“I have a feeling of missed opportunities at both Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Hapoel Tel Aviv”

Siraj Nassar, who will soon celebrate his 36th birthday, faced a fateful summer. The long break following the closure of Liga Alef led him to think about retiring from football, but the move to Eilat with his family may bring him back to the pitch, and he may sign with the new project of Bnei Eilat from Liga Bet.

In an interview with "HaYom", Nassar speaks honestly about a career marked by "almost". The midfielder played for Hapoel Be'er Sheva and left for another place just before the glory. He arrived at Hapoel Tel Aviv, but it did not work under Amir Kabiri, and the attempt abroad also ended after a short time.

"I prepared myself mentally for retirement, but last summer the passion returned to me along with the World Cup, and I realized that I miss football," says Nassar. "God willing, the body gives me the feeling to continue. I will probably be part of Bnei Eilat, there are new owners and Kobi Refua as the professional manager."

You were in Liga Alef in the north, what led to the move south?

"The move was not particularly easy for the children, but my wife is from Eilat and we wanted to be close to her family so they could help us with them. All these years we lived far from both families and now there is an opportunity to get closer to them."

Does football coaching interest you?

"I think I won't be a good coach. Although I give tips to many coaches and players, I don't see myself as a coach even though I have a certificate."

“I only blame myself”

Let's go back. Did you exhaust your full potential in football?

"I don't think I exhausted fifty percent of my ability, and my career is accompanied by feelings of missed opportunities both at Hapoel Be'er Sheva and at Hapoel Tel Aviv, and even at Bnei Sakhnin it was not enough, so I always come out with a feeling of 'almost'."

What were you missing?

"Incorrect decision-making and quite a bit of bad luck and lack of guidance. Most of the career I was quite alone with my agent, but I only blame myself and I could have managed the career better."

How disappointing is it that you were part of Hapoel Be'er Sheva and left the club before the peak?

"It is something that will not leave me all my life and almost every day I think about it. I was part of the team that was built from the bottom and climbed to second place and a place in the State Cup final and then I left just before I touched the glory."

Later you signed for four years at Hapoel Tel Aviv, what didn't work out there?

"It was a new project of Amir Kabiri. Many young players signed and the team was built from scratch and it is a risk when you do such a thing. In the first season we didn't relegate and then I left in the second year and they relegated and there was a liquidation."

In retrospect, what was the worst decision?

"Leaving Hapoel Be'er Sheva because it was easy for me there. Since I left Be'er Sheva, everything has become more difficult. In Be'er Sheva I also had a crowd that pulled me on the way up."

“I didn't want to earn less than in Israel”

How much do you feel it's a miss that you didn't continue your career in Europe?

"I can write a book about every year of my life. In Europe it didn't work for me because I went to a country where I think there is an amateur league and even there the decision to go there was not good enough."

What made you return to Israel after two months anyway?

"At first everything was good, but then we lost in the first stage of the Champions League and it was the first time in history that they were in the league and they counted on the income from there. After we lost, they announced that they were cutting fifty percent for everyone. I didn't want to cut and then receive a lower salary than in Israel and I preferred to return. Specifically, I went to a less good team, but there is a miss that I didn't go to another club in Europe."

As someone who played for many years in the Arab sector. What doesn't work there that there are many clubs that liquidate?

"When I was in Kafr Qasim we had Premier League conditions and there were amazing people there that I met from the first day. Then, in Liga Alef, they poured a lot of money and next to me played great players like Shlomi Arbeitman. Unlike other leagues, in Liga Alef most of the budget is built on owners and when it doesn't go well, the owner leaves and the team liquidates."