Soccer / Goalie puts Europe on hold and braces for Israeli reality?

Hapoel Tel Aviv supporters wanted to organize a farewell match for star goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama. They reckoned the Nigerian international, who in the past two years was among the best players in the league, was certain to transfer to a bigger club and wanted to thank perhaps the best goalie ever to play in the Israeli league. But the initiative was quashed by club management.?

?At the moment we have no offer for Enyeama and, as far as we?re concerned, he will play for Hapoel next season,? supporters were then told.?

But the supporters? enthusiasm was hard to quash. They ignored management and showed up at the team?s training grounds to award Enyeama a trophy, thanking him for his contribution to the club. The Nigerian player could hardly hide his emotions.?

?I?m very excited by the award,? he said when given the trophy. ?I will miss these supporters. Hapoel Tel Aviv is now part of my life, and I am part of theirs.??

He parted from the rest of the players, toured through the Tel Aviv neighborhood where his former team Bnei Yehuda play and bid his old acquaintances goodbye; he told his landlord he would not be renewing his lease and did not inquire into arrangements for the enrollment of his children in kindergarten next year. When the league season ended, he boarded a flight to London, where the Nigerian international team was training, certain it would be the last time he would see Israel. But time went by and Hapoel Tel Aviv didn?t receive any concrete offers. Unless something happens soon, Enyeama will return to Hapoel Tel Aviv and Israel next season.?

High hopes?

He had all the reasons in the world to have high hopes. He was initially wooed by Spanish club Espanyol, but that fell through. Then French club Lille took a liking to him. But a disagreement between the Nigerian?s agent and the club forced it to sign a different goalie instead.?

England was the next option. No less than eight clubs showed an interest in signing him but after try outs most clubs reached the conclusion he had a weakness in dealing with high balls, which is critical because of the style of play in England.?

Phil Brown, an assistant coach at Hull, commented on why his club decided to pass on buying the goalie.?

?It?s like no one had gone over his mistakes with him in recent years,? Brown said.?

Hapoel have no idea how to deal with Enyeama now. They know that from the minute he arrived in Israel, his dream was to play in Europe, and that he was certain that the coming season he would see that dream come true. Management is worried Enyeama will either return a crushed man or perhaps even refuse to return to Israel altogether. Hapoel Tel Aviv Coach Eli Gutman recently notified him that the club expects him to take part in its training camp and assured management everything will be fine.?

?He understands he?s coming back to Hapoel,? an official said. ?

?The question is what kind of Enyeama will show up. Gutman says it will be fine, and that ?we told him he can keep looking for a club in Europe in the winter. But we?re not sad he?s staying, because for his salary Hapoel couldn?t have found a better player.?