei Yehuda, we have to say confidently that "we told you so" about Maccabi Haifa.

Israeli soccer hasn't seen too many dramatic transfers on the scale of Avi Nimni's move to Betar Jerusalem. Then again, it hasn't had too many mega-stars on the scale of Avi Nimni - players who are about much more than just the game, players who are so special as to seem as if they stand for their club itself.