From Israel To European Glory; A Hapoel Tel-Aviv Story

[Conbee92]

After the semi-success of my Central Coast Mariners story I have decided to write a new one to help ease my summertime boredom about Hapoel Tel-Aviv, a team I quite like as the first European game I saw at Celtic Park was against them in the late 90's. My aim is to create a team which dominates the domestic league as well as having success in European competition within 7-8 years.



Hapoel Tel-Aviv announce new manager

For the first time in their 83 year history, Hapoel Tel-Aviv have appointed a foreign manager in the shape of inexperienced Scotsman Connelly Boyle to replace Eli Guttman. The new man in the hotseat immediately stated his ambition to build a footballing dynasty at the Bloomfield Stadium, with a team playing fast, attacking football and dominating the Israeli Premier League, as well as looking to achieve some success in European competition in the near future. He also stated that due to lack of funds, he will be making no signings until a proposed takeover is completed, although he is said to be reasonably happy with his new squad.

Key Players

Itay Shechter

An intelligent striker who can also play out wide. An excellent finisher with a good turn of pace.

Gil Vermut

A top-quality wide player with high creativity as well as good dribbiling skills. A very intelligent player and current vice-captain.

Vincent Enyeama

Nigerian no. I goalkeeper and one of the most sought after keepers in Europe at the moment. Good agility and shot-stopping as well as a set-piece expert.

Pre-season update coming soon...

---------- Post added at 05:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 PM ----------

Any comments or ways to improve this are most welcome

 

[willow1293]

Best of luck mate I have never managed in Israel so I will follow as I am interested to see what the league is like Hope the takeover gets completed and you have a decent budget to spend.

 

[hellroker]

Hey good luck I follow you follow mine too

 

[TheHig]

yeah good luck ,playing in Israel is hard, its very difficult to sign anyone because a lot of players have no interest in playing in Israel

 

[Conbee92]

Pre-season update

Hapoel Asi Gilboa 1 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 5

Hakoah Amidar 0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 0

Hapoel Nazareth-Ilit 0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 1

Maccabi Irony Kiryat-Ata 0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 3

Hapoel Irony Kiryat-Shmona 0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 1

Hapoel Tel-Aviv 1 FC Brasov 2


Managers Comments

A very mixed pre-season in my opinion. In a couple of games we showed everything I asked for with exciting attacking football, mixed with others where we were hopelessly pedestrian. Of course, I am still fine-tuning my team so I hope things begin to gel before the season kicks off

Toto Cup Draw

Hapoel Tel-Aviv have been drawn in the same group as Bnei Sakhin, Hapoel Ra'anana and Maccabi Petach-Tikva in what presents a fairly easy group for the Israeli powerhouse. Manager Connelly Boyle was less than pleased about the scheduling of the tournament, "I think its ridiculous we have to play 4 of these games before the start of the season. Whatsmore, we have an important Europa League game scheduled in amongst these games which means I may have to rotate my squad, when I want to have a team settled before the real stuff kicks off."

Europa League

Hapoel Tel-Aviv have been drawn against either Moldovan side Dacia or Polish outfit Polonia Warsaw in the 3rd Qualifying Round of the Europa League. With Polonia 3-0 up from their first leg, it is likely Hapoel will face a trip to Warsaw. Boyle spoke of the advantage of playing the first leg away from home, "The Bloomfield Stadium is a real cauldron on European nights and if we need a positive result I am sure the fans can inspire us to the right result with their vocifireous backing. Hopefully, we can perform away from home as well, but seeing as its more likely to be Polonia, that may be easier said than done."

Vermouth misses 2 weeks

Hapoel's pre-season ended on a sour note as Gil Vermouth was injured against FC Brasov, meaning he will miss the next 2 weeks of football. Manager Connelly Boyle will surely be disappointed by this as he has previously spoke of his plans to build a team around Vermouth. It is however certain he will be available for the opening game of the season.

Badir out as well

Club captain Walid Badir will be out for 10 days after a training ground injury, meaning he will miss the Europa League first leg against Polonia Warsaw or Dacia. This is another blow for Boyle's team, but it is believed there is more than enough cover to cope with this setback.​

---------- Post added at 05:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:50 PM ----------

Its Polonia!



As expected, Hapoel will play Polonia Warsaw after they defeated Dacia 4-0 on aggregate. The first leg will be in Warsaw, before a potentially mouthwatering second leg at the Bloomfield Stadium. Manager Connelly Boyle is looking forward to the tie; "Polonia are a good side, but I think we can beat them if we put in a good performance and play our game."

 

[nilelg5]

Im Following! great beggining

 

[willow1293]

good update but maybe use different coloured text for Hapoel Tel-Aviv and the opposition, it just makes it easier to read, other than that a good start to the story

 

[Conbee92]

Polonia Warsaw 2 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 1​

Filip Ivanovski celebrates his winner​

A second half double from Macedonian forward Filip Ivanovski condemned Connelly Boyle to defeat in his first competitive game as Hapoel Tel-Aviv manager. Bibras Natkho opened the scoring on the 37th minute, beating two Polonia players before finishing high into the net. The second half brought a different dynamic as Filip Ivanovski equalised on the 66th minute, latching onto a long ball and finishing well. His winner in the 87th minute was almost a carbon copy of his first, latching onto a long ball and slotting the ball past Vincent Enyeama. Manager Connelly Boyle was in a mixed mood after the defeat; "We controlled the first half completely and Bibras was in exceptional form, dictating the play and scoring a good goal. But in the second half it was more even, but we still made two stupid errors by failing to deal with two long balls and losing two goals to an in-form player. But I still think we can beat them next week at home."​

---------- Post added at 01:49 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 06:20 PM ----------

August Update

Bnei Sakhin 1 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 3

Toto Cup Group Stage
1.8.2009
Doha, Sakhin

Itay Shechter 7'
Eran Zehavi 45'+2
Ran Itzhak 52'
Eran Zehavi 57'

M.O.M: Eran Zehavi

(2 goals, 0 assists)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv 1 Polonia Warsaw 0
(2-2 on aggregate, Hapoel win on away goals)

Europa League Third Qualifying Round
5.8.2009
Bloomfield Stadium, Tel-Aviv

Nemanja Vucicevic 50'

M.O.M: Bibras Natkho

(0 goals, 1 assist)

Maccabi Petach-Tikva 0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2

Toto Cup Group Stage
8.8.2009
Hapoel Petach-Tikva, Petach-Tikva

Itay Shecter 72'
Bibras Natkho 90'+1

M.O.M: Bibras Natkho

(1 goal, 1 assist)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2 Hapoel Ra'anana 0

Toto Cup Group Stage
15.8.2009
Bloomfiel Stadium, Tel-Aviv

Haim Pontremoli own goal (45'+2)
Bojan Vrucina (50')

M.O.M: Bibras Nathko

(0 goals, 1 assist)

Pacos Ferreira 0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 1

Europa League 4th Qualifying Round 1st Leg
19.8.2009
Estadio D. Alfonso Henriques, Guimaraes

Avihay Yadin (65')

M.O.M: Bibras Natkho

(0 goals, 0 assists)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv 3 Pacos Ferreira 0
(Hapoel win 4-0 on aggregate)

Europa League 4th Qualifying Round 2nd Leg
26.8.2009
Bloomfield Stadium, Tel-Aviv

Mehran Lala (29')
Itay Shechter (34')
Bojan Vrucina (45')

M.O.M: Omri Kanada

(0 goals, 1 assist)

Bnei Sakhnin 2 Hapoel Tel-Aviv 2

Israeli Premier League Matchday 1
29.8.2009
Doha, Sakhnin

Nastja Ceh (6')
Khaled Khalaila (pen 48')
Itay Shecter (54')
Walid Badir (73')

M.O.M: Itay Shechter

(1 goal, 1 assist)

Europa League Group Stage Draw:





Hapoel Tel-Aviv have been given a tough draw for the Europa League group stage against Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, Premiership side Everton and Croation powerhouse Hajduk Split. Manager Connelly Boyle said; "This will be a very difficult group to qualify from against three top quality sides. But we can draw upon recent seasons where we've beaten big teams and hope we can get some good results. But it is definently an uphill task." Hapoel kick off their group campaign away to PSV Eindhoven.

Managers Thoughts: A very good first full month in charge, achieving our aim of qualifying for the Europa League group stage as well as making a good start to the Toto Cup as well. Even though we dropped points in our first Premier League match of the season, it was still a good performance where we created an abundance of chances only to find ourselves against a goalkeeper in top form. I am very pleased with what I have seen and certainly think we can achieve our goals. The fact we managed to retain Vincent Enyeama despite his desire to leave also pleased me.

Player of the month/ Top Assist Maker:
Bibras Natkho

4 M.O.M awards, 3 assists

Top Goalscorer:
Itay Shechter

4 goals in all competitions
​

---------- Post added at 09:12 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 01:49 PM ----------

Is anyone following this?

 

[*Daniel*]

some good results there mate good luck.
is managing in isreal good because ive never done it?