"We will return to the glory days": Maccabi Netanya aims high with a record budget

Ross Kasten, the owner of Maccabi Netanya, has faced countless criticisms since arriving in Israel and declaring that "we will return Netanya to its glory days and it will dominate Israeli football in the coming years." This season, however, he will settle for a ticket to the upper playoffs and leave the fantasies of bigger things for other days. For this to happen, Kasten has set the largest budget in the club's history, amounting to 54.6 million shekels.

The owner promised coach Roni Levy in the middle of last season that he would receive all the tools this summer to return Netanya at least to the top six teams of the Premier League — and it seems he kept his word. The club underwent a serious revolution this summer, which is not yet complete. Levy bolstered the squad with Grigory Morozov and Dor Hugi from Beitar Jerusalem, Dolev Haziza from Maccabi Haifa, Nadav Nidam from Hapoel Petah Tikva, Alon Azugi from Bnei Sakhnin, and Portuguese goalkeeper Samuel Silva. In addition, Levy is looking for two foreign players for the center-back and winger positions. Winger Christian Nwakace had already agreed with the club, but after reporting visa issues, he ultimately signed with the Azerbaijani club Sabah. Netanya is also currently looking for a defensive midfielder.

The turning point that instilled optimism among Netanya fans began with Roni Levy's visit to Kasten in the USA at the end of May. There, the coach received a promise from the owner that he would spare no means to build a strong team. Levy flew to this meeting hearing rumors about an owner who tries to bring players cheaply and sell them dearly, but in practice, he heard completely different things. As the summer began, the coach realized that his boss's words had substance, as almost every request was met. Those that were not, were due to high price demands from foreign players.

Creativity and balance

"Our goal is to have a good season," says Roni Levy. "We want the upper playoffs, and reaching there will be a difficult task. As a native of Netanya, I always have the desire for Maccabi Netanya to return to its great days. It doesn't happen in one day but in stages, and we are doing everything to have a strong and powerful team here that can compete against any team in the league. As someone who knows the DNA of the place, it is clear to me that it must be with attacking and creative football. We have creativity in the team, but alongside this, we must dramatically improve the defensive game. We will need to find the right balances, and sometimes, in order not to be exposed, we must be controlled to ensure balance on both sides of the field."

Several things happened this summer in Netanya that would not have occurred in previous years. It starts with the refusal of Kasten and Levy to sell players who are the backbone of the squad. Hapoel Be'er Sheva flirted with Maor Levy, while Maccabi Haifa and Beitar Jerusalem checked on Oz Bilu — but Netanya did not cooperate. Hapoel Tel Aviv tried to get its hands on Brazilian striker Matheus Dabo, but Netanya set a price tag of three million euros and neutralized the "Reds."

"A player like Dolev Haziza does not come to Netanya if Kasten does not do everything to land him here," they said this week in Netanya. The midfielder, who held a contract of almost 400,000 dollars per season at Maccabi Haifa, arrived in Netanya with a salary demand of 250,000 dollars. Kasten paid and turned him "yellow-black." In Netanya, they claim that what they were missing last year was a "bad" player in the positive sense — one who will shout in the locker room, argue with referees, and lead the young ones. With Haziza, Maor Levy, and Bilu, together with the foreign players and 16-year-old wonder kid Yarin Abuhazira, Netanya believes it is on the right track.

Netanya went through a trauma last season: missing the upper playoffs, an embarrassing elimination in the cup against Maccabi Jaffa, and an 8:2 defeat by Beitar Jerusalem. And yet, in the Toto Cup games this season, the Netanya crowd, satiated with disappointments, did not stop cheering, because the feeling this time is that they are really trying to do everything to bring the team back up. Netanya fans have purchased 3,250 subscriptions so far, and the aspiration is to reach 4,000. Midfielder Maor Levy concludes: "The feelings are good at the beginning of the season; the team is more connected and of higher quality than last year. There is work to be done, but the atmosphere is good, and everyone is working hard to reach as far as possible."