Local Soccer: New Betar coach Atar aims to bring more trophies to Jerusalem

By JEREMY LAST
It was out with the old and in with the new at Betar Jerusalem on Thursday. A day after coach Itzhak Schum was sacked, his replacement Reuven Atar held a press conference and then supervised his first training session in Jerusalem. Wearing a blue and black Betar Jerusalem training jersey, the 39-year-old former Maccabi Haifa star appeared confident while speaking to the media at the team's Jerusalem training ground, and stressed that he would consider himself a failure if Betar did not win at least one title this season. "We don't need to speak about aims, they are clear. Betar is going for all the titles and anyone who doesn't bring a title will be considered a failure. My aim is to give the team everything it needs to succeed," he said. Atar had been vacationing in the US when news of Monday's multiple sackings of the Betar senior management team broke. Within hours the local media was filled with rumors that Atar and Uri Malimilian were the forerunners to take over if Schum was sacked, and within two days Atar was in club owner Arkadi Gaydamak's office signing a contract. Even though Maccabi Netanya owner Daniel Jammer had refused to extend Atar's contract and in April announced that he would be replaced by German coach Lothar Matthaus for the coming season, Betar's new chairman Itzik Kornfein told reporters he was sure Atar was the right man for the Betar job. "He is a young coach, but he has proved himself. We have given him all the tools he needs and the quiet to succeed," Kornfein said of Atar. Explaining the club's decision to replace Itzhak Schum with Atar, Kornfine told reporters: "After a bad start to the season and the loss to Wisla Krakow we felt that we needed to make a change in the professional staff. We want to thank Itzhak Schum for a wonderful season and the double." Atar was clear about the need for a fresh approach at Betar. "I am beginning a new path here, a path that I believe will bring motivation, discipline, desire and enthusiasm, and I hope that everyone will see an enthusiastic Betar team this season. Then the results will follow," he said. The Israeli league will take a break this weekend as the national team plays Switzerland, but Atar will know that on its return next week he has a tough first game in charge, at home against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Atar is not expected to make any major changes to the playing staff. "This morning was the time to speak, now we want to work. We want some quiet at the club and we need to win games," Kornfein told The Jerusalem Post later on Thursday. "The squad will likely stay the same." Kornfein refused to give credence to rumors that Uruguayan striker Serbastian Abreu has left the club after just a few months in Israel. Abreu returned to Uruguay last weekend, before Betar's clash with Bnei Sakhnin on Sunday, but Kornfein insisted he will return to Israel after playing for his national team and has not rejoined Argentinian team River Plate as has been widely reported.