Hapoel Jerusalem has not been able to win since returning from the World Cup break. Players in Ziv Aryeh’s team were sure that they were on the safe way to secure the top playoffs, but the new reality of the Jerusalemites is one of struggles. Fortunately for them, these will likely only be battles for a place in the top playoffs.
Ziv Aryeh, who has become one of the professionally respected coaches, has to deal with the decline in his team’s ability and find a way to return the club to the winning track. In the meantime, the coach is once again “stuck” in a situation where he is interviewed (according to his critics) disdainfully after games.
In a conversation with ONE, Ziv Arya Trying in his way to explain what happened in the interview booth after the game at Teddy against Netanya, answering criticisms about the release of Goni Naor and preparing for the game against Beer Sheva.
Ziv, you were asked after the game against Maccabi Netanya if you could help Hapoel Jerusalem to be in the top playoffs, you said ‘no’.
“That’s not what I said, they asked me if I could get the team out of this situation, so I said ‘no’.”
How do you say no?
“Bahyat Guy, you know me, you know why I answered like that.”
What has not been said about Ziv Aryeh, the coach who is difficult for quite a few football people to digest, is one of the most respected professionals in Hapoel Jerusalem. “He gets up every day at five in the morning to run, trains, comes to work, coaches children in his free time, he lives football, breathes football, so it happens that you ask him a question after a game and he comes up with something unpleasant, it’s not to offend, he really thinks that a coach should coach And not to speak, if it was up to him, he would never be interviewed,” Hapoel Yerushalayim says.
And now we will return to the conversation with Ziv Aryeh, that out of nowhere his team may lose ground from the upcoming round against Be’er Sheva.
Ziv, you are getting yourself into trouble, today they will no longer consider staying in the league as an achievement, the top playoffs is already a new goal, if you don’t finish in the top playoffs it will be a fall.
“Throughout the year you told me that, I answered the same thing and nothing changed. I believe that even if we are not in the top playoffs we will not get involved in relegation battles, what they said about us, what they said about us, I don’t know. I never said a top playoff, of course it will be possible if we collect points, right now we only have to look at the next game.’
Your next game in Turner against Beer Sheva is not easy at all.
“What is simple? Against Maccabi Haifa a game we should have won and we didn’t succeed, against Sakhnin our game turned upside down, against Netanya against all odds when we were down to ten players and they didn’t reach the goal, suddenly they get a red card and a penalty and nothing goes, that’s football.’
Is there a connection between the departure of Goni Naor and the ability in the last games?
“Goni is a great boy, we wish him all the success in the world, we look forward.”
I heard quite a few reviews that you fell asleep after Goni’s departure, money came into the club and you didn’t use it to strengthen yourself and bring in a replacement for Goni.
“I talked to Uri Sharetzky (Ziv Aryeh smiles and laughs), the money goes into circulation and the money works well and next year we will buy some players with it (laughs).”
Don’t you feel that with a little push on the management you could have brought another player to the squad in Goni’s slot?
“You know the answer to this question as well, Hapoel Jerusalem goes with certain players who fit the team’s DNA. Goni’s departure was not brewing for a long time, it was sudden and we will not bring a player just to say we brought. We looked at several options, we saw that it didn’t suit us, we are very happy for the players as a matter of fact, in the two games we played without Goni we should have won, things happened to us that are not related to Goni’s departure, we have good players and they will take us where we need to be.’