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Making history Hapoel Tel Aviv strikes blow for Israeli soccer
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Last Saturday, Shimon Gershon watched in agony as the Austrian national team stole a possible World Cup berth from Israel thanks to a foul he committed. Now the Israeli defender is talking history after his club, Hapoel Tel Aviv, knocked English club Chelsea out of the UEFA Cup with a 1-1 draw Thursday. It was the first time an Israeli club has advanced to the third round of the European club championship. Hapoel faces Lokomotiv Moscow next. The first game will played on Nov. 22 in Israel with the second a chilly Dec. 6 matchup in Russia. "We made history here tonight and I am delighted for everyone at home," a beaming Gershon told Israeli television after the match. "After the disappointment of the national team last week, we were all devastated and I just hoped that we could do something at Chelsea." The Israeli daily Maariv declared: "The Reds conquered London" and the fire-clad Hapoel is "Israel's National Team." Israel won the two-leg round which is decided on overall goals. Hapoel stunned Chelsea in Israel in October, notching a 2-0 win against the English Premier team. Six players refused to travel to Israel for security reasons. Gershon was both hero and goat in Israel's draw against Austria last Saturday. He scored Israel's only goal on a penalty kick, but he also fouled Austrian striker Andreas Herzog with less than two minutes to go, giving him a free kick near the goal that Herzog converted for the tie. Israel needed a win to advance to the final qualifying round while Austria, already in second place in Group 7, only needed a draw. Israel hasn't made a World Cup in 30 years and Israeli club teams have yet to make an impact on the European soccer scene. "We are very well experienced as far as reaching the well and not drinking from the water," Hapoel coach Dror Kashtan told Israel television. Much had been made of Chelsea's economic advantage over the Israelis. "When I go on to the pitch, I don't care how much the player who plays opposite me is earning," said Hapoel striker Sergei Kleschenko. "We did a great job and I think that tomorrow, all of Europe will know who Hapoel Tel Aviv is." Hapoel striker Milan Osteric gave them a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute but Chelsea tied it up on a Gianfranco Zola goal in the 64th minute. Hapoel goalkeeper Shavit Elimelech kept Chelsea off the board for the remainder of the game. Israelis soccer fans were deflated after the loss to the Austrians, but about 3,000 fans showed up at Stamford Bridge for the game. "They gave a whole nation something to be proud of," Kashtan said in the Israeli daily Haaretz. Maccabi Tel Aviv got knocked out of the tournament Thursday. Ranieri praises 'brilliant' ChelseaLONDON (AP) -- Chelsea's manager Claudio Ranieri called his team's play "brilliant." That's not how Chelsea fans and the English media saw things after the Blues' 1-1 draw with tiny Hapoel Tel Aviv on Thursday night at Stamford Bridge. The result sent the Israeli side through to the third round of the UEFA Cup on a 3-1 aggregate. A year after being eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the first round, Chelsea was knocked out in the second. "Humiliated" said a banner headline in The Sun tabloid Friday. "Now the whole team's gone missing," said The Mirror, referring to the widely-ridiculed action of six Chelsea starters who declined to travel to Israel for the first leg two weeks ago because of security fears. "Bye, bye Blues," said the Daily Mail. Ranieri's boast that his team played a great match was the subject of derision in almost every newspaper. "Wretched Chelsea leave themselves open to ridicule," The Times said in a headline. Rainieri, who struggles with English, tried to sum up a match in which his team thoroughly dominated play, outshot the Israelis and had about 40 chances, but could manage only a second-half goal by substitute Gianfranco Zola. "The performance was good, very good -- brilliant," the Italian said. "Tonight I am happy for the performance. I am disappointed for the result." "This is a big blow because it was important to go forward in the UEFA Cup," he added. "We are building something here and this match was important. But my squad is compact, the spirit is very good and I am positive for Chelsea." Brave words from a man whose job may be in jeopardy. "When one considers that Ruud Gullit lost his job at Chelsea despite winning the FA Cup and that his successor, Gianluca Vialli, won six trophies in less than three years but was still sacked, a betting man would offer poor odds against... Claudio Ranieri, who has won six of his 15 games this season, lasting the full term," the Daily Telegraph said. Ranieri's team is now winless in five games, including slips against Premier League strugglers like Derby and West Ham. The loss last year to modest Swiss side St. Gallen cost Chelsea millions in European money, and this loss promises to be as bad. Chelsea, which just posted an annual loss of 11 million pounds (US$16.5 million) and has a debt of almost 100 million pounds (US$150 million), would have picked up about 12 million pounds (US$18 million) by reaching the UEFA Cup final. Chelsea spent about 32 million (US$48 million) in the off-season signing players. French midfielder Emmanuel Petit, one of the six players who skipped the first leg -- and then was spotted out shopping in London with his wife -- didn't help matters with a quote that wound up on the Hapoel dressing room. The Times reported Petit as saying the second leg would "be easy" for Chelsea. Hapoel captain Shimon Gershon, who said the first-leg boycott was an insult to Israel, got the final word and was reported responsible for pinning up the quote. "We have won for the people and the pride of Israel," he said.
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