The Israeli representatives in the Faroe Islands team

by time news

Although this is a game that closes the World Cup qualifying campaign and is not expected to affect the Israeli team and the Faroe Islands team, the meeting between them tomorrow (Monday) at the stadium in Netanya will be special for some of the visiting team – player Rene Shaki Yonsen and physiotherapist Ricard Dahan.

Since landing in Israel, the Israeli escorts from the Faroe Islands team have been quite surprised to hear from time to time Hebrew words thrown into the air. They immediately realized that there are two in this team who are very connected to what is happening in the country.

One of them is Rene, the 28-year-old main midfielder of the Faroe Islands, who comes from an Israeli family even though he grew up in the Faroe Islands and played in his youth in Denmark. He started his career in football at Brondby, but from time to time in the summer he would come to Israel to meet his father Yossi, a 47-year-old Israeli from Ganei Tikva, who knew his mother while volunteering at the kibbutz.

Rene Yonsen (Noam Moreno)

Yossi followed her and lived for 12 years in the Faroe Islands. “This is a special country,” said Yossi Shaki, whose son will play against the Israeli team. “The Faroe Islands is an area that was sponsored by Denmark, but lives separately from it. Priat is spoken there, which is a language similar to the Swedish language, and they even have a different currency. All the Faroe Islands are like small villages scattered in the sea and are relatively detached from each other, with each having small houses and most people making a living from fishing. There are two Israeli families in the Faroe Islands that I used to visit and bring newspapers with when I arrived from Israel about 30 years ago. “All the conduct there is something completely different from life in Israel.”

This is not the first time they have met and this is not the first time Sharana has played football against Israelis. In fact, this is his second visit to Israel in the last four months, after the corona plague prevented the parties from seeing each other. Rene Shaki Yonsen plays for the Torshavan team, which Maccabi Haifa won 2: 7 at the Sami Ofer Stadium and then lost 1: 0 away at the beginning of the season. In both of these games Rene is a partner, so he has already played in the country and received a visit from his father.

Rene Shaki Yonsen and his Israeli father Yossi Shaki (private)Rene Shaki Yonsen and his Israeli father Yossi Shaki (private)

“It is very special to visit Israel again,” said Rene Shaki Yonsen, who even appeared at the press conference before the game in Netanya and shared that he is very excited about the upcoming game. The contact added to ONE: “It is quite strange to play against the national team of the country where my father lives, but that is part of the matter. It is very exciting to be here again and meet my family. “

Renee tattooed the phrase “Family first” on his body in Hebrew, and although he has two last names on his ID card, Shaki and Jonsen, his father’s last name appears on the shirt regularly. “He has another sister who lives in Israel but she is from another woman and of course there are language gaps between them, but despite everything, I am glad they are very connected and it is fun for me to see that,” said the proud father Yossi. “I am not very knowledgeable about football, but we get to his games sometimes and it is very special to watch him. Rene himself is connected to what is happening in Israel and we also occasionally come to the Faroe Islands to visit him. “

The tattoo on the hand of Rene Johansson. The tattoo on the hand of Rene Johansson. “Family first of all” (Noam Moreno)

Four years ago, Rene decided to try his luck in Israeli football with the intention of getting a little closer to his father. He was tested at Hapoel Petah Tikva, Hapoel Marmorek and Hapoel Kfar Saba, but decided to return to Europe because he claimed he had a better financial offer and the training there was conducted at a higher level. And yet, he does not rule out signing with a large group in Israel in the future, knowing that this is a deal that will pay off for both parties, because he will not be considered a foreigner. Tonight, however, he will play against the team of Willy Rotensteiner and will try to impress in the last game of the World Cup qualifiers. To finish in good taste.

Throws Hebrew words into the air and treats Zlatan

In addition to him, the Faroe Islands team also has a physiotherapist with Israeli roots who even speaks Hebrew. His name is Ricard Dahan, and according to him, the connection to the Jewish people was also through his father. Dahan is originally from Sweden and he joined the Faroe Islands team after Swedish coach Kan Erickson offered him to work with him.

Richard Dahan.  A Swede who works in the Faroe Islands and speaks Hebrew (Reuters)Richard Dahan. A Swede who works in the Faroe Islands and speaks Hebrew (Reuters)

In recent years Dahan has built a worldwide reputation as a physiotherapist with special skills, much thanks to the tribute made to him by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Four years ago the veteran Swedish striker was injured in the cross-strap, forced to be out for about seven months, and eventually recovered and returned to play for the Manchester United uniform. After getting back on the grass, Zlatan thanked those who helped him return to the pitches with a Twitter tweet – and one of the people to whom he dedicated the tweet was “Dahan”.

According to reports in England, Zlatan was referring to Richard Dahan, the physiotherapist he knew from Malmö and the one who accompanied him through the long recovery process. “Zlatan had no choice but to connect with me because I was the only physiotherapist in Malmö. His ability to use his whole body while playing is amazing, “said Dahan in an interview in Sweden.

A source in the Faroe Islands team confirmed this: “Everyone knows this story. They met when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was at the beginning of his career in Sweden. Dahan’s work has contributed greatly to Zlatan and he trusts only him. It is a fact that he was the only physiotherapist that Zlatan agreed to work with when he was seriously injured. As for Zlatan, there seems to be no one who knows his body better than Madhan. And today we can say that we may have a relatively small team, but it also has one of the best physiotherapists in the world. “

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Reuters)Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Reuters)

And yes, the same Ricard Dahan, who now accompanies the Faroe Islands team in Israel, will sit on the bench tonight at 21:45 in Netanya, and at the same time, Yossi’s son will play on the field. From time to time, it will be possible to hear even a few words in Hebrew from them. what a world.

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