Ben David

Left Wingback - Bnei Yehuda
29 Jul 2046
Sunday
Process

Marked for Ben David

1042 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

16 Jul 2046
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Real improvement from Ben David at Bnei Yehuda

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ben David is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Tomer Solomon stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Tomer Solomon and Bnei Yehuda agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Words at Bnei Yehuda training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nurali Tymoshchuk 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.

In brief

Back issues
1039 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

25 Jun 2046
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Sherzod Ahmedov puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bnei Yehuda, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Omer Revivo signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Omer Revivo and Bnei Yehuda agree another 4 years.

Squad

Bnei Yehuda count the cost of losing Faisal Hassan

28 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

In brief

1031 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

30 Apr 2046
From our football correspondent Steady

The terraces

The mood at Bnei Yehuda has turned into something else

Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.

Squad

When it matters, Benjamin Rasmussen plays

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.

Market

Eitan Cohen linked with a move away

The name of Eitan Cohen keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bnei Yehuda say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

1025 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

19 Mar 2046
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

When it matters, Eitan Cohen plays

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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Omer Levy

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

The Omer David talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bnei Yehuda know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

1021 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

19 Feb 2046
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Bnei Yehuda tear Beitar Jerusalem apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Beitar Jerusalem, and it could have been more.

Player ratings

Nir Solomon, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.26

A mark of 8.26 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

The terraces

Bnei Yehuda supporters have found a favourite in Ben David

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Ben David has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Squad

Eli Weissman signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Eli Weissman and Bnei Yehuda agree another 4 years.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sagiv Revivo

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nir Solomon

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Words at Bnei Yehuda training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nurali Tymoshchuk 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.

Squad

When it matters, Eitan Cohen plays

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.

Market

The Omer David talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bnei Yehuda know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

1015 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

8 Jan 2046
From our football correspondent Steady

The terraces

Anger at Bnei Yehuda spills outside the ground

It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.

Match

Bnei Yehuda taken apart

0‑3 to Maccabi Petach Tikva, 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.

Player ratings

The game went through Ashkan Hajsafi — 6.89

Marked 6.89 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Bnei Yehuda

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Bartosz Buksa

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Eli Weissman named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Eli Weissman is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

Squad

Benjamin Rasmussen has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Bnei Yehuda 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Ben David

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Squad

Words at Bnei Yehuda training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nurali Tymoshchuk 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.

In brief

1004 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

23 Oct 2045
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Maccabi Haifa take the points off Bnei Yehuda

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Ashkan Hajsafi

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Ben David gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

999 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

18 Sep 2045
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The terraces

Anger at Bnei Yehuda spills outside the ground

It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.

Match

Bnei Sakhnin take the points off Bnei Yehuda

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

Bartosz Buksa in the eights

A performance of 8.10 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Words at Bnei Yehuda training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nurali Tymoshchuk 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.

Squad

When it matters, Eitan Cohen plays

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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Sagiv Revivo

Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Ori Atzili dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

Squad

Ben David left out for tactical reasons at Bnei Yehuda

The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

Market

The Eitan Cohen talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bnei Yehuda know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

996 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

28 Aug 2045
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Bnei Yehuda boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Ben David keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bnei Yehuda may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Real improvement from Nir Solomon at Bnei Yehuda

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nir Solomon is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Bnei Yehuda

6 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.

Match

Bnei Yehuda find a way past Hapoel Acre

Hapoel Acre made Bnei Yehuda work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Bartosz Buksa

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Bnei Yehuda promote Itay Peretz from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Itay Peretz has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Bnei Yehuda promote Gil Levy from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Gil Levy has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Bnei Yehuda promote Amit Solomon from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Amit Solomon has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

In brief

995 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

21 Aug 2045
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

Anger at Bnei Yehuda spills outside the ground

It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.

Squad

Ben David is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.

Squad

Eli Cohen stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Eli Cohen and Bnei Yehuda agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

992 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

31 Jul 2045
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Bnei Yehuda boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

When it matters, Benjamin Rasmussen plays

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.

Squad

Ben David gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

983 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

29 May 2045
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The terraces

The mood at Bnei Yehuda has turned into something else

Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.

Squad

Nurali Tymoshchuk signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nurali Tymoshchuk commits to Bnei Yehuda for another 2 years.

Squad

Itay Cohen gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

972 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

13 Mar 2045
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Itay Revivo damages knee ligaments — 121 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 121 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Squad

Eli Cohen keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bnei Yehuda may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Benjamin Rasmussen has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Bnei Yehuda 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

968 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

13 Feb 2045
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Bnei Yehuda's wait for a win

14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bnei Yehuda has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

Bartosz Buksa runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Eitan Cohen’s goal not enough for Bnei Yehuda

Eitan Cohen scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Hapoel Beer Sheva, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Avi Dabbur signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Avi Dabbur and Bnei Yehuda agree another 3 years.

Squad

Benjamin Rasmussen has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Bnei Yehuda 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Ben David

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ben David, and the manager let it.

In brief

962 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

2 Jan 2045
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Every point is an argument now for Bnei Yehuda

Position 14 and 13 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Match

No end in sight to Bnei Yehuda's wait for a win

8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bnei Yehuda has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Eden Natcho puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bnei Yehuda, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

A fracture rules Sagiv Dabbur out for 17 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Yehuda will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Benjamin Rasmussen keeps Bnei Yehuda in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Ben David: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bnei Yehuda have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Bnei Yehuda

7 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Squad

Bartosz Buksa signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bartosz Buksa commits to Bnei Yehuda for another 4 years.

Player ratings

Bartosz Buksa runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

953 Edition

The Bnei Yehuda Herald

31 Oct 2044
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

8 matches without a win for Bnei Yehuda

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Bnei Yehuda are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Sagiv Dabbur breaks a bone — 80 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 80 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Ofir Glazer keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bnei Yehuda may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Bartosz Buksa

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Hapoel Tel Aviv take the points off Bnei Yehuda

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Words at Bnei Yehuda training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nurali Tymoshchuk 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.

In brief