Back to the Middle Ages

The English, who were described, sometimes justifiably, as mediocre, surprisingly acted like true soccer players. Everything is relative, and compared to Israel's complete and utter wretchedness, they were great. Dror Kashtan's system has sent us back to the Middle Ages. Again, he flooded the center of the field with defensive midfielders who displayed poor technique; again the national team coach insisted on using players who have failed over the last few years in the domestic league.

We have already been through everything: We came out of the Dark Ages of Jerry Beit Halevi, sunk to the depths of the Middle Ages with Schneor-Grundman, went through a short Renaissance - sometimes joyful - with Shlomo Sharf, then we returned to the gloomy period during Avraham Grant's tenure and now we get to spend time with the legal successor Kashtan. In some of the earlier analyses, there were commentators who did not hesitate to discuss the possibility of a miracle. Even a sworn atheist such as myself read these statements and I was barely able to extinguish the flicker of hope that passed through my body.

All our lives we ran around on the field and dreamt about fame and success; we usually ended up with disappointment. This time, against England at Wembley, we knew we had no chance and we still dared to dream. We were aware of the balance of power ahead of time. England is not one of the strongest European teams, but it is still better than us in many ways. And so what? We had nothing to lose, and we did not really need these points. Israel has nothing to look forward to at Euro 2008, even after the defensive, bunker-type victories in Euro 2004. And if we are already dealing with a bunker-type mindset, then why did we pass on its number-one specialist, Avraham Grant, sending him to work in the shadow of a repulsive bunkerist even bigger than him, Jose Mourinho? No one has a rational answer to this question.

Therefore, it is painfully clear that whoever wants the national squad to try to play soccer with such weakness must choose a coach from the Shlomo Sharf school, someone like Itzhak Shum or even Eli Ohana, and not another conservative disciple of the beloved Emmanuel Scheffer. Kashtan also had better times, but then the malignant defensive-conservative style spread within him.

Consequently, we did not put on a proper display of soccer and we did not create a miracle. We didn't even manage to muster up the strength we do have. That is primarily pathetic and sad.