When the Greens stopped messing around with small things and started playing against high-profile opponents, it was proven that they couldn't get far with this embarrassing defensive play..
"All life is a series of foxes and fate," sings the band "Hatikva 6." Maccabi Haifa players experienced this firsthand this week in their game at Bloomfield against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Even if you show that you have something to sell offensively, and you're one step away from coming away with a point on the toughest field in the league, it's no consolation when the defensive game is a natural disaster. And please, don't drop the bag on a tsunami.
When the Greens stopped worrying about the small stuff and started dealing with the real thing, it became clear to them that they couldn't get far with this dissonance. When every passing attack is a life-threatening situation, accidental goals are part of the game even if the opponent comes into the game exhausted and exhausted. Every Greens fan knows that if the team continues to suffer with such unbearable ease, the journey of humiliation against the "big ones" will continue.
The only good news from this game was that new signing Eli Dessa tried to cheer everyone up at the end. He stood in front of the cameras and spoke very loudly: "Championship? I'm not ashamed to say yes. Why not? We have an excellent team."
Dassa, a figurehead and potential captain, quickly took on the role of right guard, the responsible adult and the official cheerleader. Deep down, he knows that if your team finishes 0-of-9 in games against top-tier opponents, it's not destined for greatness. At most, it can flirt with the Final Four.
A supreme moment
Ilay Feingold, a Maccabi Haifa player, set himself several goals when he left for the US to play for New England in the MLS: to improve professionally, to pad his bank account, to experience the American dream, and, God willing, to rub shoulders with an alien named Messi, so he can run and tell the guys.
And this week it happened. Feingold, who scored his team's opening goal against Inter Miami, went down in disappointment, as the Flea and Co. pulled off a turnaround and won 2:1. But then came a defining moment for Feingold when he and the Unicorn swapped shirts. That's how it is. New England didn't get a point from Miami, but he got a shirt from Messi.
It's hard to judge.
I don't envy referee Dekel Zino at all. A young soccer referee who dared to blow a controversial penalty at a critical minute at Teddy Stadium, in Saturday's game between Beitar and Kiryat Shmona. The decision brought feelings of deprivation and ruined the week for tens of thousands of Beitar fans, many of whom know that soccer is more of a matter of life and death.
In response, they sent the judge and his wife nearly 3,000 unkind messages, along with harsh curses and wishes for illness for him and his family. The judge received messages on his mobile phone along the lines of: "We'll make sure you die, we'll terrorize you, stinking gambler. Hates Beitar." And what did the referees' union do? They decided to lower his quota to referee in the National League until further notice.
The writerDavid Ratt, a veteran Haifa journalist and former editor of the "Yediot Media" network, humorist, satirist, and comic writer. Author of the books "Every Unnecessary Word," "With the Tongue Out," and "Making a Laugh at Work."
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