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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1943-01-01)1 January 1943 (age 82) | ||
| Place of birth | Biysk,Altai Krai,USSR | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1961–1973[1][2] | Hapoel Kfar Saba | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1974–1976 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | ||
| 1976–1978 | Hapoel Yehud[3] | ||
| 1978–1980 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | ||
| 1980–1983 | Bnei Yehuda | ||
| 1983–1987 | Maccabi Haifa | ||
| 1990–1992 | Maccabi Haifa | ||
| 1992–1999 | Israel | ||
| 2000 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||
| 2000 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Shlomo Scharf (Hebrew:שלמה שרף; born 1 January 1943) is an Israeli formerfootballcoach and player who works as a commentator on IsraeliSport 5 TV channel. Scharf managedMaccabi Haifa to three championships,[4] and wasIsrael national team manager from 1992 to 1999.[5]
Scharf was born inBiysk,Siberia in theSoviet Union (now part of Russia) to aHolocaust survivor family of Polish origin that was exiled there duringWorld War II.[6] He immigrated to Israel in 1949 and after spending a year in an immigrant camp inPardes Hanna, moved to veteran housing inKfar Saba.[7]
He began playing football forHapoel Kfar Saba, and between 1961 and 1974 he coached the youth department of Hapoel Kfar Saba, while also being an active player for the club.[8]
In 1974 Scharf was appointed coach of Hapoel Kfar Saba's senior team, which he led to its firstState Cup win in 1975. After that he coachedHapoel Yehud for two years, and when he returned to Hapoel Kfar Saba he won another State Cup with it in 1980. He then began coachingBnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, with which he won the State Cup in 1981.[8]
His big breakthrough came when he started coachingMaccabi Haifa in 1983, until then a team without ambition whose main goal was to play attacking and entertaining football. Scharf instilled a winning mentality in Haifa's talented squad and built an attacking team based on four forwards, includingRonny Rosenthal andZahi Armeli. At the end of the 1983–84 season, Maccabi Haifa won its first everchampionship. The following year, under his guidance, the team won a second championship.[9][8]
In 1990 Scharf returned to coach Maccabi Haifa and won the double with them in the 1990–91 season.[10] In addition to the double, Scharf built an excellent midfield spearheaded byReuven Atar and two young talents:Eyal Berkovic andTal Banin. Despite the publicized disputes between Scharf and the young Berkovic, the two later became friends, and Berkovic went on to become one of Scharf's biggest supporters.[9][11]
Following his success with Maccabi Haifa, Scharf was appointed coach of theIsrael national team, leading it from 1992 to 2000. During his tenure, the national team improved its performances in Europe but failed to qualify for any tournaments.[12]
His main achievements with the national team were 3–2 victory overFrance national team in 1993 at theParc des Princes and a 5–0 victory overAustria national team in 1999 at theRamat Gan Stadium.[citation needed] In his final year as coach, the national team reached the play-off stage ofUEFA Euro 2000 qualifying, its best achievement since beginning to compete in Europe in the early 1990s. However, in theplay-offs, Israel lost toDenmark national team5–0 and 3–0, and Scharf was replaced by Danish coachRichard Møller Nielsen.
In Saul Eisenberg's book "Sodom and Gomorrah", the author accused Scharf of being the one who ordered escort girls to his room the night before the match against Denmark, in what later became known to the public in Israel as the "Escort Girls Affair".[13]
After leaving the national team, Scharf was appointed coach ofMaccabi Tel Aviv for the 2000–01 season but was fired after just two league games due to a dispute with the team's starAvi Nimni. After leaving the club, Scharf was appointed coach ofHapoel Be'er Sheva, then playing in the second division, but resigned after just one game due to disagreements with the club's management.
In 2015 Scharf appeared on reality TV showMasterChefVIP.[14]
Since his retirement from managing Scharf works as a pundit on Israeli football for local media and national television. In November 2020, he was suspended bySports Channel for saying the black Panamian footballerAbdiel Arroyo "should go home and eat bananas" after missing a shot.[15]
This comment was notably criticized by Culture and Sports MinisterChili Tropper, who said "racism must be directly addressed. Shlomo Sharaf’s statement is inappropriate and has no place in Israeli sports or society in general."
Scharf in turn denied his comment was racist, saying "This isn’t racism. I said he should go home to eat bananas. If I sent you home to eatcholent, is that racism?"[15]
Scharf returned to the channel in early 2021.
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