Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? I'd say playing for MLS + USMNT you're more likely to get scouted and get a better chance to get better deals ($$$) in Europe than playing in Israeli league. But thats just my opinion.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? Seriously... Until the MLS decides to get serious in player salaries... keep expecting this. There is no reason in the world for kids to leave this country and go play in some of the leagues that they do, but they have to if they want to make a living wage.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? The league is not as crap as the doomsayers would like to think. The big rival of Maccabi (Hammer in Hebrew) Tel Aviv is Hapoel Tel Aviv, who put a big thump on PSG in Paris in Nov '06 in the UEFA Cup group stage. ...and Israeli chicks (especially the Sefardi ones!) are sizzling hot. Benny's gonna have his hands full,... ...literally. And the food rocks. How's that for going to a craphole?
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? Bornstein has been named to the league's Best XI and has become a regular for the U.S. National team, Dayan was a useful attacker in MLS but not any better. The bigger thing with Bornstein is the room for growth. He's a left back with attacker skill and very good speed, making him a very intriguing project.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? PSG were all kinds of horrible that season, and really struggled to stave off relegation. When actually put into context, that victory was neither really surprising nor can it tell us that much about the Israeli league as a whole.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? You have to keep in mind the salary situations. Until MLS salaries catch up with leagues on their par quality wise, guys are going to continue to choose European leagues that aren't really all that better.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? I don't know if you're right or wrong, but Israel is in UEFA, which is one factor to consider when looking at European exposure.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? Yes the money is better in Europe, and I understand your point about getting appearances with the Nats. But if anything, in the present environment, BB has shown the capacity to cap players who aren't playing in the elite leagues of Europe. Look at all the Scandinavian based players and guys playing in reserve squads and 2nd division clubs that have been capped. Playing in Israel isn't the death knell that some might think it is. Plus, the Israeli league is a known quantity and have produced some nice players. Finally, it's going to have some allure to Feilhaber since he is Jewish.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? And, with Alex's money, the Macs will be in the Champions League every year. Jonathan made $57,500 in MLS last season. Why should he decline an opportunity to make 5-10 times as much?
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? I can't fault benny and johnathon for their choice. The monetary security is to great to pass up. I just hope they continue to progress during their time there. My only question is if they will still get coverage and noticed by other clubs. I hope this is looked upon as a stepping stone by the two of them. Does anyone how frequently players are pulled from the Israeli league?
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? Besides the one article, there has been no other confirmation. Because of the ankle injury, the Bornstein thing seems very ? Wait until spoke clears here...I think Feilhaber may have concerns based on his career aspirations. We'll see.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? Seems a bit bizarre for Bornstein: A. He's injured B. While I don't rate him, he certainly has creditantials to play above the Israeli league. For Feilhaber, this a bit of last chance saloon eh? Surely there is a lower level team in Holland/Portugal/Denmark that would be a better option. Lets wait and see what actually happens here, but I'm hoping neither go.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? There are likely any number of factors (most of which have been addressed in the previous posts) that go into a decision to make such a move. I'm guessing my list of factors has many commonalities with those of anyone else making the decision (professional athlete or not) to move overseas, regardless of one's origination point. The differences lie in what weights different individuals place on the different factors, e.g.-- A) pay- $50k-100k/yr in MLS vs. €350K,+/- ($500K+); B) setting/locale- never been there, but I'm told Israel's climate is a lot like S. CA; C) Nat team exposure- both already way on Bradley's radar; and although a haul, I'm pretty certain El Al and other AL's have nonstops to any number of US cities; D) p/t- F'haber not getting it at Derby; and only way to improve is to play (let's say at MLS level or better, see below). My theory- in order to convert one's potential energy (or talent) into kinetic energy (improving on that talent), usually some type of catalyst is needed (a teammate's injury, change of coach, move to another team, etc.); E) I'm also told/seen pix-- Israel has some HOT chicas, and of all kinds of hues (see "H", below); F) exposure to other, better leagues- living in England for the past 1/2 yr, and seeing the United Colors (and nationalities) of the EPL, the top leagues over here will find talent wherever it is-- see Yossi Benayoun (an out-and-out baller). Usually as a top Israeli Lg team, I'd imagine Maccabi normally gets into the UCL preliminary rounds or into the UEFA Cup, w/ the possibility of playing against teams from "superior" (and "lesser") Euro leagues; G) family- I don't think yet a consideration for either F'haber or B'stein; H) allure of Israel for diaspora- not being Jewish, don't know I) living and playing (and getting PAID) somewhere comfortable and different while I am young and able, as I can always go home (to play in MLS) while still relatively young, or make a jump to a bigger, better league if I perform on this stage-- aren't both these guys 23, +/-?; J) fans' passion for the game and for their club; K) etc. I've never seen an Israeli lg match, but a quick scan of wiki, shows their current player pool being mostly domestic-based. Given that they beat Russia and drew England in Euro 2008 qualifiers- eventually finishing level with England (i.e. missing qualification by one point)- I'd venture that the "I-league" is pretty competitive. This is obviously no in-depth analysis, just a common denominator-type look. (The "quality of league" worries, seem akin to sudden worries about the Greek league, given Mathis' recent move-- if I recall, Greece are reigning Euro Champs). This leads me to speculate that the I-league and its talent are AT LEAST on par w/ MLS, if not a little better. Comparing national teams, with a few recent exceptions (i.e. Copa America, and maybe Gold Cup?), my recollection is that in REAL competitions, we tend to field a higher number of foreign-based players, compared to the Israel nats' player pool. With our A squad, I think we could compete in Israel's Euro 2008 qualifying group and POSSIBLY qualify. However, there is NO guarantee we'd get out of that qualification group, esp. as compared to our CONCACAF WCQ process/final group. There's even the real possibility we'd finish behind both England AND Israel, even w/ our A team, let alone a squad equally as domestic-heavy as Israel's nats. I make all these comparisons to say that I think F'haber and B'stein will be fine, and are very possibly moving to a better situation in the I-league than if they played in MLS-- if the I-league news is true, that is. I wish them both the best of luck, esp if it helps them continue to contribute and develop (even more) insofar as the National Team.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? Feilhaber hasn't found a good role in places he'd been. Maybe things might change with a new environment. He might actually get consistent playing time and rebuilt confidence which would help his national team aspirations. As for Bornstein, if he plays well in Israel, he'll end up in a good european league soon after while getting paid with a decent salary at the same time. I don't really understand why people here are sooo hysterical about their possible moves to Israel. I think they could count themselves lucky if they end up there.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? Cash, the cultural experience, the emotional and spiritual satisfaction of "going home", as it were. Good luck to them.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? The Israeli league is pretty simalir to most western mediterrnean UEFA leagues, professional, passionate support, nationally high profile and with enough money to import a few players to boost the quality of the league and to hold onto all but the very best of the home grown talent. In UEFA competitions the teams are difficult to play at home, but tend to have their frailties exposed away. In terms of quality though it lies below the Turkish and Greek leagues and above the Cypriot league The quality of the Israeli league isn't good at all, Israel is after all a small country. I really don't see how this move could be good for either players' club or national career.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? Totally came out of left field though, didn't it? Professionally speaking sticking with it at Derby was probably a better move, though "professional" standards for individuals aren't as yet set on BigSoccer, thank god. Good luck to them hope it turns out well.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? I disagree,, the Israel league is hardly the ideal springboard, very few players go from Ligat ha'Al to play in top European leagues. John Paintsill is the only non-Israeli player I know of to go from the Ligat ha'Al to a top European league, you may remmebr him as he playeed for Ghana when they beat the USA in '06. He was one of the top imports in the Israeli league, currently he can't get a game for West Ham.
Re: Borenstein and Feilhaber to join Maccabi Tel Aviv? This is an odd one out of left field. For Feilhaber, since he's been mostly buried on the bench for the better part of the last 2 seasons outside a run at Hamburg when half the team was hurt, it makes sense to go wherever you can get on the field and get a nice salary, so probably a good thing. Even if the level is roughly similar to MLS, it looks like he'll probably be getting paid more, so from a player's perspective, it makes sense. I'm not sure what this does for his national team stock, but I do think if the best one of our starting central mids can do while still getting on the field is to sign for a team in Isreal, we're in pretty big trouble. Whether that means the US needs to be looking at other options or if this is just a move that will lead to bigger things down the road for a guy still not too old to improve his lot seems to be the question to me.