Goalkeeper Tomer Tzarfati has left Maccabi Netanya and signed today, Tuesday, with Hapoel Kfar Shalem of the Israeli National League. After the move was announced, he gave a candid interview on Sport 5's “5 Ha'Bayam” about the difficult end to his time at the club where he grew up.
Tzarfati said he chose Kfar Shalem because, “From the first conversation I understood this was the place I needed to go in the situation I was in.” He said he never expected to reach this point at Netanya, especially after starting there with then sporting director Almog Cohen, who trusted him and gave him an opportunity. He added that coaching changes later pushed him out of the lineup, which he called a normal part of football.
He described a painful final season, saying he and his family decided he would stay despite offers from other teams in the Premier League and the National League. In January he was supposed to sign for Bnei Yehuda, and Netanya initially said he would be released after a cup match against Yafa, but then told him after a training session that he was not being let go. He said he still does not understand the decision and that the club said it was a management choice.
The goalkeeper said the situation became unbearable, with staff sometimes taking him out of training or telling him not to enter the complex and suspending him until further notice and a disciplinary hearing. “There were days I went into my room and cried,” he said. “I did not feel like a footballer.” He said he thinks the exclusion may have followed his father speaking on air, though nobody told him that directly. Tzarfati also said he had a good conversation with coach Roni Levy when Levy arrived, but no release followed. He said Netanya did not send him any farewell message, email, or thank you when they declined to exercise their option, leaving him a free agent.
