Што пишуваат израелците за Пандев
The accepted wisdom has it that the more players a country has plying their wares overseas, the better the level of its national soccer team - even if this has a detrimental effect on the domestic league.
For Macedonia, Israel's upcoming Euro 2008 Group E opponent, that caveat is painfully accurate. Macedonia has a total of 97 players employed outside of their country, from Germany to Albania to Italy to Nir Klinger's Paralimni in Cyprus, and the league has sunk to new lows. When coach Srecko Katanec held his first training session last weekend ahead of Saturday's match in Skopje, he had almost a full squad available despite the fact that the championship was being decided at the same time.
With many of the Macedonian players appearing in Europe's minor leagues, the accepted wisdom does not hold. But the team does have one true star, a player who threatens to overshadow the achievements even of Darko Pancev, who won the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade and turned out for Inter Milan.
Goran Pandev
Goran Pandev may be only 23, but Lazio's offensive midfielder, who plays behind a lone forward, is considered one of the best in Europe in his position.
"He is our most important player and I am counting on him for the Champions League. But if he wants to leave, I won't stand in his way," Lazio coach Delio Rossi said a few weeks ago following reports that Pandev was considering a 15 million euro move to the English Premier League. Among the clubs reportedly on Pandev's trail were Arsenal, Tottenham, Portsmouth and Reading.
Lazio president Claudio Lotito had other thoughts, however, and this week hammered out a new five-year deal that will keep the young talent in Rome.
"The combination of Pandev and [striker] Tommaso Rocchi is ideal. He has done some great things and we are counting on him," Lotito said of Pandev, who made a significant contribution to Lazio's success this season.
Pandev hit 11 goals in 26 league appearances and added another three goals in the Italian Cup, including a strike that was a candidate for goal of the season in Italy.
Benayoun parallels
Pandev's career is reminiscent in many ways of that of Israel captain Yossi Benayoun.
Like Benayoun, Pandev grew up in a godforsaken southern town. Like Benayoun, he was spotted at a young age, and like Benayoun, at 17 he had already been snapped up by a big team, Inter Milan.
While Pancev disappointed in his spell at Inter, Pandev did not even get a chance to play: He was farmed out to smaller teams. After he had spent three years in Italy's lower leagues, Lazio decided to gamble on him.
The beginning was not easy, but Delio Rossi's arrival at Lazio two years ago changed Pandev's fortunes.
Rossi switched him from the position of second striker to playing up front behind a lone striker. The ploy worked wonders. In his first five games last season, Pandev scored five times to stake his claim to a permanent first-team place.
"When he arrived at Inter at the age of 17, he didn't stand a chance of succeeding," says Italian soccer writer Sergio Colombo. "It took him time to adapt, and it wouldn't have made any difference whether he was at Inter or a small team. Lazio understood that he was a player who was maturing and invested in him. Last season, its investment began to pay off, and this season, it is receiving its dividends."
Poor organization
Pandev has had his fingers burned by the media before: The English press quoted him as saying he wished to join Arsenal, which he denied, and he even threatened to sue several English papers. Therefore, he at first declined to be interviewed. Following the intervention of an Italian journalist who covers Lazio, however, he eventually agreed to talk to Haaretz.
"Israel is a strong team that has proved itself in Europe in recent years and it is always a tough side to play against, but we are improving, too, and there is no reason we should not win at home," Pandev said.
"Our chances of qualifying for Euro 2008 are very slim, but we still have to fight in every game and try to finish as high up the standings in our qualifying group as possible. I think we can definitely finish in third place."
Macedonia is currently fifth in the seven-team group with seven points, behind Israel, England and Russia (which has a game in hand) on 11, and group leader Croatia, also with a game in hand, on 13.
Pandev has scored 11 times in 31 appearances for Macedonia, but has scored only once in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign (during a 3-0 win over bottom-of-the-table Andorra), which he sees as a disappointment.
"We have been unlucky. We were the better team against England and against Croatia in Zagreb. We were in front and we created opportunities, but we missed," he said.
Macedonia, Pandev added, has a mental problem.
"It is no coincidence that we get good results against teams like England or the Netherlands and then lose to much smaller sides. Some of our players lack stability and mental fortitude and that is reflected in our results. I think the behavior of our football association also plays a part. You know what a mess things are there. I wouldn't compare Macedonia to Italy - at Lazio and Inter everything went like clockwork - but there is no reason Macedonia shouldn't be like Slovenia or Croatia as far as organization goes. Those countries have gone a lot further than us and we should aspire to be like them."
Pandev has seen videos of Israel's earlier matches in the campaign and he is happy that Benayoun will not be playing because of a suspension for yellow cards.
"Benayoun is an outstanding player and it is a big advantage for us that he will be absent," Pandev said.
The absence of Bolton Wanderers defender Tal Ben Haim, who is also suspended for the match, is less significant in Pandev's opinion.
"That's the way it is in soccer; there are always injured and suspended players. Anyway, the absence of Goce Sedloski (Macedonia's captain and lead defender, who is also suspended) is much more significant for us that Ben Haim's absence is for Israel."
Pandev is not willing to bet on Saturday's result, but he said: "There is no reason Macedonia shouldn't win."