Israel under-20 national team goalkeeper Tomer Tzarfati signed on Tuesday with Hapoel Kfar Saba, following a report first published by Channel 5. The move was completed after strong ties between coach Omer Peretz and Kfar Saba’s management helped push the deal through.
In recent days, Hapoel Petah Tikva held marathon meetings to decide which goalkeeper would compete this season with Omer Katz. The final two candidates were Roy Shashon, who played for Kfar Saba last season, and Tzarfati, who belongs to Maccabi Netanya and played in the U-20 World Cup. Petah Tikva favored Tzarfati not only for sporting reasons, but also because his age would have helped the club fill its quota of players under 23, an important step toward qualifying for special Sports Ministry financial grants.
During the night between Wednesday and Thursday, Tzarfati and his representatives received formal contact from Petah Tikva, and in the pressure of the negotiations he was promised a fair battle with Katz for the starting shirt. By morning, Petah Tikva learned that Kfar Saba had chosen Tzarfati as its first-choice goalkeeper, and that a contractual and financial agreement had already been reached with his agent, Avi Naimni, who was then in Zagreb with his client Dor Peretz.
Petah Tikva quickly realized the situation and withdrew. Peretz, who has coached Kfar Saba in several spells and previously both promoted the team from Liga Alef and was relegated with it from the National League the following season, remains on excellent terms with club figures Avihai Yechia and Eitan Aharon. A Petah Tikva source said, “Once we understood that Kfar Saba had sat down and reached an agreement with Tomer Tzarfati, we pulled out. Until it was published, we did not know. Tomer is a great goalkeeper, and we wish him success at Kfar Saba.”
