I arrived at Bloomfield very early on Monday. Excitement, expectation and pressure had been gripping me since Saturday night as I anticipated the big match against Beitar Jerusalem. The smell around Bloomfield reminded me of the smell I had experienced at the fabled stadium over the past few years: the match against Basel and the 4:0 Derby victory. Something big was about to happen. It wasn’t just the team who raised their level right now for the playoffs, it was also the fans, the Maccabists who wouldn’t dare use the words apathy or tired at these crucial moments.
It’s hard to explain how such an amazing effort by the club ended with a last minute match winning goal. It may be that this contest really explains the whole shocking season that we are experiencing. The game on Monday, like every match this year is just proof that we’ll have to fight right up until the end of the campaign. It’s going to be hard, thrilling and frustrating. “Zahavi didn’t show up” someone two rows in front of me yelled out during the first half. Zahavi? He can’t stop missing. The bar, post and out. “It’s all because of that guy Elmaliah” anther disappointed fan screamed out. And BOOM! 2:1. To tie a record is great, but it’s not enough for a player that was born to break them. There’s still first place to conquer.
2:2 and you just grab your head. Try to explain all of those misses right. Imagine thinking about all of those missed opportunities the whole week. The minutes go by and you feel the pressure increasing bit by bit especially in your throat. It’s now hard to sing along with the fans as the nerves are really getting to you. As the time continues to go by, your legs start to shake and it’s not because of winter returning. The ball refuses to find the back of the goal and your head starts spinning even more. You think back to those brutal misses by Nosa and Radonjic in Kiryat Shemona, Peretz’s Derby header, the chances you had to rescue a point against Beer Sheva and Claudemir’s save off of the line at Teddy. Your head hurts even harder as your mind wanders about thinking that this just may not be our year.
Suddenly after a few shocking minutes, Bloomfield wakes up again. “There’s no way we’re not winning today”. “It’s ours”, yell some fans not totally believing that it’s possible. But you bring it all back and remember that your team is Maccabi. The club that are lions. “Never give up” begins to seep into the crowd. And the memories keep flooding back. You think back to when you jumped after Zahavi scored against Maccabi Haifa in last year’s playoffs, you think back to when you won the Derby with only ten players, Lugassi’s screamer and Shukanov’s cheeky finish. Then you understand that it’s going to happen. It has to happen. Who are you to doubt it?
90th minute. Throw in, Itzahki pounces on a loose ball and it goes in! We can’t see who scored but it doesn’t really matter. You already know who’s responsible. After all he always does it and he’s always there. Eran Zahavi of course. A goal that is a total reflection of the player. You didn’t think he would just break the record, right? It had to be the match winner and it had to happen at the last possible moment. It had to come after five incredible chances to score, because this is truly who Eran Zahavi really is. Ages before the bicycle kick goals and way before the incredible volley. This is a goal scored with a huge amount of effort, persistence and constant movement. The goal comes when no one is moving, but he continues to believe. His team rallies him as do the fans cheering him on. It’s a goal that only Eran Zahavi could score. It’s a goal that only Eran Zahavi could get to and put home. And how symbolic is it that the goal is also a record breaker that involves his teammates. You say to yourself how predictable it is, but you’re amazed each and every time.
I’m unable to watch the last two minutes. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m in a stupor or because my glasses went flying four rows down in front of me. (And thanks to the fans that found them!) the final whistle blows and Bloomfield explodes. You’re in ecstasy and if you’re not part of this you’ll never really truly understand. But late into the night you do understand and realize what you’ve witnessed, you’re up by one point and you’re in a war right until the last dying seconds.
