Ibrahim Aburkiek is a famous football figure in the south of Israel.
He was the first-ever Arab coach in the history of Israeli football to win a league promotion with a Jewish team. He was a successful youth coach at Hapoel Beersheba, one of the biggest clubs in Israel in past years. Despite these notable achievements, his name does not ring many bells in mainstream Israeli football. In contrast, about 20 minutes’ drive from Beersheba, behind the wall dividing Israel and Palestine, Aburkiek is a legend and he is considered as one of the most respected and professional coaches in the West Bank Dauri Al-Mukhtarifin.
In the past two seasons, Aburkiek coached at Shabab Al-Dhahariyah from the south of Hebron. He brought the championship title to the club, qualified for the AFC Cup group stage and won the Yasser Arafat Cup.
Surprisingly, last week he signed for Hapoel Shefar'am from Liga Bet Tzafon Alef, Israel's fourth division. In a conversation with BabaGol, he talks about his success in Hebron, the differences between Israeli and Palestinian football from a coach’s point of view and explains why we won’t be seeing him in the Israeli Premier League anytime soon.
Hello Ibrahim! Congratulations on signing with a new club.
Thank you. We have picked up some good players and we hope to be at our best very soon.
So, please tell me, how can a coach who has won the Palestinian League, who only a month ago won the League Cup and who was supposed to be coaching at the AFC Asian Cup in February, leave for a fourth division side in Israel?
I felt like I had achieved everything at Dhahariayah. I won the championship with the team against all odds, I added the League Cup and I helped put the team on the continental stage. I've had enough.
But what made you take this decision? Are you not sorry you are not going to get to coach in an international tournament in Asia?
Look, there was a little disagreement over some professional issues. As a coach, as soon as someone intervenes in my professional calls, I leave. Everyone knows me that way, whether it´s in Israel, or in Palestine. It hurts me that this is how it ended. After two years of work, two titles, dozens of processes and developments with the players and everything. Anyway - I wish them all the best, and nothing but luck. They are great people and great ‘football people’. They really are.
The prevailing view among many journalists and football fans in the West Bank is that the Dhahariyah team of the 2014/15 season is one of the best teams in the league’s history. How did it feel to win a title with this team?
It felt weirdly funny to give these people a reason to smile. Dhahariyah has two religions: Islam and football. There are almost 10,000 spectators at every home game, supporting the team in both victories and losses. They are people who understand, live, eat and breathe football. It was so exciting!
What do you think about Jibril Rajoub’s efforts to develop Palestinian football?
There has been a vast improvement in Palestinian football, though there is still a long way to go. Compared to previous years, the situation is amazing. Ten years ago people used to play here on dirt grounds, to score a goal and the Jama’a (‘The Guys’) went home. Nowadays, there are modern stadiums, the clubs are progressing and the league has more money. Once, a ₪10,000 salary (around $2,000) per month was considered a huge salary here. Today teams will think twice about taking a chance on a player who wants this sum, fearing that maybe he is not professional enough. It’s a fact that many talented Arab players from the Israeli Premier League and National League come and play in Palestinian football for the good salaries it offers.
If Rajoub offers you Palestine National Team job, would you take it?
Of course, I would. I have no doubt I'll be in that position one day. There were talks about me going to the Olympic team, but right now it would not be serious. I think that it is an important role and it's certainly thought for the future.
This season Dhahariyah failed to keep up with Shabab Al-Khaleel, and later, Al-Khadr and Thakafi Tulkarem overtook you in the table. What happened?
Are you serious? Dhahariyah is a great team, and the season does not end in January. This year actually, Dhahiriyah is playing better than last year. We had goals with over 40 passes before the finish. In my opinion, everything is still open. Last year they said we would be relegated, but we finished up by winning the championship. Dhahariyah, Shabab Al-Khaleel and Al-Khadr will be fighting for this league until the end.
At Dhahariyah, you had many Arab-Israeli players. As you mentioned, they are treated like superstars in Palestine. What sort of treatment does a coach who worked in Israel is getting? Does the fact that you are an Arab-Israeli make people judge you differently?
Not at all. I never felt that anything was wrong while working in Palestine. I love meeting people from all over the world. When you respect people, people respect you. The Palestinian League honours people who make their mark on local football. Of course, there is a certain cultural gap. Hebrew is also my language and Israel is also a part of me. Nothing will change that, you know. There have been cases during games when I have spoken with a player in Hebrew, and it was never an issue. There were some long explanations and lots of guidance in Hebrew. But it did not reduce the respect of the club or crowd towards me.
What is the difference between the Palestinian and Israeli scenarios? Where do you prefer to work?
I have no special preference for where to work. I would love to work in both places. For me, it is really the same place. This is one land, and I love this land. I love its people whoever they are, and wherever they come from. If there’s a good project in Israel - I'll stay there, and if there is an interesting opportunity for Palestine, I'll be there. It is as simple as that.
You worked for three years at Racing Santander in Spain. What did you take from that experience? And, have you implemented it in your work with Israeli and Palestinian players?
In Spain, I learned how to be a coach. Once I got there, I realised how ignorant I was. I learned how to analyse the game, how to develop players and I expanded my knowledge of psychology. I used to sit on the grass with my laptop for hours every day and write. Football in Spain is practically an art. I just went there to learn, work hard, be curious and I loved it. This place shaped me completely, making me the coach I am today.
Let’s get back to Israeli football for a bit. You worked at Eilat, a club that you took from the bottom of the 4th Division to the top of the 3rd Division, for the first time after almost 40 years. You were the first ever Bedouin Arab coach to win promotion with a Jewish club in the history of Israeli football. How did it feel?
What is this question? I do not refer to myself as a Bedouin. It doesn’t matter if I am Catalan, Bulgarian or Romanian. A man is a man. The fact that I am a Bedouin who worked at Eilat, means nothing. I had fun there; they were great people, talented kids to work with, and no one ever talked to me about me being a Bedouin. You know, I cant stand politics. Please don’t make these comparisons.
You resigned from Eilat in 2011, after people from the club intervened in professional matters related to youth players. Then, when you worked for the youth section at Hapoel Beersheba, you again resigned, along with your staff, supposedly for the same reason. Now at Dhahariyah, there was a similar story. Is that a pattern of yours, or a coincidence?
Look, if I am the coach, I do not sleep well at night if someone from the club goes against my word in front of my players. It's not worth it. When I was a kid playing at Hapoel Beersheba, there were a few times when I went home in tears, because I was working hard and eventually, ‘someone’s’ son would play instead of me. I do not want any kid who plays for me to feel the disappointment I felt. And, as someone who was in charge of youth department, when I make a decision about a young player, I expect the whole club to back me. Once a child sees that his coach has no ‘say’, you can forget it. All the hard work is gone.
Now you’ve returned to Israeli football after the great success with Dhahariyah, when do you believe you’ll coach a top club In Israel?
To tell you the truth, I do not think you'll see me in the Israeli Premier League or in the National League. I can’t see it happening. I had my dreams in the past, but then I realised that there’s no chance these days. Only guys with connections in the media and stuff, can work in the top two Israeli divisions. Without intrigues, you can only dream about it.
After the interview Ibrahim took the BabaGol personal questionnaire.
What would you do in life other than football?
Football. There is nothing else I would do.
Which team do you support?
Hapoel Beersheba. I am a fanatic of this club.
Who is your favorite player?
Zinedine Zidane and Dudu Aouate.
What is your football dream?
I want Hapoel Beersheba to win the championship in Israel.
Describe Ibrahim in one sentence.
A divided yet completed man. One who has experienced many places, many cultures and different languages, and who tries to be alright with everyone.
Like in real life, the realities of Israeli and Palestinian football are at odds with each another. Figures like Aburkiek are the perfect example of how to relate to other people, and how to treat the 'other', whoever is he may be, in football, and in general.
In a week in which politics took over a football game between Beitar and Sakhnin, this conversation with Aburkiek teaches us something important. The people who live in this region are the ones who make the difference. This land belongs to its people, regardless of who they are. The conflict exists, and governments and politicians on both sides will be elected, agitate and be replaced, but the people, and the football, will remain. That’s exactly what is so fascinating and special about football, and in Israeli and Palestinian societies.
Just like a Bedoiune football coach, who grew up in the South of Israel, studied and worked in Spain, made history with lower league Jewish clubs, won the Palestinian League with a Hebronite club, and has two dreams - to be Palestine's National Team coach one day, and for Hapoel Beersheba to win the Israeli League.