Admittedly, as the Champions League proper has not actually started, there is abundant opportunity for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to catch up in this edition’s goalscoring chase, but right now the man who has set a strikingly high bar is Eran Zahavi. The indomitable forward, whose form has been dazzling enough to ignite debate about where he stands in the pantheon of footballers to come out of Israel, has already helped himself to seven goals in five Champions League games, which were instrumental in carrying Maccabi Tel Aviv through the qualification process all the way to Europe’s grandest stage.
Zahavi is Maccabi’s talisman. Their captain, top scorer and figurehead has a habit of scoring pivotal goals. His knack for late strikes is finely tuned. He carries himself on the pitch with the kind of self-belief that ensures he will arrive at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday eager to take on a Chelsea defence feeling the heat.
Zahavi was billed for a long time as an attacking midfielder rather than a striker, but prolific statistics underline how potent and clinical he has become. Since signing for Maccabi in January 2013 he has scored 80 times in 107 appearances. His game is marked by a drive to score again and again, and he has the tools to deliver in a variety of ways – left foot, right foot, strong in the air, with close predatory instincts and long-range ambition. He moves quickly and carefully off the ball, always looking for spaces to exploit and errors to punish.
At the age of 28, there is the feel of a slow burn about Zahavi’s productivity. His club are simply delighted to have him. There was talk of a move to a more challenging league not long ago, with rumours that Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund were among the interested parties, but a new contract has made him the best-paid player in the country. He earns €1m (£740,000) per season, but he’s all but paid that entire contract back with his heroics in qualifying Maccabi to this season’s Champions League group stage. In the play-off match against Basel he was outstanding in both the technical and psychological elements of a close tie. Two classy goals away from home, and the decisive strike at home as his side went through on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate draw, added to the local legend.
In Tel Aviv, attitudes towards Zahavi very much depend on club loyalty. He has played for two city rivals, first as a young player at Hapoel before his current reign at Maccabi. In between the two he spent a brief period in Serie A with Palermo. Not the most stable of clubs, it was a tough period for Zahavi. He suffered under the pressure demanded of him to replace Javier Pastore, who had left for Paris Saint-Germain. It was hard to hold down a regular position, find a rhythm, settle into a team that was not designed to get the best from him.
Zahavi is a player who cherishes feeling the coach’s confidence, and he enjoys the responsibility of being a central hub for his team. That has come at Maccabi. The decision to join them when he returned from Italy, rather than return to Hapoel, remains deeply controversial. There were whispers that he was offered more money to go to Maccabi and was willing to earn less to go back to Hapoel. A blame game ensued. Why did he go to Maccabi in that case? As is common where local enmity is involved, everybody puts the blame in the direction that suits them.
It’s history now – albeit a passionate history. His trademark celebration, shooting imaginary pistols, began in a Maccabi-Hapoel game. In a Tel Aviv derby last November, Zahavi scored an equalising penalty and was then confronted by a bare-chested pitch invader. He retaliated, kicking out as the fan aimed a foot at him. It prompted a brawl amongst the players and more pitch invasions. Zahavi, in the eye of the storm, was sent off. The game was eventually abandoned.
If it is possible to look at Zahavi’s impact as a flagbearer for Israeli football without emotional investment, he is such an important reference point as the player capable of dragging two Tel Aviv clubs into the Champions League. His goals took Hapoel through 2010, and he went on to score against Benfica and Lyon in the group stage.
Naturally it hurts Hapoel to see Zahavi shine in the enemy colours because he was once revered by them. Amongst Zahavi’s achievements for Hapoel, he scored the goal that won the title in stoppage time of the final game of the season. That knack for important goals was seldom so dramatic.
Maccabi’s coach, Slavisa Jokanovic, describes Zahavi as “the best Israeli player to date”. Jordi Cruyff, the club’s sporting director, adds that he is one of the most important signings in Maccabi’s history. He cost a mere €250,000.
“He’s the one that gets the final touch to win a game,” says Cruyff. “He is a leader and unlike other players the fact he got a new and improved contract only got him to play better.”
The feeling may be that the contract has already been paid back, but Zahavi is relishing the chance to prove his worth all over again at Stamford Bridge.
