Dario Župarić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Words at Hapoel Haifa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willy Agada is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Hapoel Haifa, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Matan Weissman left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
Itay Buganim is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Hapoel Haifa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hapoel Haifa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Hapoel Haifa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willy Agada is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Hapoel Haifa will quote 18 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
“I did not go to Beitar Jerusalem to sit and watch. I want to come back to Hapoel Haifa and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Hapoel Raanana in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Hapoel Haifa know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Hapoel Haifa. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
The dugoutHamoud Bassam knocks on the manager’s door
Eli Levy, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.74
A mark of 7.74 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Beitar Jerusalem can pretend not to have heard.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Pierre Cornud and Beitar Jerusalem agree another 3 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gil Cohen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 18 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hapoel Haifa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Hapoel Haifa, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Matan Weissman to a room that had heard them before.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Beitar Jerusalem will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
He arrived for a fee and leaves for a fraction of it. $500.5K of what Beitar Jerusalem paid for Roy Korine is money the club will not see again, and the boardroom will be asked about it for two seasons.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 12 gone
That is the business done at Beitar Jerusalem until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Yehonatan Ozer reports back to Beitar Jerusalem with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Miguel Silva was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Beitar Jerusalem will try again when the window opens; Hapoel Tel Aviv may not be selling by then.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Beitar Jerusalem has been clear about where Tomer Yosefi stands, which is more than many ever get.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Beitar Jerusalem people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Beitar Jerusalem they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The offer from Walsall for André Leipold was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The board have signed the man in the dugout to a longer contract, which says more than any statement of support. Stability is easy to promise and costly to keep.
Everything agreed with Hapoel Haifa, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Luka Gadrani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
In brief
SquadWords at Beitar Jerusalem training over how hard people work
The offer from Hapoel Raanana for Gil Cohen was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Beitar Jerusalem will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Luka Gadrani and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Beitar Jerusalem can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gil Cohen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Beitar Jerusalem, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody at Beitar Jerusalem will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Yoav Gerafi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words at Hapoel Haifa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willy Agada is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Hapoel Haifa asked and Acassuso said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Hapoel Haifa are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Hapoel Haifa have made the call to Flamengo. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Hapoel Haifa will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Rotem Hatuel has written the date down.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and FC Eindhoven waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Beitar Jerusalem is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Beitar Jerusalem will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Miguel Silva and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Maccabi Tel Aviv have kept their man, and Beitar Jerusalem go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Nobody at Beitar Jerusalem will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Position 5, 43 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hapoel Haifa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Hapoel Haifa can pretend not to have heard.
Itzik Shoolmayster and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Hapoel Haifa told Itay Buganim something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Roei Zikri falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shai Elias signs something — a contract at Hapoel Haifa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody at Hapoel Haifa will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes Itay Buganim a promise
The dugoutNaftali Balay knocks on the manager’s door
Hapoel Haifa offered $590.0K; Hapoel Tel Aviv said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Hapoel Haifa have gone to Hapoel Kiryat Shmona with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Hapoel Haifa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willy Agada is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Reuben Acquah has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Hapoel Haifa have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Maccabi Petach Tikva have kept their man, and Hapoel Haifa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Naftali Balay and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shai Elias signs something — a contract at Hapoel Haifa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Yoav Gerafi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Hapoel Haifa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Willy Agada is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shai Elias signs something — a contract at Hapoel Haifa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Naor Sabag has written the date down.
In brief
The dugoutNaftali Balay knocks on the manager's door
SquadDario Župarić is training like a man with a point to make
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Willy Agada was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Naftali Balay is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Hapoel Haifa has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Yoav Gerafi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Hapoel Haifa can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Hapoel Haifa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roei Zikri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rotem Hatuel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shai Elias signs something — a contract at Hapoel Haifa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Yoav Gerafi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Willy Agada falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shai Elias signs something — a contract at Hapoel Haifa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Eli Levy is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Hapoel Haifa. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hapoel Haifa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A Hapoel Haifa teenager takes the young player award
Yinon Faingezicht is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ivan Kričak trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Maccabi Haifa in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Hapoel Haifa has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shai Elias signs something — a contract at Hapoel Haifa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hapoel Haifa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Amir Ben-Shimon and Hapoel Haifa agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Roei Zikri and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Hapoel Acre in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Eli Levy is on it.
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hapoel Haifa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
1‑4 to Hapoel Tel Aviv, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Ofek Melika: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.18 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Maccabi Petach Tikva scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.