Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., October 13, 2008 Tishrei 14, 5769 | | Israel Time: 23:08 (EST+7)
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The greatest Beitar of all time
By Elad Lipshitz

Adrenaline is running high and the sweet taste of victory lingers, but Beitar wants to prolong the moment. For their part, the celebration is weighing heavily on Israel Football Association Chairman Avi Luzon, on the IFA itself, on haters everywhere and on Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Beitar is bigger than anything else happening in Israeli sport today, its supremacy overshadowing even Maccabi Tel Aviv's dominance in the basketball world, and what it seeks now is only longevity. If club owner Arcadi Gaydamak stays, a dynasty may yet rise in the City of David.
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Is this the greatest Beitar of all time? Judging from its results, yes. This is, after all, the team of the "double," having won both the Premier League Championship and the State Cup.

What does the team lack? Heart. This season Beitar passed too many unimaginative weeks - weeks that were hollow, empty of emotion. Indeed, from the perspective of Beitar fans, the real championship actually took place in Ramat Gan on Tuesday, at the State Cup final.

Coach Itzhak Shum is devoting the end of the season to coming out of the closet. Here's a scoop: Shum reads the papers. He who spent the entire season grooming his image as one unmoved by what is said about him is starting to settle accounts.

Behind the scenes Shum is responding to the reporters, venting at full steam. "Hey, what do you know? I pulled a championship." The king of modesty, who recently bewailed his cruel re lease from Hapoel Tel Aviv, has taken a page from Gaydamak and is starting to show some muscle.

The overly harsh punishment on the balcony-dwellers following last month's burst onto the field only served to heighten fans' interest in the team. For years fans have spilled onto the field - not just those in yellow - and they will continue to do so, even if another team should unexpectedly take the championship.

To the crowd, the castigation made the victory even sweeter. In such a predictable season, without competition and without any rivals, you look for conflict, for someone to hate.

Beitar is finding satisfaction in the punishment. The whole world is against us - a terrific concept for selling season tickets. Haifa has crashed, Netanya doesn't count, and the ladies of Tel Aviv are off the radar, so Beitar has engaged itself for several weeks in a costly campaign against the IFA itself.

Despite everything, the rout of Netanya carried the mark of a team of winners. A championship with style - a job well done.
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