In a week when hundreds of young Jewish footballers up and down the country are having trials for new clubs, it’s quite fitting that Omri Altman has been given the nod by Fulham.
Sadly, some of these boys will be told they haven’t made the grade and/or are not good enough. In essence, thanks, but no thanks.
Indeed, Omri was told precisely that by both Arsenal and Liverpool; two clubs who have produced some of the finest young talent this country has ever seen.
Omri’s progress at Craven Cottage is incredibly exciting news for Israel, especially ahead of the under-21 Euro finals. There’s no doubt he’s one of the ones to watch.
As I’ve mentioned before, attack is the one area where the Israel national football team lacks real class, a game-changer if you like.
I recall how there were high hopes for another young Israeli, Ben Sahar, when he joined Chelsea aged 17. He failed to cut it, although in fairness he wasn’t given much of a chance, but the early signs look good for Omri.
Together with the coaches at Fulham, he has transformed his game and if he can be even half the player that Dimitar Berbatov is, that can only be a good thing. Now the club is confident he can take his game up a level.
So there is a lesson for any youngster feeling sorry for themselves if they haven’t made the team, and their friends have. Get your chin up, keep working hard and do your best to prove people wrong.
Much like life, football is all about how you deal with knockbacks. It’s character-building and a case of trying to turn a negative into a positive. Rejection often leads to dejection, but Omri has already shown he has something about him.
Having been turned down by two of England’s top clubs, he could have walked away from the game with his tail between his legs, but he remodelled himself and I can’t wait to see him in action against Stuart Peace’s men next month.
* The JC MSFL season reaches its conclusion on Sunday, with the final game seeing Camden Park looking to wrap up the Division One title.
The team, managed by Josh Marks, requires a point against Temple Fortune, for whom Shai Davidi was recently named Player of the Year.
Glenthorne manager Sam Rosenthal this week pointed out that Camden’s title hopes have been boosted by several forfeited matches, so let’s hope for the sake of the league that they do it in style.
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