Hapoel Beit She'an is my favorite Israeli team. I suppose that hardly
any of you (that are not Israeli) have ever heard of the team.
Those of you who are Israeli probably think I must be an idiot to like such
a team, especially since I do not live in Beit She'an. You probably like
teams such as Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem just because
they are good teams. Like Avraham Grant said "Maccabi [Tel Aviv]'s fans like the teams victories, not the team".
Now, after that word to my fellow Israelis, back to
the facts. Beit She'an is not the best team, they fight relegation every
year, and this year they lost the fight, as you will see by the table. I have a couple pictures of the team (whatever I found in the newspaper and asked my friend to scan).
Season Outlook
I am not very optimistic about this season. First of all, 3 teams will be relegated due to the IFA's plans to reduce the size of the league. Second, Beit She'an is a team that could never play very good or pretty soccer. Their best qualities were always dedication, giving 110% of themselves and some good ol' blood & guts. After the narrow escape from relegation against Maccabi Haifa on the last day of the 94/95 season, and their subsequent annual narrow escapes fron relegation, Beit She'an became everyone's "2nd team" and a neutral favorite. They also represent a poor town, from the "provinces", not the heavily populated coast, but the Jordan Valley. But, last year's episode against Beitar Jerusalem ruined all of that. No more "team of the neutrals" but "game throwers". The heart and pride of the team has been taken away. Another, more materialistic problem is money, or lack of it. Every summer, the team has to rebuild itself because all the foreigners leave, because of the lack of budget and internal squabbles. The last 2 seasons have seen awful 1st halves of the season and a very good 2nd half to keep the team in the league. This year, I think, will be 3rd time unlucky. The one good thing done in the summer was the bringing of Avraham Abukarat, from Maccabi Haifa, to be coach. He was not involved in the Beitar episode and has never previously been involved with the club.
About the restucturing of the league: I think it is good for Israeli soccer in general, because less teams means more quality and more big games and crowds and less teams in mid-table who lose interest in the league in February. The big teams will play each other more often and attarct more crowds. The downside, of course, is for the small teams. Being a fan of one, I of course, have mixed feelings. Beit She'an don't have a place in a ten-team league.
If you are wondering about the first two games (0-4, 0-5) it is because Beit She'an was forced to play with their youth team. The IFA refused Beit She'an permission to play with their regular squad. They said that the team's budget is too low to ensure that they will be able to pay all the players' salaries. So, until the problem was solved, the Youth Team continued playing. I think that the IFA is being hard on Beit She'an because it is a "small team". If it were one of the Haifa or Tel Aviv teams, or Beitar, I think they would say something like: "You have 2 weeks to work out the problem. You can play with your regulars but if in two weeks you don't find a solution...". Since it is a weak team like Beit She'an, they try to show the rest of the country that they are "big heroes" (tofsim gova).
After 11 rounds, the season's over. Abukarat resigned because he was told that there is no money to bring players and no coach in his right mind would come to Beit She'an (if they had the money to bring him). Maybe next year in the 2nd division will be OK. I hope the team doesn't go bankrupt. The selling of left defender Kobi Ganon and midfielder Shimon Danan (who has been with the team since they were promoted) to Kfar Saba might solve that problem but it relegates the team. It really is too bad. Beit She'an represents a poor town in the Jordan Valley, the whole town revolves around the team. A team like Maccabi Herzliya has absolutely no fans and represent a town of rich people who don't care about soccer. Any soccer fans who live in Herzliya like Maccabi Tel Aviv. This is more proof that life's not fair.
The team ended the 1st half of the season on a high. 4-2 against Ironi Rishon Lezion. That's the 1st time Beut She'an scored 4 goals in a game since they were promoted at the end of the 93/94 season. I don't think it will save the team but it gives room for some fantasies during the winter break. Please don't laugh. There is no reason for a winter break in a climate like our's but, that's what the IFA wants. I was at the game and I must say, if the plays like they did against Rishon, things could happen. The team still has problems with basic things like Meir Cohen's goal kicks. I would like to say a few words about the fans. If, in a good season, the average attendance was about 4,000 this year it is still 2,500. This despite letting in more goals (on average) than any other 1st division club in Europe! A team like Maccabi Tel Aviv brings 13,00 in a good season and 2,000 in a bad one. I ask you, who has the better fans? Another point, during Maccabi Tel Aviv's bad years the fans didn't stop asking the coach to leave and threatening him. Now, the team is successful and he's a genius. In Beit She'an, Elisha Levi was not treated like that. He is now Rishon's coach and not one bad word was said about him. Au contraire, he was cheered every time he passed the fans. That's one of the reasons I like Hapoel Beit She'an. Another word about Gela Panchulidze, the Georgian. He is a great player that runs like a maniac for 90 minutes and looks ready for another game. If Israeli players were like him, the national team would be in better shape.
After the win against Rishon, and 2 wins in the Toto Cup, against Beitar and Hapoel Petach Tikva, another great result. 2-1 against Maccabi Haifa. That's right, the team in the 1/4 finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup. Selling Alon Mizrahi to Nice must have really hurt them. Oh, well all the better for Beit She'an. Srdjan Culkovic in the 89th minute scored the winner. I'm still rather pessimistic about staying in the league, but another week of fantasies before a game at Hapoel Jerusalem.
Beit She'an got their 1st away points in a year, and first away win in 1 1/2 years. A 90th minute penalty from Eitan Tayeb, was enough for a 1-0 win. I was playing soccer with my friends, you cannot imagine my joy when I heard it on the radio.
I went to see the match against Macabi Herzliya. It ended 1-0 to Herzliya, that was Beit She'an's 1st home loss to a weak team in a long time, and it virtually condemmend the team o relegation. I got very depressed and lost all will to continue updating the site.
The season ended, and next year will be in the new 2nd division. It will be interesting to see if Beit She'an will fight for promotion or try to avoid relegation to the 3rd division. The new coach is Avraham Marchinsky.
