Some thought he would return to Israeli basketball, others claimed that the European journey would continue, but Gal Mekel has other plans. One clear day, he called a press conference and announced with the elegance that so characterizes him about his retirement. A moment later, he appeared in the studio of “Talking with Shay Housman” to conclude a magnificent career. Take a look at the interview that will be broadcast tonight (Monday, 21:00, on 5SPORT) in which Mekel refers to the failure of the last Eurobasket, his time in Maccabi Tel Aviv and the situation of Willie Sims, the legendary former player and father of his wife Daniel who had a heart attack.
The last Eurobasket was a trauma.
“Disappointment, unequivocally.”
why did this happen?
“Wow, I can’t put my finger on it exactly. It’s a disappointment, certainly for me, I built so much on it. There was a process in the team in the last three or four years, we created magic, a feeling that you can beat any team.”
But it was a process with catch.
“Right”.
Is it about goods?
“It’s about everyone. It’s also about the team, it’s also about the players, it’s also about the union. You’re with a coach who’s successful with him, and everything looks good, and suddenly you end the contract and don’t continue to the European Championship.”
You, the players, haven’t recovered from that?
“There are players whose relationship with Oded was so strong on a career level. Tamir, Rafi, Sussman are very connected. Me too, much of what I know is connected to Oded and Lior Liubin. There were many times when I felt that we as a team and as individuals, did not make the switch and say what What was was.”
Goods didn’t get 100% credit?
“Half agree with you”.
The leaked locker room video where you are heard saying “it feels like a locker room after a bitter loss”, do you know when it was?
“After the victory over the Netherlands. That’s where I knew we wouldn’t go up. There were also several incidents in the game, bad vibes, conversations between players to the players that were irrelevant. This negativity, the inability to say ‘it’s bigger than us’, it gave us all a bad feeling. It was stinking And it sticks to clothes.”
Someone who was there told me there was more than a moment it felt toxic.
“Yes, a lot of guys were focused on themselves and less on being bigger than us – and that has an effect. There were teams whose social situation was worse, but here there was crazy expectation. Because of the last few years, because of the brilliant squad, and Danny.”
“If anyone can pull off something like this, it’s Willie Sims”
Even before he retired, Meckle had to combine basketball with life itself more than once. First when he played in Malaga and helped his mother when she was dealing with cancer, and then when his wife’s father, former player Willie Sims, had a heart attack. “His situation is the same, he is not communicating at the moment,” he told the program and referred to the effect that the difficult period had on the decision to retire. “We still believe, we pray. If anyone can pull off something like this, it’s him. He’s a strong man, both mentally and physically. I always laugh with Daniel and tell her why do you think I’m acting so nice?”
Mackel, who, like Willy Sims, played for Maccabi Tel Aviv himself, later also addressed the question of his success with the Yellows. In the series, Eilat went down to the Eurocup.”
“I came to the team in a bad situation,” he continued. “On a personal level, I was excellent, but we were a bad team. In the following season, there was a decision that I simply didn’t play, I didn’t play for two months. Why? I don’t know. A coach’s decision, Nikola’s decision, when you don’t play for two consecutive months, it’s purely a decision. What’s the theory? None A theory, I probably didn’t dress well in Nicola’s professional eyes.”