Israeli fans and sportswriters do not hide their disappointment concerning the performance of the Israeli football team in Baku. From the beginning, the Israelis were convinced that the Azerbaijani team is one of the weakest in Europe, and therefore the victory of the Israeli team was guaranteed. Eli Gutman, the manager of the team, seems to have thought so. Otherwise it is difficult to explain the fact that he let the two new players of the team perform on the Baku Stadium named after Tofik Bakhramov, while the captain and most experienced player among Israelis Yossi Benayun came into play only in the 75th minute.
However, Gutmann acknowledged his mistakes after his arrival in Israel, but at the same time he highly appreciated the team of Azerbaijan. "We really came here to win and the 1-1 draw is a failure for us”, Eli Gutman said. “But it should be noted that the view of the weakness of the national team of Azerbaijan is deceptive. This is a team with great potential, and no wonder it made a lot of teams lose points. "
Characterizing the quality of the game, Eli Gutman said that, eventually, the Israeli team was not ready to play at full strength, but the same can probably be said of Azerbaijani football players. "However, at times it was a good football," – Gutman said.
The Israeli side noted the high level of play and training, despite the warning of a possible terrorist attack against Israeli athletes. "Azerbaijan provided us a maximum of security, despite the fact that we almost could not get a sight of this problem, and it had no effect on the game. We understood that it was not easy and the Azerbaijani special services were laudable, "- one of the officers of the Israeli team said.
Currently, the Israeli national team set up for the match against Russia. According to Eli Gutman, "this time we have to win."
