Soccer / Elisha Levy kisses Sakhnin good-bye for Maccabi Haifa
By Ali Ghali and Moshe Boker
Elisha Levy will leave his coaching position at Bnei Sakhnin and sign on at Maccabi Haifa, according to a deal he agreed upon with Maccabi Haifa owner Yaakov Shahar.
Levy yesterday signed a one-year contract with Haifa, earning him NIS 120,000. He will replace current coach Roni Levy, who will leaving a position he has held for five years
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Elisha Levy, who began his career with Hapoel Beit She'an, has been at Sakhnin for two years during which he led the club to unprecedented success.
Bnei Sakhnin Chairman Mazen Genaim lamented the departure of Levy, whom they had been trying to convince to sign on for next year, but wished him luck on his new endeavor. "I wish him luck...that's the problem of small clubs," Genaim said. "We are considered stepping stones for players and coaches on their way to richer and more reputable clubs."
Genaim said, "It's a critical moment for Israeli-Arab businessmen, who will have to step up and support the team." He was referring to the club's lack of financial resources and its traditional position as representative of Israel's Arab population. Said Abu Yunes, head of the Bnei Sakhnin supporters' club, said: "Elisha was smart and decided to embrace the saying 'leave while you're still at the top.' And that he did. Soccer is dirtier than politics; it's all about the money and personal interest. The management needs businessmen to back it, and maybe that way coaches and players won't leave."
Bnei Sakhnin official Sehar Khalila said: "I give him one round at Haifa until troubles appear and he regrets leaving Sakhnin."
Meanwhile, the fan club chair Abu Yunes called for Levy to be sacked due to conflict of interest. "How can he coach our team, which is battling for a place in Europe, when he knows that next year he will be coaching our opponent for the same ticket."
The IFA legal aide added that it may consider passing regulations that would forbid mid-season signings of coaches for the next season, while holding on to their positions. "It's worth an inquiry," Lawyer Moshe Avivi said. "It creates a weird situation."
Levy's singing at Haifa created a problem for the Israel Football Association, which was hoping to make him head coach of one of Israel's youth teams.
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