FOOTY FAIR

Kaduregel Shefel: Jewish & Arab Diversity Through Lower League Football

2015-02-14T20:00:00.000-05:00

Kaduregel-Shefel is translated as “low football”. It is a project created by friends Gad Salner and Vadim Tarasov. As a photographer and lower-league soccer enthusiast, Gad captures with his camera what no one outside Israel believes is possible; the combined engagement of the Israeli and Palestinian people.

From forgotten Arab villages of the north to dusty Jewish neighborhoods in the south, Gad visits places where the seemingly ever-present tension between cultures has evaporated.

'People are amazed by the fact that we play in the same leagues, on the same teams, and when they hear that an Arab team won the national cup, they don’t believe me. I know that it’s a cliché, and I never wanted to use it because this project didn't aim for that, but soccer is a great bridge between people.'

The photographs put more emphasis on the human, urban, and cultural landscapes of Israel’s divided and diverse society and less on the action on the pitch itself.

Gad recalls 'We started the road trip at a fourth division match, in the Arab border town village of Umm El Fahem where we were stopped by a local police officer asking for our IDs to check that we are not right wing extremists looking for trouble. He wasn't the only one that day that asked himself what are we doing there. We visited Bne-Yichelel FC, the wonderful Jewish-Ethiopian team from Rehovot. We visited Nujidat, the Muslim Bedouin village at their league qualification gala (following promotion to the fourth division). We traveled to the neglected southern city of Dimona. We were part of a crowd of thousands at the Tirah vs. Kfar Kassem (two neighboring Arab villages) ‘classico’, and met their Jewish captain who happens to be a kindergarten teacher in Tel-Aviv and their local Arab fans who write all of their banners in Hebrew. We visited the southern Bedouin town of Rahat, where football is the only refuge from everyday troubles.”

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to covering the everyday rivalries and struggles that are put aside just to play some football.

Gad Salner and Vadim Tarasov are currently working on a movie of Kaduregel-Shefel. The project is also on Facebook and Twitter. They are willing to donate the exhibition for anyone who wishes to present it: [email protected]">[email protected]

Below are some photographs of the Kaduregel Shefel project, to see many more great shots please visit the Kaduregel Shefel Tumblr page by CLICKING HERE

Throwback Thursdays: My First Live Football Match (Hapoel Tel-Aviv vs. Hapoel Beit She’an)

2014-08-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

FootyFair’s Pedro and Steve did a great job describing in their “My First Live Football Match” their first live football experience in Portugal. But while their first live match involved giant European football clubs, mine was nowhere near the events they attended.

For one, my first stadium experience was in Israel where I lived through my childhood and early teenage years. But also on that day in 1994, my favorite Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv did not play against a giant team like Benfica or Parma, but rather against a club that actually no longer exists. Nonetheless, nobody forgets their first live match experience and neither have I, because that fixture holds a very special place in my heart.

By the time 1994 had rolled around I was already 10 years old and wasn’t only playing football, but had been religiously watching the domestic league and other European competitions in the capacity of a true football fanatic. With my parents’ financial instability however, it was unthinkable for me to attend my favorite team’s games (Hapoel Tel-Aviv) at their stadium, which on top of all other obstacles was in another town.

I had been to a few local third tier matches before that year, mainly because they were free for us to enter, but I will never consider any of those to be my “first live experience” as we were there more for our own entertainment value, rather than to watch the match.

That year however, everything I thought I knew about the game would change in a span of two hours. As I was playing football in the yard in front of my building, my mother called for me from the window. For those of you who have experienced that feeling before, you know that usually it’s for a totally pointless reason like to eat or do your homework, but on this day it was different. One of our neighbours was over at our house and my mother introduced me to this odd looking “manly” woman.

“I always see you play football” she said to me, and then proceeded to tell me that she was a player on the women’s team for my beloved club. First, my brain started to wonder about whether she was joking or not, because at that age I have never seen women kick around a football. But when she told me that she would like to take me to Bloomfield Stadium to watch a (men’s) Hapoel Tel-Aviv match, I couldn’t care less if she was a woman pope, I was all-in and had begun counting the seconds to the upcoming Saturday.

When we arrived to the stadium it was like Disneyland, only without all the creepy cartoon characters. The woman, whose name I’m embarrassed not to remember, got me an Hapoel training shirt, just like the one the players wore in warm-ups, I felt special. We sat right in the middle of the field, she shook hands with all kinds of important looking people, but I could do nothing more than stare at my idols who were running through their pre-game programs on the pitch.

The opponents on the day were Hapoel Beit-She’an who had just been promoted to the top tier the previous season and eventually folded in 2006, needless to say, a boring opposition. And although the final score was a dull 0-0 draw, for me that day was the best match I ever witnessed. The supporters were like family, greeting each other as they entered. The atmosphere was electric, and even though it felt like it was close to 40 degrees Celsius that day, the fans were on their feet, singing in one voice until the very last minute of the match.

This was the day I fell in love with Bloomfield Stadium and reignited my lifelong passion with Israel’s Red Devils, Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv Derby - Football Rivalries - Hapoel vs Maccabi

2014-07-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

It may seem "small-time" to football enthusiasts outside of Israel, but the Tel-Aviv derby between Hapoel and Maccabi is a very heated one, and one I have attended in the past.

Maccabi Tel Aviv is the most successful domestic side in Israel with 20 league titles won in the club's history, while Hapoel is not too far behind with 13 of their own. The rivalry between the two sides dates back to the 1930's when the two sides met for the first time in league play in 1931.

Maccabi, a name associated more with the middle-class status compared to "Hapoel", a worker class distinction for the Israeli population with the word "hapoel" meaning "worker", having more of a blue-collar supporter base.

Overall Maccabi has enjoyed a bit more success both in league titles and meetings between the two associations. And while the rivalry stretches further than just football, in basketball Maccabi has been in the elite of Israel's league and European competition, Hapoel is known best for its football program and its incredible European run in the 2001-01 UEFA Cup season in which they managed to defeat Lokomotiv Moscow, Chelsea and Parma, before losing in the quarter-finals to AC Milan in a close margin 2-1 on aggregate.

Supporter clashes between the two clubs are not uncommon. Fans of the two sides often engage in disputes inside and outside of the stadium both on match-days and otherwise.

Hapoel Tel-Aviv's home ground is the 14,000+ Bloomfield Stadium, which the "Red Devils" of Israel have occupied as their home since 1962. And while Maccabi has played their home matches in that same field earlier in their club's history, they had a ground of their own for a few decades. But in 2000 it was decided that Maccabi Tel-Aviv would return to Bloomfield stadium and have it as their home-field venue; a decision that likely sparked an even higher degree of hate between the two rival clubs.

When the derby takes place in Bloomfield, sections 4 and 5 are occupied by the Hapoel Ultras, while on the opposite side sections 10 and 11 are reserved for the Maccabi fans.

Some notable figures in the derby include: Ghanaian footballer John Paintsil who has played for both clubs and waved an Israeli flag after scoring a goal during the 2006 World Cup, Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama who has also played for both clubs but spent 4 years with Hapoel, compared to the one loan season with their rivals, Welsh international striker who had spent time with Maccabi and of course former Chelsea FC manager Avram Grant who had coached Maccabi on two occasions. The son of Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, Jordi, is currently the sporting director at Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

10 Questions with a Pro - Maicon Santos

2014-07-11T14:00:00.000-04:00

This week on “10 Questions with a Pro” we got a chance to talk with Maicon Santos, a Brazilian forward currently playing in the Liga MX for Puebla.

During his 8 years as a professional, Maicon has played for Remo, Etoile du Sahel, Ironi Kiryat Shomna, Bnei Sakhnin, Bonsucesso, Chivas USA, Toronto FC, FC Dallas, DC United, Chicago Fire and Puebla.

He has won the Tunisian League title & CAF Confederations Cup in 2006 with Etoile du Sahel, Canadian Championship in 2011 with Toronto FC and also winning the Golden Boot of the tournament in that same year.

He is now with Puebla of the Mexican Liga MX, and we had a chance to ask him 10 questions about his playing career and his life.

FootyFair: During this World Cup in Brazil, if you could trade places with any player who would that be?
Maicon Santos: I would trade places with Fred from Brazil. No doubt about it.

FF: I believe you have been following the World Cup. What do you think of Brazil’s play during the group stage and up to the quarter final match against Colombia?
MS: They played well during the group stages and first knock out stages but they have the ability to do better and I think they could have.

FF: As a Brazilian playing in the Mexican league what were your thoughts on the group stage game between Brazil and Mexico that ended 0-0?
MS: A huge game, very well played by both countries. Both teams gave it their all on the field and in the end the result was positive for both.

FF: You have played in several leagues of several countries, like Brazil, Tunisia, Israel, Canada, USA & Mexico. Of all those countries which one would you one day like to return to and play?
MS: USA and Canada were amazing, love those countries and would be great to play there again.

FF: From all the cities that you played for in MLS, which one did you like the most?
MS: Toronto without a doubt. I always felt at home in Toronto, it is a beautiful city, great people, a place I really enjoyed living there.

FF: As a forward, which central defenders would give you the biggest challenge during a game?
MS: All the defenders at this World Cup have massive quality, nobody would be easy, but if I have to pick two I would go with the Brazilians Thiago Silva and David Luiz.

FF: If you were team captain in a game of street football and you have first pick, who would you pick between Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo?
MS: That is a very hard question. My choice would be for a player that is focused on the ball and has the aggressive nature to fight for every ball that could decide the play, Neymar and right after Messi.

FF: What moment in your career marked you the most?
MS: I was playing in a Brazilian team in 2003; their name is Remo de Belem do Para in the north of Brazil. Nobody knew who I was there, so I had to work very hard to gain my space on the team and show them my football. They gave me my first taste of the game and from there I was able to travel and get to know the world by playing football.

FF: Who was your biggest idol that motivated you to pick up a ball and start playing football?

MS: Romario. The ability that he had to score goals was phenomenal. He was an incredible player recognized by everyone around the world.

FF: Who is your favorite Brazilian team?
MS: Everything started with Vasco da Gama. That is where I kicked a ball for the very first time and where it all started. They are a massive club in Brazil, so if I had to pick one it would be Vasco da Gama.

FootyFair would like to thank Maicon Santos for taking the time to answer our questions, and we would also like to wish him the best of luck in his ongoing football career.

Funniest Things We've Seen or Heard at a Football Ground

2014-07-03T20:00:00.000-04:00

As demonstrated by FC United of Manchester's funny reworking of the common "Football Without Fans is Nothing" slogan into "Football Without Cans is Nothing", one of the best parts of going to a football match is the humor and camaraderie with fellow supporters.

Sometimes the humor can stray into "offside" territory and be a bit on the offensive side, but often you'll hear or see things at a match that will not only make you laugh but will have you referencing it for years to come.

The following are some of the funnier things three of our contributors have seen or heard at matches over the years.

Iain J:

Funniest Things I've Heard at a Football Ground:

"Take that, you pottery making bastards!" - Yelled by a group of Walsall fans at Stoke City, "The Potters", supporters after a later equalizer for the West Midlands club.

"John Carew, Carew. He likes a lap-dance or two. He might even pay for you. John Carew, Carew" - Sung to the tune of 'Que Sera Sera' by Doris Day, by Aston Villa fans after their striker was caught at a gentleman's club.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... You fat bastard! - Yelled by Wolves supporters every time former Arsenal keeper David Seaman went to take a goal kick.

"Efan Ekoku! I know your sister... Effin' Hell!" - Yelled by a Manchester United fan within earshot of the former Wimbledon player as he warmed up.

"He shoots, he scores, he’ll eat your Labradors" - Chanted by Manchester United fans at Ji Sung Park

Funniest Things I've Seen at a Football Ground:

Following a match between Toronto FC and the Chicago Fire, several of the Fire's unused subs came onto the pitch for a warm down. One of my friends started yelling abuse at former Toronto FC player Dan Gargan, when all of a sudden Gargan stopped running and directed a D-Generation X Crotch Chop in his direction.

And, this banner directed at Columbus Crew fans by Toronto FC supporters:

Kon R:

Funniest Things I've Heard at a Football Ground:

"Where's our ice cream, goalkeeper?" - While attending a cup match in Israel, this was shouted at Liran Strauber (the opposition goalkeeper) throughout the match. This was due to the fact that Strauber, who would go on to play for the Israeli national team some years later, shared his last name with a popular ice-cream brand.

"F--k off, you're not in a movie theater" - At a World Cup qualifying match between Israel and Cyprus I heard one fan say this to the other, when he was asked to get out of his seat. See in Israel even the smallest movie theaters (at least used to) have seat numbers when you purchased your tickets. In the stands however, although official seat numbers exist, many chose to ignore them.

"You're shit for our club and shit for our country, we need to sell you and get you a different passport" - A fan yelling at a player at a Ukrainian football match.

Funniest Things I've Seen at a Football Ground:

During the very financially-unstable days of Ukrainian 2nd tier side (and my hometown team) FSC Bukovyna Chernivtsi in the early 2000's, the gates to the team's stadium would often stay open around the clock, whether there was a match to be played or not. The local "bottle dependent" citizens would take advantage of the 12,000 seat Bukovyna Stadium as a rest-stop for long hangover naps. Sometimes they would be greeted by the 500-1000 home supporters with loud chants and songs during a match, and the often irritated "why are you yelling in my house" type of look on their face was something worth seeing.

Once at a very rainy match I saw a supporter throw a full roll of very wet toilet paper at a player taking a corner kick. The roll hit the player straight on the back and it was so wet that it actually made a splash once it came in contact with him. (The person who threw the roll may, or may not have been me).

Pedro A:

Funniest Things I've Heard at a Football Ground:

"Yo linesman, since you are not using that flag to call offsides why don't you stick it up your ass?" - A Benfica fan yelled that at a linesman during the last home game of the season at the Stadium of Light. Final score was 1-1.

"No means no! No means no!" - Toronto FC fans yelled those words at Freddy Montero as he is warming up on the sideline at BMO Field. He had been accused of rape in the weeks leading up to that match.

Funniest Things I've Seen at a Football Ground:

Benfica was playing an away match at Porto, which they would end up losing 5-0. Roberto, the Benfica keeper, was known for letting some easy goals in, which in Portugal is referred to as "Frango" (chicken in English). So when the score was 3-0 the Porto ultras who stood behind the net used by Roberto, let a live chicken loose on the field, forcing the security guards to run after it and interrupting the match.

The Roman Empire

2014-06-08T15:00:00.001-04:00

Roman Abramovich, the enigmatic Chelsea owner, is extending his empire in the footballing world and nobody is even batting an eyelash at it.

Reports have surfaced, that the Chelsea FC owner is in the process of acquiring majority shares of Real Mallorca from the Spanish 2nd Division.

He would be acquiring 55% of the club shares from the current vice president Lorenzo Ferrer and president Gabriel Alemany. This would see him extend his footballing empire to another major country in Europe.

Roman Abramovich

He is a Russian businessman and main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC. He is obviously better known for being the owner of Chelsea FC of the English premiership. His wealth is estimated at $14.6 billion dollars, which makes him the 5th richest person in Russia and the 50th richest person in the world, according to a 2012 article in Forbes magazine.

He is a very close friend of Vladimir Putin, as he was to the late Boris Yeltsin. Abramovich is actually the one that recommend Putin as the successor to Yeltsin in power and interviewed every cabinet member of Putin's government before they were accepted. His power and influence within Russian government branches is obvious and well know.

Footballing Empire

In 2003, Roman Abramovich became a household name and all it took was for him to purchase Chelsea FC from former owner Ken Bates. The purchase of Chelsea allowed him to get his feet into a market that he long desired and with his billions behind him it was easy for him to put a competitive product on the field. After all, he is a winner in life and in business, and this venture was not going to be any different.

He changed the EPL and how teams do business, specially when it comes to transfer market time. He is not afraid to spend money and over spend to get what he wants and what he wants is to win everything and be the owner of the biggest and best club in the world.

He wasn't happy to just own Chelsea FC. His desire to expand his football empire has pushed him to other countries and to look at other clubs. In 2004 he turned his attentions towards his home country and more specifically CSKA Moscow. Sibneft, now known as Gazprom Neft, agreed to a three year sponsorship valued at $58 million dollars. UEFA prevents the same person from owning two different clubs that could compete in the same competitions, so the deal between CSKA and Sibneft was managed and conducted by Alexandre Garese, to ensure Abramovich was not implicated in what could be seen as him owning two major clubs in two of the biggest markets.

Behind the scenes it is Abramovich money that is boosting CSKA Moscow, but he is hiding in the shadows, while, lawyer and business partner Garese acts as the head figure.

He has made a move to another big market in Europe, Holland. Truphone, a company partly owned by Roman Abramovich, signed a three year deal with Vitesse of the Dutch Eridivisie. His purchase of a stake in Truphone cost him $70 million pounds, which was his second biggest investment since his purchase of Chelsea FC. By using companies as sponsors of a team, he gains access to the club and control over the direction of the team without being the actual owner on paper. This allows him to avoid UEFA and bypass their laws and regulations. Chelsea has loaned players to Vitesse several times, which has helped them give their players time on the field while helping Vitesse's performances in their domestic league.

Expanding The Roman Empire

As I mentioned earlier he is now directly attempting to own Real Mallorca from the Spanish second division. This deal would be allowed by UEFA because Real Mallorca is not in La Liga, so there are no chances of both his teams playing each other. It is believed that Israeli goalkeeper Dudu Aouate would retire from football and would be the "owner" and Abramovich's partner in this deal.

So it isn't clear if Abramovich will actually take ownership of the club, or he will do it through one of his businesses, putting Dudu in place as the president and owner, just to meet all UEFA regulatory demands.

He has told some of his closest friends that this move for Real Mallorca will not be his last. He is very close of having some stake, control or full ownership of three other clubs. Hapoel in Israel, Corinthians in Brazil and Hibernian in Scotland. It will be a matter of time before we either see him buying out the owners, or in some cases putting together a partnership with the club by providing them with a sponsorship deal that will see him becoming a integral part of the business side of those teams.

I find these deals very disturbing. UEFA should have a much harder set of rules and regulations to ensure one person does not have stake in more than one club playing in the same continent. This creates not only a conflict of interests but it also provides some of these teams with an unfair advantage competing in their domestic leagues. He can use Chelsea FC as a loaner club, providing some of these smaller clubs ways of having better players at no cost. This is what i would consider insider trading, when comparing big businesses to the world of football.

Roman Abramovich is without a doubt spreading his footballing empire, not only inside of Europe but also in South America. We are in the dawn of a new "Roman" empire.

The Puppet Masters (Part 1)

2014-06-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

In today's modern football many people position themselves in roles that grants them power. Many see the roles held by executives at FIFA, UEFA and local FA's as predominant in their objective to control the game of football.

In the past, club presidents also held positions of power that allowed them to manipulate situations to their own gain and use their roles to advance their personal agendas in other fields.

All of these "players" have power, that is undeniable, but the real power is not held by executives sitting in their offices in Switzerland, but rather by the player agents. Player agents are the real masters of puppets of the footballing world.

In the last 10 to 15 years, player agents have gain a dominance in the football market, something that wasn't present in the past. Club presidents use to control the transfer market and dictate the rules of engagement, now those rules are set forward by agents who almost control what player goes to what team, and if a squad becomes stronger or weaker based on their relationships with the club presidents.

They are in the driving seat, not only when it comes to players but also coaches, which creates a vicious cycle that could dictate the preferences of coaches for players represented by the same agents. If agent A represents coach B, he could easily influence coach B to request players that are represented by the same agent. This would force the hand of the club president to do business with one agent or risking losing future possible targets if they are also represented by that same agent.

This web of control can easily be transferred to the national teams. A national team coach could "feel" more inclined to call up players represented by his agent in a way to promote their own player pool and therefore earn higher transfer rates in new possible transfers. You scratch my back and i will scratch yours. To think that such backroom agreements do not happen at club and country is naive.

A well placed agent with good coaches and players as part of his arsenal is an ally that clubs love to have and hate to see others have. If an upcoming player is represented by the same agent, a club president will be more willing to take him, so that future doors for better deals will be offered to him instead of opposing clubs. There are currently clubs and national teams were the agent represents not only the coach but 90% of the players, this should be seen as a conflict of interests and it is not, so the farce continues, and the power of the agents grows.

In this three part series we will look at the 3 more influential FIFA agents currently representing players and coaches.

Pini Zahavi

He is what is now considered a super agent, not only he has been responsible for some of the largest transfers in the footballing world he has also been responsible for the transfer of ownership at Chelsea and Portsmouth. This has earned him a lot of attention and even criticism, but he has claimed that he is only a middle man by saying "I just bring people together and i get paid my commission if a deal is struck".

Zahavi was responsible for Rio Ferdinand's $30 Million pound transfer from Leeds to Manchester United in 2002, is reported that he earned $1.13 million pounds with that deal. His close friendship with United manager Alex Ferguson, helped seal that deal and many others. By 2003, Zahavi was responsible for brokering almost every deal involving Manchester United including the sale of Jaap Stam to Lazio for $16.5 million pounds and the purchase of Veron from Lazio for $28.1 million pounds.

In 2003, Zahavi was instrumental in Roman Abramovich's acquisition of Chelsea FC. He became part of Abramovich's inner circle and would be the key responsible for almost 90% of all transfers Chelsea would do during the next couple of years. He is believed to have earned $5 million pounds from the $111 million pounds that Chelsea spent on transfers that summer.

In 2005 he was involved in two "tapping" scandals involving Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole. It was claimed that Zahavi was involved in the illegal approach by Chelsea and their coach Jose Mourinho of Ashley Cole, who at the time represented Arsenal. Chelsea, Mourinho & Cole were fined for their involvement but the FA didn't have jurisdiction over Zahavi and passed the case to FIFA. In the end nothing was able to be proved against him and he was able to continue to be a player agent. In the case of Ferdinand, Zahavi and Chelsea were accused of have had illegal meetings with Ferdinand while he was still a United player and supposedly tried to have him not re-sign with United so he could join Chelsea.

The allegations were never confirmed and Zahavi has commented by saying that this story was the joke of the century.

He was involved in the purchase of Portsmouth and several transfers involving the club. The 2 most recognized transfers were Yakubu & Berkovic. He used his connections as an Israeli business man to arrange for the transfers of these two players from Maccabi Haifa to Portsmouth. He also was responsible for bringing Avram Grant to the club and was a major player in the deal that saw Yakubu go to Middlesbrough FC and earned Zahavi what is believed to be the biggest percentage fee earned by an agent at that time.

In 2007, when a report of Lord Steven's investigation into irregular transfer payments was made public, attention and scrutiny was placed on Zahavi and five deals he had been involved with.

The transfers mentioned in the report are the following:

- Didier Drogba from Marseille to Chelsea for $24 million pounds (2004)

- Petr Cech from Rennes to Chelsea for $7 million pounds (2004)

- Collins Mbesuma from Kaizer Chiefs to Portsmouth for $808 thousand pounds (2005)

- Fabio Rochemback from Barcelona to Middlesbrough free transfer fee (2005)

- Yakubu Aiyegbeni from Portsmouth to Middlesbrough for $7.5 million pounds (2005)

He cooperated with the investigations and nothing was ever uncovered that proved any wrong doing on his part but it was starting to be obvious that most of these deals involved large amounts of money and that his percentages of profit on these deals were not always clear on the contracts and measurable.

He has also been involved in purchasing percentage of player passes in what is now known in the footballing world as investment funds. This is a practice that is not allowed by the Bristish FA but it is used by clubs all over the world. Instead of transfering players from club A to club B, the players are sold to an agent who then owns the rights in any future transfer of that player, controlling even more the transfer market and the amounts and percentages of the deals.

In this world, Pini Zahavi has been a trail blazer, and has set the barometer to what a super agent needs to be.