surprising: Neta Lavi, one of the most important players of Maccabi Haifa in the last two years, is a candidate for one of the top teams from the Japanese league – Gamba Osaka.
Lavi ends his contract with the champion at the end of the season, when the Greens offered him a contract extension, but the player has not yet signed a new contract and is now attracting interest from the Japanese team, one of the richest teams in the country.
As I recall, about two years ago Lavi had a tempting offer from CSKA Moscow, but was asked by the president of Haifa, Ya’akov Shahar, to stay with the team. He was promised that later on he would be given the opportunity to go to Europe, or to another club and now it seems that this possibility is indeed approaching.
Gamba Osaka finished the season in 15th place and survived relegation, being only one point away from the red line. The team is coached by the Spaniard Danny Poyatos, who served as an assistant coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv and coached in the youth department of Real Madrid. In its squad you can find ex-Arsenal, Wellington Silva.