“There are always opportunities in life, as long as you don’t let anyone reduce you and determine what you can or cannot do,” said the coach of MS Ashdod, Ran Ben Shimonwho explained his outlook on life in part 2 of the fascinating interview for the ‘Today’s Talk’ podcast on ONE, “It doesn’t even pass my first grade and I know the difference between self-awareness and arrogance.”
in this part Ben Shimon He analyzed the situation of Maccabi Tel Aviv, talked about the Israeli national team and Eran Zahavi’s room affair and what he plans with Ashdod in the top playoffs. Don’t miss it. Listen:
Ran, when you were introduced at Beitar Jerusalem, you said that the only thing you asked from Eli Taviv was a championship grant. Today you are no longer arrogant and want to learn.
“Can be. I never took pride in myself, but maybe if I look back then maybe. I feel that every day I am redeveloping professionally and personally.”
So how do you break that stigma?
“The day I think about it, all the stigmas will be true. I have to follow my faith and my way. Succeeding or failing will not break the stigma. I must not, as I did when I was a child, mark only big and shiny places as the path to success. My real success in life will be that everywhere I will have the chance to reach and do my best and if it doesn’t work then I will get up and try again. In recent years, I have been constantly facing the sentences of Kobe Bryant, who was one of the lights and shadows of professionalism. Kobe said that failure does not exist. If you get up after falling and try again, it means that the story never ends.”
But there aren’t too many opportunities in the big clubs, you know.
“There are no opportunities and no one gives anything. If they feel that you are good for them and strong, they will take you, and if not, then no. There are players I don’t let play for a long time. I have a child in the group who is the farthest between the credit he received and what he deserved. In the last two games he came in and made big moves, there are always opportunities in life.”
Is that why you decided to take people to court? Because you are no longer willing to accept these things?
“I am ready to receive reviews. Itzik, who is sitting across from us here and I can appreciate his professional work, visited me during the year and called to ask Jacky Ben Zaken if I was going to be fired. Today I know how to tell the difference and say that this is his work, I didn’t know before. But if a person treats me with disrespect and curses me on air, I will not look into the future whether he can contribute to me yes or no, I will go and get what I think I deserve. On the other hand, I no longer look over my shoulder to see who is talking about me and what they are saying.”
Let’s look to the future. You are having a great season, you passed the BS and difficult challenges until the semi-finals of the cup, but I want to think with you where you want to be, where do you see yourself in two years? Eli Taviv wrote that you should coach Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“Even when Eli Taviv fired me I said he was an outstanding football manager and in the eight months we worked together we never fought. Eli understands football at a very high level. I can tell you that we had an outstanding relationship and due to professional considerations it didn’t work out, but it’s fun that a person I worked with and it ended the way it ended found the way to favor me like this.”
Is abroad still on the agenda for you? Maybe which team?
“Always. It is something that those who have touched it once have no chance of not wanting to return. Ask anyone who played in Europe. It always tickles and I always want and believe but I will repeat myself and say that a lot of people constantly have goals and objectives, I stopped looking for the edge of the mountain and I think that in the next 20 years I am going to coach football and that is my future, I will want to stop on the way to the mountain and look How can I enjoy the road, if I constantly look at the edge, I will end up crashing from it, instead of reaching a certain point and stopping where I want to enjoy my road and at the moment I don’t mark any destination as the end of the mountain. I’m having fun today and I’ll enjoy going to training tomorrow, I’ll also enjoy going to other clubs, I just don’t know when.”
Let’s talk to listener Jackie Ben Zaken for a moment. If you listen, Ren gave you four beautiful years. If he wants to go, let him go without games and without demanding money for him because anyway you have the successor, Eli Levy who is already ready for the job. Ren smiles because he knows things exactly as they are.
“I am not Jackie’s spokesperson. In the past, things like this would make me jump. I know that our relationship is open enough and things will remain private as it has been until today.”
Were you disappointed that you didn’t get the Israeli team?
“Yes a little. I was also somewhat relieved that someone like Alon Hazan got the team. I think he is a worthy person with amazing abilities, and when you know that the person who got the job instead of you deserves it, you can live with it more peacefully. After the disappointment, you realize that what needs to happen with you happens.”
Is Eran Zahavi in your team?
“First, of course.”
You would probably give him a suite too.
“I don’t know if it’s a suite, but I have big tools in my arsenal. It would not be collegial on my part to judge Yossi Benyon or Alon Hazan on this story. The previous generation of coaches of Shlomo Sharaf and Dror Kashtan had iron boundaries and our generation should also have boundaries, only rubber ones. The era of the dictatorship in coaching is over, you have to understand that but on the other hand understand where everyone’s rubber border is torn, if in the matter of the room it is torn with Alon and Yossi then everything is fine. Eran Zahavi is one of the players I like the most, every child we educate in this country for football should be educated like Eran behaves, in terms of professionalism and ability and in addition to that he is also a huge winner. In Israeli football, we have to admit that we have people like Eran Zahavi.”
So how does the team afford to give him up?
“When I am in the national team, if I am, my limits will be my limits.”
Does that mean you see yourself in the team in the future?
“Yes”.
Do you think this team should be in the Euros?
“Yes. I think the capabilities are there for it to happen, I really like both the team and the players and I see that there is a good process and good energy. I showed Ehud who is here with me the stadium where I grew up, even though it looks like a stadium from the 70’s. I grew up here, as a child and as an actor.”
What about your personal businesses? I know you’ve evolved into other places.
“Two things made me do this. The first is that at some point I will want financial independence and not be dependent on one employer or another. The second thing is that I waited for a specific age to know that it wouldn’t interfere with anything I do in football and that’s where my total commitment is. I’m doing what I love most in the world, not importing goods from China. To come up with our talents in Kiryat Yam and do training for the players, is a lot for the soul. I only deal with football and the partners take care of everything around. On the other hand, I also prefer in the financial section to invest in places that can bring a return because I am at an age where several things can be combined.”
And who threatened you?
“These things worked out. Also with the insurance companies after we had a very difficult time with them and now we are perfectly fine and everything is good.”
You moved from Ashdod to Herzliya. Did the family want a change?
“We already talked about my wife’s dominance. It was difficult for her there because we were far from the family, but we have family in Herzliya and we decided together to move there near our family. My connection with my sister Dana after we lost our mother is the other blessing in my life together with my wife.”
Are you still in a relationship with your brother?
“We keep a disconnect, there is stability (laughs)”.
You talked about yield. When you as a system bring in foreign players that no one knows, it must be a process, tell us a little about it.
“We have a concept in the club and this is the basis on which it exists. You understand it from the first day that there is a right economic wheel and everything flows from there. Once you start a game and know the rules in advance you will not be stressed in the middle. I know what happened in the past and I and Jackie have an agreement that a player neither he nor I feel comfortable with will land in Ashdod. He’s the owner, I want him to feel comfortable and we found a way to brainstorm, and if you said that to the coach once he’d rather jump off a tower. There is nothing to do, there must be some kind of way and process. I won’t say that our scouting is among the most advanced in the world, although we have an amazing scout, Rafael Castro, who is an amazing guy and a huge professional. We have a system that sometimes I go to see, but a player will not land in a club that does not have my stamp.”
I saw you after the qualifying game taking a group photo together with the entire professional team. It is usually said that it is a beehive, like Barak Becher’s beehive. You too are building yourself a beautiful beehive.
“There are seven of us, it’s just a hive and not a beehive.”
Are you going to take them with you?
“Certainly, wherever I go. Even during the holidays, I really like everyone there, the women and children. Everyone there is professional and amazing, and we are all very connected in our souls. Last year the whole team went on a trip, and I can tell you that one of the most important things in the club is energy. The source of the success is in the dynamics of the team, as soon as you see someone with faces it is already downloaded. We managed to learn how to bring out the crazy energy that exists within the team. I think that creating a team with good energy and knowing that they are with you everywhere is our strength.”
I know you don’t set goals for yourself, but what do you want anyway?
“We will want to do everything to finish in fourth place and give good football displays. I also want MS Ashdod players to get the minutes they deserve throughout the season and because many times we were stressed about results and at this stage they couldn’t help me and there was some kind of distortion, I want us to fix it and give players like Adir Levy and Roy Levy playing minutes.”
Who will take the championship? Maccabi Haifa or Hapoel Beer Sheva?
“I think right now it’s going in the direction of Maccabi Haifa, but I’m not a commentator. Beer Sheva is doing amazing things, but everyone sees that Haifa has reconnected.”
What do you think about the crash of Maccabi Tel Aviv?
“The thing that bothers me the most there is the injustice towards Barak Itzhaki. I know that there is criticism towards him and it bothers me because I know that Barak made an outstanding squad at Maccabi Tel Aviv and there is good material there that must compete for the championship and for all kinds of reasons it was not successful.”
Even after Oscar Gloch left?
“Gloch is truly an amazing kid, but even without him there is a squad there that must compete for a championship.”
Barak Itzhaki, if you hear us and translate the words to Jack Angalidis and the owner of the house, you have here a coach that Eli Tabiv said should go to Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“I told you, I’m at MS Ashdod and that’s where my heart is.”
Do you already have a plan for the game against Maccabi Haifa?
“Yesterday I saw our full game against them”.
For six years MS Ashdod did not win in Semi Ofer. You said that after that meeting in which you lost 6:0 at Sami Ofer, you thought of resigning, but then you beat Maccabi Haifa in the 11th. Do you think it is also possible to win outside?
“I will answer you in general and you can draw from it what you want. MS Ashdod can beat any team anywhere.”
You have to build to peak for May, don’t you?
“We need a moment to breathe. We are only two days after promotion to the playoffs.”
I am sure that at the end of the season you will talk about things that you are not talking about right now.
“There is a right time for everything. I have no taboos, invite me at the right time and we will talk accordingly.”
What do we wish you?
“Health, success for the children and Esther in what she does in life.”
Ran Ben Shimon, candidate for coach of the season and for several clubs, thank you very much and good luck in the playoffs.
“My coach this season is Ziv Aryeh, we will do everything to influence the identity of the champion.”