There’s something going on at Hapoel Jerusalem and it’s not something good.
This is the case with both the basketball team and the soccer club, with both franchises off to shaky starts to their seasons, while both aren’t doing enough to get back on track.
Publicly, the two are making it seem that there are some minor issues and that they’ll get into the swing of things in no time. However, that doesn’t seem to be the reality, which on the face says that both have got to make some moves swiftly or else the vision and dreams that were outlined during the offseason will be all but kaput.
While the basketball and soccer clubs share the same red colors and fan base, there is no common ownership or management structure between them – suggesting that what’s unfolding is less about internal ties and more about a broader, cross-sport malaise affecting the capital’s teams.
On the pitch, coach Ziv Arie’s charges have collected just two points out of a possible 24(!) and have not yet won a game. Not only have they not found a way to squeak out a win, they are not even close to bringing some sort of joy to their fans, who booed the squad out of Teddy Stadium after playing to a listless goalless draw against Bnei Sakhnin.
There isn’t enough quality on the field of play to create chances and also put the ball into the back of the goal as it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the problems that the team is going through. But the bench boss, who is still in his place and has been since 2019, doesn’t see an issue with the way the season is being played out as the team is clearly heading in one direction and that’s down to the second-division Leumit League.
Sporting a record of zero wins, two draws and six losses, the Reds have scored five goals and conceded 14 as the oblivious Arie continues to try and sell a bill of goods to the fan base even as the rest of the league is starting to run away. Being six points behind Ironi Kiryat Shmona with a game in hand for the Northerners at the red line for demotion is just not going to cut it for Hapoel, and the regular season is already more than 30% in the books.
No one at this point in time is asking for the Reds to find a way into the championship playoffs, which in theory is still not out of reach. However, what they are asking for is a team that can play competitive soccer, put on a good show and create opportunities along with some hope that there is a semi-bright future.
One of the club’s most important players and goal-scorers over the past couple of seasons has been Cedric Don but so far this campaign he has been a shell of himself and hasn’t been able to produce. The 21-year-old Don, who missed a 99.9% chance for a goal against Bnei Sakhnin, had been rumored to leave Hapoel Jerusalem during the summer, but a deal did not happen for one reason or another and he’s been stuck in neutral since then. An unhappy and unmotivated Don is not going to be a help to the squad and something has got to change and fast should Jerusalem not want to have to play on Friday afternoon, as it had done for decades when it was in the Leumit.
It’s not even November and Arie’s crew is easily ticketed to be relegated as management continues to sit on their hands and not make a move or two or three, which has to happen sooner rather than later or else the season will be cooked and well done like a turkey before we hit Thanksgiving.
Over on the hardwood, the boo birds were out in full force after a loss to Hapoel HaEmek, with things not much better for Hapoel Jerusalem BC.
Yonatan Alon’s team had looked fantastic in the preseason, winning with ease and beating Maccabi Tel Aviv twice, once in the Super Cup and the other in the Winner Cup semifinals.
The Reds were clicking on all cylinders and Alon couldn’t have been happier. Just before his team headed to the United States for a date with the Brooklyn Nets, the bench boss said that his team is ready to roll, unlike the other Israeli teams playing in Europe who all had one issue or another.
He definitely didn’t count on his squad coming back to Israel (actually Belgrade) and falling to Cedevita in EuroCup play, which was followed up by a loss to Manresa in continental play, putting a wrench into the plans to winning the competition and getting an automatic spot in the Euroleague just like Hapoel Tel Aviv did last season.
Sure, there is plenty of time with many more games to play, but with a 2-2 record, Jerusalem is losing some of its leeway and instead of topping its group, it may find itself lower down in the standings which would make winning the title all that more difficult.
In the Israeli league, Hapoel is already 1-2, falling to Hapoel Holon in dramatic fashion with Jordan McRae knocking down a corner 3-ball to take the win coupled with a brutal basketball display in a 69-65 home defeat to Hapoel HaEmek.
Again, if the Reds have any designs on winning the championship and taking care of unfinished business from last season, they’ve got to win these games in order to secure home-court advantage, as both Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv aren’t going to drop too many domestic league games.
There are some issues with the roster, with a number of players not producing the way that the club had imagined and that starts with the captain Yovel Zoosman. Zoos has been a shell of his former self, not hitting his shots on a consistent basis and not looking close to the player that everyone in the Israeli basketball world is familiar with.
There’s no question that his confidence is shot and again, don’t listen to Alon’s positive take on Zoosman, it’s just not the reality. It’s crystal clear as to the struggles he’s going through and how frustrated he must be. Add Nimrod Levi to the list who’s not producing anywhere close to expectation, and of course the same is true about Anthony Lamb, who placed the blame squarely on his own shoulders following the most recent defeat.
The roster construction is flawed and needs to be balanced, whether it’s with the big men or the guards, which includes an injured Cassius Winston. As is with the soccer club, the management of the basketball club is not addressing what every single one of the supporters see, as boos rained down on the coach as he walked off the court and to the locker room.
What both teams have in common is that it’s still not too late to make some moves to right their respective ships. Sure, there is an urgency, but the two can tweak their rosters – or dare it be said, the coaching staff – and get out of the funk that they are in.
But these moves need to happen sooner rather than later or else it will be too late, with the soccer club so deeply entrenched in the league’s basement and relegation zone, while the basketball team’s lofty goals will become that much harder to reach.
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