Immediately with the publication of Hapoel Haifa’s announcement that it confirms the Cup semi-final match against the city rival in Bloomfield and does not want to copy it to Sami Ofer, as requested by the Greens, countless reactions flowed from both audiences on social media. Naturally, Maccabi Haifa fans were unanimous in their opinion that this was an unfortunate decision for Hapoel Haifa, while the Reds had versions and opinions here or there. A significant number of them were against the club’s decision not to copy to Sami Ofer and some would argue that this was the right decision.
An examination of what happened behind the scenes at the club itself, shows that owner Yoav Katz consulted with quite a few officials at the club and with players just before he made a final decision on the matter. According to Hapoel Haifa’s conclusions, they had to get Maccabi Haifa out of its comfort zone with Sami Ofer, and this is a net professional decision after Yoav Katz made countless consultations with both the professional team and the players themselves.
“The locker rooms of Maccabi Haifa are luxurious and all Sami Ofer is networked with cameras that go and report live to their bench on data and reports on the players. If it gives them even a ten percent advantage, we will take that advantage, because their audience will reach every field anyway,” they said. in Da Club.
Comments from Hapoel Haifa fans
Letter received from the fan Gidi Yehoshua On behalf of a group of fans: “We were happy to hear about the brave decision of the club’s management not to delay Yaakov Shachar and Maccabi Haifa’s request to transfer the semi-final to Sami Ofer Stadium.
Maccabi Haifa’s attempt to change this and transfer it to Sami Ofer stems from the Greens’ understanding that with Sami Ofer, with the regular encouragement stages, the northern stand, and the close ties with the ushers, the police and the local media, they will have some advantage. On the other hand, we are happy about going to the semi-finals in Tel Aviv, a total of one hour drive, it happens everywhere in the world and so it will happen with the red and green Haifa fans.
“Beyond all this, it seems that the discussion is over and it is a pity that the arguments continue in the networks, and now is the time to unite and prepare with all our might – both the club professionally and fans of all opinions – for the big challenges in the next two months.”
The fan Dean Michael Binto: “The detached club in the world, always goes against its crowd, then is surprised that the crowd does not come. Shame on them, at the end of the day they make us a joke. We will reach every field until the actual death. “
Noam Schneur: “We are Hapoel Haifa, not Hapoel Tel Aviv. If a derby we do not want to play in our city, then it shows what a low point we have reached. What kind of world does a team see in its home stadium as a disadvantage? Instead of bringing 9, 10 thousand to Sami Ofer “We’re shooting ourselves in the foot again.”
Dudi Sandler, One of the most prominent fans of Hapoel Haifa: “I would like to thank the club for their cooperation in holding the game in Bloomfield, as determined in advance. I promise 10,000 red fans will paint Bloomfield red. “Starting this morning, we take care of mobilizing our audience towards the goal, another trophy in our closet.”
Oz Arad: “Can’t find a quarter of a reason to cooperate with them in anything. “Sami, KS or Mitzpe Ramon Stadium. We have it for every pitch in Israel, and they will be left without the luxurious locker rooms, their local target, their security company, the nice stage, the TVs on the benches and the treats, because when you go to war you fight and are not pampered.”
Tzach Ashkenazi: “Hapoel Haifa should only play in Haifa at its home stadium in front of its home crowd. Failure to transfer the game to Sami Ofer hurts fans who want to come with their families both financially, as it is an expensive expense considering travel and food expenses, and the precious and unnecessary time he has to spend on round trips, all without a justifiable reason. Sami Ofer is our home as it is the home of Maccabi Haifa fans and the Haifa derby should be played exclusively in Haifa, just as last year the Tel Aviv derby in the final was played in Bloomfield! ”
Roi Tibi: “Hello, is this Bloomfield? Yes! If there is one thing that Hapoel Haifa’s fans are good at, it is arguing. Everything! No matter what decision the club management makes, it will be wrong, at least in the eyes of some fans. A core of 3,000 people but with a number of opinions that will fill Sami Ofer … or Bloomfield, depending on who you ask. A decision made at the start of the season stipulated that the semi-finals would be played at Bloomfield.
After the illegal immigration, we all ran through the preparations for the trip to Tel Aviv, or Jaffa, depending on who you ask, and none of our fans had any doubt that he was coming to Bloomfield, because it is the semi-final of the State Cup and we have no real interest in the league. But what, from the moment we were drawn against the group that Sami Ofer is her real home and the spinology began, suddenly it’s not at all clear that they are coming, “Calls if not Sami I will not come!” Began to emerge, complicated mathematical calculations in how much the quantity will decrease, claims of cowardice, that it is a declaration that we do not belong to Haifa and even the angular claims of magical influence of the center’s fans on the decision.
The club put on the scales all the considerations, including the opinions of the players themselves, and made the right decision, a difficult one (which was not supposed to be difficult) but the right one. After all, just two weeks ago the club received contempt for the fact that we felt guests at our home game, that the disgusting greens were given the most tickets, their stage, their stand prepared with the pre-game set, their signage, their announcement, the outside and the surrounding streets. So the club took the above harsh criticism, internalized and did what needed to be done (for a change).
This does not mean that Hapoel does not belong to Haifa, it does not intentionally do for fans who will have to travel, Rahmana Letzelen, an hour in the car to Tel Aviv during the Passover holiday, and it certainly does not mean that we reduce ourselves, but simply increase the chance. In all the considerations for the Cup semi-final game and only towards it, they understood that Sami Ofer will be a difficult away game for us, that the whole Haifa deal will focus on how to help the green monster rise and that we will come only to serve as a backdrop. “Maccabi Haifa for winning the state cup.” Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
So we neutralized everything around, stood up for a change on our own and improved the odds. Now is our time, the fans. It’s time to stop arguing, it’s time to unite, start preparations, recruits, set and most importantly a good vibe. A good and purposeful atmosphere that will start from the net and flow out, to the coastal road, the flea market, pubs and stands in Bloomfield. We came to take a trophy! ”