Credit: Kobi Eliyahu
the story of Toklomatic era, the promising striker from Maccabi P’t, arrived on the cinema screen even before the footballer tore a pair of shoes in the senior arena. The boy from Netanya was born to an Israeli mother and a father from Benin, who played in Israel and was deported due to a claim of falsifying his age, and as seen in the film released in 2018, the father Tony reunited with his son after years of being separated in close proximity to the boy’s bar mitzvah. The years passed, and Toklomati Jr. became an exciting figure on the field, a not bad football player at all, who this season also manages to provide sparks in his senior season.
Toklomati, who is now considered one of the hot names of the 2004 yearbook, was indeed on Ofir Haim’s squad last summer in the European Championship, but was not one of the outstanding stars of the team. This was not said about his duty, mainly because we remember names like Oskar Gloch, Tai Abed, Ariel Logsi who starred in the national uniform, and after the competition ended, Toklomati was free to return to his team, and the one who sponsored him was the coach of Maccabi P’t until a month and a half ago, Shay Barda.
“I remember when I took office and started working with Idan, I recognized something I had not encountered before,” shared Barda, who trained under him a series of prominent players in Israeli football such as Omer Atzili, Gabi Kanikowski, Younes Melda, Aviv Avraham and others, “Idan has unusual natural data in football The Israeli. His passing, the power explodes, he has athletic abilities that are not seen in Israel, not even in the Premier League.”
The striker, who has nine goals in all competitions this year, joined the F.T. youth team last year and finished the first season in Malavas with 16 goals. It was obvious that the boy who grew up in the youth department of Beiter Tobruk had a natural talent, but alongside that it could be said that he still lacked quite a few tactical playing abilities in order to successfully make the transition to the seniors.
“Idan is really very talented, but there were a lot of points that we had to work on in his game,” Berda continued to explain, “there is a significant difference between knowing how to play football for boys, and understanding football at the adult level. Idan brings with him playing abilities from the “neighborhood”, his dribbling , the technique, these are abilities that stood out and everyone saw. At the same time, I knew that we had to focus on several elements with him; knowing how to implement a double movement in the area, releasing the ball in time, knowing when to make a movement deep.”
In the incubator of the Luzons, which has produced some impressive talents in recent years, they knew that they had to polish the diamond in their hands so that a move to Europe, as they target the boy, would be relevant at all. Toklomati entered a training routine in which he was asked to meet professional goals in every league game regarding his performance and movement on the field, which he threw effectively. In addition, the fact that he only reached the academy of a senior club at the age of 17 created gaps in building a professional life routine for Toklomati.
X F’t on the lines continued to explain: “Already at the beginning of the season we realized that Idan had to make a switch in his head, understand that he must improve his ability to train, not only in the way he plays in the league. Even today, that he really looks great, Idan disappeared in parts Bigger than the game. As soon as he manages to produce consistency and presence, then we will look like a complete player, because it is clear that in terms of talent, this is a crazy talent.”
Last summer, the 19-year-old footballer signed a contract with Pt until 2027, but it is clear that there is no intention to stay until the end of the contract extension. Toklomati’s entourage explained that the price tag for the player is irrelevant, especially considering the summer expected for the striker. From conversations already held with Toklomati, it was made clear to him that the current plan is to include him in the youth team squad for the European Championship, and also in the U19 World Cup, when a good tournament could open many doors for him.
But before the coming summer and the distant future, Idan faces the challenges of the here and now. Maccabi F. is indeed at the top of the national league, but is still far from securing the promotion ticket, which is the main goal of the striker as of this season. If Toklomati continues on the line of progress, and if Ft completes its return to the first league in Israel, it is clear to all parties that the boy from Netanya will not stay here for long, and as of today the goal is clear – to go to Europe by the summer of 2024.
