Nir Klinger Says He’d Erase Those Years From His Life

In a wide-ranging first-part interview with Sports 5, former footballer and coach Nir Klinger reflected on a childhood marked by a strict father who disliked football, his mother’s hidden illness, and the pain that still lingers from the death of Maccabi Haifa goalkeeper Avi Ran. The interview was published on June 16, 2026, at 09:19.

Klinger said his father was "a tough son of a bitch," and that his parents initially opposed his football path. He also recalled his mother concealing her illness from the family, and described the effect of her death on them. Looking back at his youth in Haifa in the 1980s, he talked about the city’s nightlife, the "Hacarmelists" group around Maccabi Haifa, and even mentioned that he once opened a pub in the city.

He spoke emotionally about Avi Ran, saying he cried a lot over a photo of him and admitting, "I would prefer to erase those years from my life." Klinger said he was close to Ran and still struggles with that loss. The article also noted his departure from football was driven partly by disgust with the way things were handled around him, as well as a ruptured disc and ongoing pain.

Klinger revisited his years at Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he shared a room with Avi Nimni and said Nimni and Yitzhak Zohar were the standout young players. He also described the club’s unusual pre-match hotel routine during its double-winning season under Dror Kashtan. Klinger said he later asked the club’s management for a championship bonus in the form of a vacation for the whole squad and their partners, costing about $100,000 to $150,000.

He then recounted the turmoil when owner David Federman summoned him to Kfar Shmaryahu and told him the club had decided to bring back Avraham Grant and fire Kashtan. Klinger said, "What? Are you crazy? A man won a double, how can you fire him?" He called it a foolish move that destabilized the team and said it could have become a dynasty. He added that Kashtan was furious, felt betrayed, and was right to be angry, while the following two years were so exhausting that he retired at 32, although he felt he could still play.