Fernandez shows his skills as national team begins training

The new coach met his players for the first time at the first training session ahead of their South American trip next week.

By ALLON SINAI
luis fernandez 311 (photo credit: Jeremy Last)
luis fernandez 311
(photo credit: Jeremy Last)
New Israel coach Luis Fernandez met his players for the first time on Tuesday morning when the national team held its first training session ahead of its South American trip next week.
Israel faces Uruguay on May 26 before visiting Chile four days later.
Two players who will definitely not be traveling to South America are Portsmouth defender Tal Ben-Haim, who is carrying an injury, and goalkeeper Nir Davidovich, who retired from the national team on Monday despite being called up to the squad.
Captain Yossi Benayoun is also expected to be exempt from thefriendlies after a long and arduous season at Liverpool, with severalother players likely to be released ahead of the team’s flight onSaturday night.
Fernandez and his assistant Tal Banin, who helped translate theFrenchman’s instructions into Hebrew, were very active during trainingand surprised the players when they decided to take part in thepractice games.
“Fernandez is a good player and he surprised me,” said Hapoel Tel Avivstriker Itai Shechter. “It’s good to back with the national team. It’stime to forget about the double and focus on achieving success withIsrael.”