The leader of Hapoel Jerusalem, the rising star from Netanya or the solution from within. Just before he says goodbye and moves to Gamba Osaka, the analysis of the options for replacing the green captain
There are many factors that turn a good team into a team that wins titles and one of the most prominent of them is the ability to maintain a skeleton and occasionally add reinforcements to it that will take it a step further. Maccabi Haifa of the last three years certainly did it in a smart way, which brought them two championships, put them in an excellent position to win the third and also sent them to the group stage of the Champions League, but they will probably lose one of the most important bones in this skeleton that they have built over the years – Neta Lavia .
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The leadership, physicality and creativity made Lavi one of the best midfielders in Israel and one of the most important players of Maccabi Haifa, especially this season. Now it seems that the green captain intends to make the move to the Japanese league and Gamba Osaka, which will require the team in Media Godel and hoisting two championship plates to think about how to manage without him.
The existing Israeli market is not full of suitable alternatives and any player who arrives at his own expense will probably take time to fully connect to the consolidation built in Maccabi Haifa. Who will be able to do this and is the solution of the greens actually found at home? Just before the big game against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Bloomfield, which is expected to be his last in green, the examination of the options facing the champion – we start.
Goni Naor – Hapoel Jerusalem
On the face of it, it seems that this is the most realistic option for Maccabi Haifa. This is of course one of the best midfielders in the Premier League today and the one who leads the Reds from the capital to one of their best seasons in the top league after a season of bottom struggles.
How dominant is Naor in this season of Jerusalem? The numbers show that a lot. Although he is still without a goal or an assist, he is an integral part of the team’s current game. So far this season, the red midfielder has sent 928 passes with an 89.4 percent success rate – second place among the team’s players after Iloj Yao and first among all midfielders in the league. At the same time, he is also sixth in ball rescues in the opponent’s half of the field with 29 such.
Naor has many virtues, ones that make him a suitable player for Maccabi Haifa. He has an excellent position, which gives him an advantage in battles for the ball and many times he comes out to press from a high position on the field, which of course indicates the fact that this is one of the leaders in the category of ball rescues in the opponent’s half, the same level of the game that Lavi also excels at.
And what about the offensive part? Naor is a midfielder who often looks for the more difficult passes on paper, he also knows how to do this with a few touches on the ball and move to free areas to receive the ball in a dangerous position and create situations for his teammates. As you can see in the example before you: Naor arrives to receive an offside ball, passes with a touch to Jordan Butaka and enters the free area to receive back and pass a dangerous cross. Not bad, huh?
Eden Kartsev – Maccabi Netanya
With the increased contacts between Maccabi Haifa and Jerusalem regarding Naor, it is very difficult to see the diamond midfielder wearing green at least this season, but it can be said that this is a player who could suit them very well professionally. Although this season he and Netanya are on a relative decline (recently they regained their senses), Kartsev’s abilities are known to all and he, theoretically, will be able to bring them to light even in a team that ran at the top.
Kartsev has 35 saves in the opponent’s half, which places him in second place in the league along with Enrique Saborit. He is, of course, an integral part of the high pressure method that was introduced at Maccabi Netanya for a long period of time and therefore he will be able to make adjustments to Maccabi Haifa in this aspect as well, similar to Lavi’s ability to press high and win the ball in the dangerous areas.
Also on the offensive side, Kartsev can give very nice things to Maccabi Haifa with exceptional game vision, forward passes and a main addition: threats outside the box. Netanya has 24 of these this season, third place in the league and among them seven found the frame and two became goals. This ability has great value against dense defenses that Maccabi Haifa faces every week, certainly if it can get it from its midfield.
Rely on what is there?
As written above, it can take time for a player to connect perfectly with a new team, but it is not certain that the tools that Maccabi Haifa has are sufficient to the extent that Barak Bakr intends to play as midfielder 6. Ali Muhammad was tried in this position when Lavi was not fit and did not particularly excel and most of the midfielders that the Greens have in the squad They are 8 midfielders such as Muhammad Abu Fani and Bassem Zarura and as of now Mahmoud Jaber is still injured, it will take him time to return to fitness and get into things and he does not exactly meet the definitions of Lavi’s role.
So what is currently on Maccabi Haifa’s roster? Aviel Zargari, who also arrived in the current window from Beitar Jerusalem. It is hard to say at the moment that this is a player who can be part of the Greens’ lineup, since even in the Jerusalem team he was pushed to the end of the rotation and suffered through a season and a half badly, but this is a player who could potentially contribute in the future with the right direction and the professional team that is in the green club.
During Zargari’s good time in Beitar, he was not a bad defensive anchor at all, but on the offensive side he did not show up too much and had a lot of difficulty promoting the game of the Yellow and Black. It is very possible that he will be loaned in the end to gain playing minutes and confidence that he lacked Very recently and maybe he can reach the greens more mature next season.
One way or another, whatever option Maccabi Haifa does not choose, it will be very difficult to forget Lavi, who grew with her from the difficult times to the many moments of happiness she experienced in the last two and a half years. In Bloomfield, against the big rival, the green crowd will get to say goodbye, probably for the last time for sure, and will hope to do so after a victory.
