Hapoel Hadera is in a slightly less good streak of games, but Assaf Nemani’s team is still recording a very successful season and is firmly in the top playoff picture, while the goal set for the coach is to stay in the league.
On Saturday, the team has a very important game at home against MS Ashdod, when just before, Oren Golan, who professionally manages the club and led it to the Premier League, opens his heart in an interview with ONE and talks about the coach, what he thinks about his team’s ability and achievements Her in the league so far.
Are you worried about the latest results?
“The results worry me because it is difficult to win in the Premier League. There are a lot of draw results, the league is equal and we are constantly looking down. We know that two wins will take us to the top playoffs and two losses, God forbid, will take us down.”
What do you consider an achievement this season?
“This season is the most equal season in all our years in the Premier League. In this season, we decided to reduce our already modest budget. I took on a particularly challenging season with lots of young and talented players from the national league and our youth team. In addition, I chose Assaf who is a young and talented coach to lead us This season together with the assistant coach Nimrod Kostika and with a young team that is all about the purity of the residents of Hadera.
“Staying in the league this season will be the greatest achievement of the club in my tenure. I believe that if the team continues its trend of improvement in terms of football and attacking play, it will be possible to make the top playoffs and for us it is like a dream, but staying in the league in such a season will also be a championship for us.”
Explain the vision of promoting coaches in this club?
“My point of view says that a coach does not depend only on himself to succeed. He needs a warm, caressing and loving envelope that protects him and this is the first thing I built in the club. I chose people who dedicate their lives for the club (Itzik Tapiro and Eli Degani) and that’s how I created the right envelope for every coach who comes to the club. This The reason why the coaches are successful at our club. I go through all the professional guidance with the coach and open up different points of view for him. I strongly believe in brainstorming and working together while giving freedom to my coach’s ‘I believe’.”
So let’s talk about your coach Assaf Nemani. Tell me about working with him, everyone was sure that he was the first coach to go home, and meanwhile everyone is eating the hat and he is successful.
“Asaf is an amazing person, an extraordinary personality for the world of football. Directness and loyalty are a candle to his feet – he is very honest, very attentive and this is his greatness. He is a team man and all these parameters lead to his huge success until now.”
They discredit him quite a bit, talking about a defensive style.
“Assaf Nemani is doing a great job. He is very connected to the dressing room, the players and the team love him very much and we believe in him. The whole issue of his backing is not on the agenda. I also criticize my players and the team and we want to play better football. In the end, Hapoel Hadera and Assaf Nemani have to play with the tools at our disposal and in my opinion we are doing it in the maximum way.”
Hapoel Hadera has been surviving in the Premier League for six seasons, so far it’s a great success story.
“First of all, thank you very much and it flatters me. I can tell you that when I entered football seven years ago I worked hard, I dedicated my life days and nights to the project of promoting football in the city of Hadera and branding the city of Hadera. Thank God today there is no football fan in Israel who does not know who Hapoel Hadera is. I branded The city was penetrated and I put it on the map and no one is happier than me.”
How does Hapoel Hadera manage to survive in the Premier League with such low budgets?
“I think that I have built teams year after year with very modest budgets. I am not ashamed to say that we are really record-breakers in terms of the Premier League. I turned unknown coaches into legitimate coaches in the Premier League and led a revolution in the vision of everything related to the economic concept in the Premier League. I proved to the entire league that it is possible to create A good team while choosing an unknown coach and talented players with potential for very reasonable amounts. However, it is not enough. We have to continue working hard to maintain what we have achieved and I am not resting on my laurels.”
How did clubs bigger than you get relegated and you manage to survive?
“I look at the National League and see Bnei Yehuda, Maccabi Pat and Hapoel Kfar Saba – definitely big clubs in Israeli football. I look at Sakhnin who went down and we are, God willing, for the sixth year in a row we are far from the battles of the bottom. These are the fruits we reap for our hard work.”
But how much longer will Hapoel Hadera be able to exist as an urban group?
“I think there is a very rosy future for the club. We are proud of spectacularly beautiful facilities around the city that are used by about eight hundred children. We will inaugurate a new training facility that is one of the most beautiful in Israel in the coming year, we serve as a home for hundreds of children every day in the city of Hadera, we are proud of one of the best and largest youth departments in Israel and I hope and believe that in the coming years a new stadium will be built in the city. There is definitely a future in Hadera.”
After the problematic economic season, will you recover next year?
“This year we chose to reduce our deficit so that next year, together with the new training facility, we will upgrade the team with good players and try to aim higher. This year, also because of the equal league, I think we are making a huge success so far.”
Isn’t it time to transfer Hapoel Hadera to a private buyer?
“It is known that there were a number of parties who were interested and one of them was serious and provided a serious offer on the table. In the end it did not mature, Hapoel Hadera continues to exist also through the wonderful city management that supports the club and together with sponsors. We manage to come from nothing and build a tradition of a permanent team in the league Hapoel Hadera has a bright future even without a private buyer.”
