Nir Davidovich
Nir Davidovich ( born December 17, 1976 in Haifa) is an Israeli football player. Since 1994 he is the goalkeeper with the Israeli first division side Maccabi Haifa.
Sporting career
Davidovich was raised in a family of Holocaust survivors. His father, Benjamin, played in the 1950s for Maccabi Haifa. At the age of 9 Davidovich joined the Maccabi Haifa in youth. Actually, he wanted to play striker, but on the advice of his father, he was the goalkeeper. He went through the stages of the U -17 National Team to seniors.
On November 4, 1995 Davidovich was in the game against Beitar Jerusalem, which ended 1-1 for the first time after the post of Maccabi Haifa. Nevertheless, he remained the rest of the season on the bench, not least because Rafi Cohen was the real goalkeeper.
At the end of the season left Rafi Cohen of Haifa. Davidovich was not the long-awaited position, but bonuses Ginzburg was preferred by the then coach Giora Spiegel. One thing that had Davidovich are difficult to digest. In the 1996 season Ginzburg played such a bad season, so Davidovich first got a real chance. Davidovich was particularly record in the " legendary" match against Hapoel Petah Tikva, in which not less than 3 Haifa players were sent off. The game ended 0-0. Nevertheless, Haifa had disappointed in the league, and coach mirror left the club. Now Davidovich was propagated in goal, including in the Israeli Cup finals against Hapoel Jerusalem. In injury time Davidovich prevented a certain goal and Maccabi Haifa won 2-0.
In the 1998/1999 season Maccabi Haifa played a great season in the European Cup Winners' Cup. Haifa came in the quarterfinals to. Among other things, they had put the former top club Paris St. Germain from the competition. Especially in the game in France, Davidovich was a great performance and the game ended 1-1. In the quarterfinals, one stood against Lokomotiv Moscow. In the game in Russia Davidovich made a serious mistake by letting roll a free kick from 35 meters to score. Such errors were the reason why Davidovich is a goalkeeper between genius and madness.
Until the 2000/2001 season Davidovich was hit by severe injuries. Among others, he was injured severely at the shoulder and at the bar. In the 2000/2001 season he returned to the gate of Maccabi Haifa and won the league title with the then coach Avraham Grant and the modern day player of FC Liverpool, Yossi Benayoun. This season Davidovich conceded just 28 goals conceded. This ratio is now considered the best odds in the history of Ligat ha Al. In the match against Spain, Davidovich was seriously injured when he slammed with frontal force against the post.
His first try at the Israeli national team got Davidovich 1998 match against Turkey, which Israel won with 4-0.