I used to be Eilam's coach in Hapoel Ra'anana, until our paths met again when Eilam became a senior coach in our academy for developing soccer players.

My relationship with Eilam was very special,

A normal work day and Elam goes home to Binyamina in the evening, I look for my car keys all over the room together with Sharon and can't find them.. Sharon tells me in a loud voice "Elam"

At that moment we knew he had taken my keys too

Ringing to them:

"Where are you, brother?" Elam says to Benjamin, Sharon and I burst out laughing.

After he confirmed that the key was with him, he had time to share a number of curses with me and got angry with me and finally had to go all the way back to Ra'anana.

My relationship with Eilam has always been special.

Every day a new adventure. But every day I knew that I would receive a loving hug, a smile and some thought about something new on the agenda that will make us start training in the morning with joy in our hearts.

The first thing I want to point out is that he never taught me a painful and important lesson.

When you lose the physical ability to see and communicate with a person so close to you that you love and appreciate and long to hear their voice, the ground you live on shakes.

But a door opens before you that you didn't get to know and didn't want to. Suddenly you discover another inner voice, beyond your own that sits with you always in mind. It meets me with my questions and decisions :

Should I take this role?

Am I making the right choice?

And after I answer myself I ask again

"What would Eilam think, what would he recommend, how would he analyze this move"

20:00 in the evening

When I sit down to watch a Manor game and celebrate his goal wildly with Yuval and Gur (other coaches) like there's no tomorrow, we look at each other with the beer and there's no need to add a word... After two seconds it's very clear what's going through our minds.

"Wow, how absent he is, how much he would enjoy himself, how he would celebrate"

This is the other inner voice that we have come to know.

Suddenly his opinion gets even more attention and the presence takes on a different meaning...

Now for example

Elam would probably say :

"Enough with that" meaning with the sad talk. "Enough with that". So I stopped and began to talk about football as you like and about you.

Eilam is evident in his extraordinary personality. One that combines leadership, work ethic.

And being tough with himself alongside emotion, love for everyone, listening and a developed sense of humor.

On the one hand tremendous passion and competitiveness with modesty, loyalty and respect. And of course, a huge desire to teach, to express an opinion and present a new and special idea on the other hand.

High self-criticism that always pushed him to improve and develop.

Elam is full of values, a character with an ideal personality to influence and touch people.

So much good to say about you bro.

Elam was a coach who knew how to coach at a high elementary and professional level.

He also coached children, boys and adults who play in the senior Israeli national team and also play abroad.

He was always careful about things and was precise in his actions, full of creativity, mental flexibility and the ability to create solutions.

I will share with you what he was careful about in his work...

Do not go down to the grass before the training is outlined and ready, with all the necessary equipment, there is not a single station in the training that he did not know how to make it more challenging for the trainee..

Each trainee receives an in-depth explanation of the meaning of the exercise and the goal that Elam wanted to achieve in the practice.

There is no game analysis without going down to the smallest details.

There is no lesson that the player does not leave with new knowledge because of them.

There are no compromises on the relationship and trust he has built with each player.

And that's the most special..

The passion and attitude towards a 10-year-old boy is like going down to training to train Messi... and when Ilam is training Manor or Desa, everything is done with the same passion

Just as he trained that 10-year-old player.

Elam gave his heart and soul in the academy

He would sleep there when necessary because he already started training at 6:00

and went about his day as diligently as fire

He built training sessions for the rest of the week, released new content for study in the junior division and edited the professional content up to complete lesson plans which he passed on to dozens of players.

Eilam would leave the office in the dark, quite a few times after 10:00 p.m.

What an extraordinary satisfaction it was to work with you, collaborate with you, learn from you and always love your way.

We all adore you.

Thank you for every moments, brother, for every streak, smile, imitation, conversation, hug and unceasing love.

Thank you on behalf of all the people and players of our academy for what you did for everyone.

Love you and always will Our Partner.

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