Most of Israel's performances in the last couple years have proven all too well that the glass is almost empty.
By ALLON SINAIAllon sinai 88(photo credit: Courtesy)
Seeing the glass as being half-full is generally regarded as a positive approach for one to have in life, but during his tenure as Israeli soccer coach Dror Kashtan has taken it to pathetic extremes.
Never was this more apparent than after Saturday's 2-2 draw against Switzerland at National Stadium in Ramat Gan.
Listening to Kashtan at the post-match press conference, one couldn't help but wonder if the veteran coach had just watched a different game than the dismal display of his team's ineptitude that the rest of us had observed.
Kashtan repeatedly spoke about how Israel had dominated the match and cancelled out the Swiss when, in fact, his team played an uninspired and negative contest in a 2010 qualifier it simply had to win.
Only after the team had fallen two goals down to a lackluster Swiss side was Kashtan forced to desert his initial plan and make the tactical and personnel changes that eventually resulted in Ben Sahar's injury-time equalizer.
Nevertheless, the coach was borderline-obsessed with the few positives from Israel's display and refused once again to accept criticism.
This behavior has characterized Kashtan since he replaced Avraham Grant as Israel coach in the summer of 2006.
After suffering a heart - and campaign - breaking 4-3 home defeat to Croatia in Euro 2008 qualification in November 2006, Kashtan repeatedly proclaimed how well he thought his team had done by managing to score three goals against an opponent of the quality of Croatia.
The fact that the loss was a significant blow to Israel's chances was conveniently cast aside, as the coach tried to turn the disappointing defeat into a moral victory.
Kashtan and his players have stated ahead of each of their recent qualifying campaigns that this time the national team can finally advance to a big tournament for the first time since 1970.
Kashtan, however, refuses to concede that he has made any mistakes, even when it is quite clear to everybody else watching, as it was on Saturday, that the team is nowhere near the level required to qualify for the World Cup.
Israel will only reach South Africa if it is truly deserving, and a fortunate late equalizer can't hide the inconvenient truth of another appalling performance, despite Kashtan's best spin attempts.
A massive and immediate improvement is needed as another disappointing effort against a weak Moldovan team on Wednesday could end Israel's hopes of qualification within the first week of its campaign.
Seeing the glass as half-full is fine when that is indeed the case, or at least close to it. But most of Israel's performances in the last couple years have proven all too well that the glass is almost empty.
At this point, Kashtan's actions and ill-advised words just continue to increase the widening rift and levels of distrust between the national team and its fans, something that even the optimistic coach himself would be hard-pressed to consider a postive.
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