This Israeli Soccer Player Is Thrilled to Swap Tel Aviv for Kyiv
Since starring at the Under-20 World Championship in May, Stav Lemkin has been through experiences that could fill a professional soccer player’s entire career.
“I said to my father, three months ago I was a moment from playing in the Israeli second division and now I’m in the Champions League,” says Lemkin in an interview with Haaretz after leaving Hapoel Tel Aviv and switching to the Ukrainian Premier League champions FC Shakhtar Donetsk. “Everything happened so quickly and I didn’t really have time to digest anything. I guess that’s the way it is in soccer.”
'Obviously I hesitated because of the war, and because there are sirens going off in Kyiv.'
Shakhtar hasn’t played in Donetsk since the outbreak of hostilities in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and the team has since moved its base of operations to Kyiv, where it plays its home Ukranian league games. It plays its Champions League matches outside of Ukraine.
“Foreign players fled at the start of the war when the situation was uncertain. Now, the fighting is ongoing, but we know more or less what is happening and the league continues to play and the players and their families are taken care of,” says Lemkin, putting a calm veneer on the situation. “The players have returned and the league is really good; there are big teams here that play in European competitions.”
Lemkin can hardly conceal his excitement about the move, but he admits he also had concerns. “Obviously I hesitated because of the war, and because there are sirens going off in Kyiv,” Lemkin says of the situation in Ukraine a year-and-a-half after the Russian invasion. “But in the end my considerations were purely about soccer, because I knew Shakhtar would be the best place for me to develop, to improve as a player and to be given a stage. The opportunity to play in the Champions League isn’t something that comes around every day, especially at a huge club.”
Lemkin says his only deliberation was which team to sign for. “I didn’t think for a moment about remaining in Israel. As soon as the right offer came, we went for it – and I’m very glad that we did.”
Between Hapoel’s Premier League survival battle and signing for Shakhtar, Lemkin was a key player in the U-20 national team’s third place at the World Championship and the U-21 team reaching the semifinals of the European Championship. “I knew it would be crazy exposure so together with my father and my agent we built a plan for the summer,” says Lemkin, explaining his thoughts ahead of the youth team competitions. “I felt that we had a one-off opportunity to gain global exposure.”
The 20-year-old center-back’s performances under Ofir Haim at the U-20 World Championship in Argentina and under Guy Luzon at the U-21 European Championship in Georgia attracted the attention of several European teams. His relatively low exit clause (850,000 euros) that his father insisted on when signing his first professional contract ("fortunately for me, I brought my father along, as always, because he knows what’s best for me") led to some big clubs showing an interest in him. “Atletico Madrid asked me about him,” recalls U-20 manager Haim, “he was the best center-back at the World and European championships.”
Lemkin appeared 32 times with the regular Hapoel Tel Aviv team in all settings. True, for a 20-year-old defensive player, this is a respectable number, but for a player going to Europe, it may not add up to enough experience. Before responding positively to the Shakhtar offer, he consulted with another Israeli who knows the team well. “I spoke with Manor [Solomon], and he told me how good it was for him in Kyiv before the war and that the club really helped him and developed him,” he recalls. A winger, Solomon spent three seasons with the team and currently plays for Tottenham. “He really recommended I go for it.” The two, by the way, met the other day in a friendly match between the teams in London, which was Lemkin’s debut in orange-black and ended in a 5:1 defeat for the Ukrainians.
A recurring Dutchman
With Shakhtar, Lemkin met up again with Patrick van Leeuwen, who was in charge of the Maccabi Tel Aviv youth division when the young defender played there, before moving to Hapoel. “It’s different, because at Maccabi I was a kid, and it’s not like he was my coach,” Lemkin says, and then goes on to explain how he so successfully made the transition from the youth league.
“It didn’t happen by chance. After I was injured at age 15, I started thinking about the regular team. I built a support system for myself that helps me with everything I need – physical therapist, motivation coach, nutritionists, fitness trainers – I really built myself up to the level of the regular team, because that’s the most difficult move.”
Talking about the move from first-year boys (up to the age of 16) to the youth, Lemkin notes the difficulty of the transition. “It’s a move up that many of the guys trip up on. It’s just not that well covered by the media and so it’s less well-known, but there are young stars in A, B who you suddenly stop hearing about in the youth league,” he says. “It’s the same in the youth league – stars that suddenly disappear in the regular team. These are the two most difficult jumps, which really require a lot of preparation and mental strength. I worked on it for a long time, and I guess it really helped me.”
What further helped him was the support and confidence he got from the youth team. “I really love Ofir and thank him for the platform he gave me and that he believed in me so much,” he says. “Likewise, all the players and I believed in him and trusted him with our eyes closed. I believe they saw it and I really thank him for it because it’s because of him that I’m here.”
Lemkin, who was among the players that left the Mundialito before the
match for third place, does not forget the coach of the youth team either: “I’m also here thanks to Guy, who believed in me. I want to thank both of them from the bottom of my heart, and I’m sure that I will play under them again in the future. You can never tell what will happen, but I believe it will.”
Lemkin says he never lacked faith. This was his approach at the European youth tournament last year as well as at the Mundialito. “I always believed, because I know what the team is worth and also what I can personally give,” he says, “Regarding the World Cup, if you said we wouldn’t reach the final, I would’ve been shocked, because I was sure we would go further [than the semifinals]. Even after the first and second games [against Colombia and Senegal, respectively], when we played much less well than we expected from ourselves, as long as we had a chance, I was sure we would succeed.”
Success also came in the European Under-21 Championship, when the draw put the team against Germany, England and the Czech Republic: “No one said that there was a chance Israel would advance from this round, as if we were nine easy points for all of them. We showed that it wasn’t like that at all.”
Haim says that belief in himself has characterized Lemkin all along. “Why do I love him? Because he says to himself ‘I’m the best there is,’ and he really believes it,” says the youth team coach. “He has a winning personality and is a professional… He is constantly looking for ways to improve and asking, ‘Where could I be better?’”
He says to himself ‘I’m the best there is,’ and he really believes it... He has a winning personality and is a professional... He is constantly looking for ways to improve
Ofir Haim
But it was just three months ago that Lemkin probably wasn’t thinking about how he could improve but only about Hapoel Tel Aviv’s continued place in the Premier League. “In the last few moments there was an incredible pressure,” he says, recalling the closing stages of early rounds. “You come to training every day under pressure because you know how important the club is to people, and you also don’t want this stain on you – Hapoel Tel Aviv’s demotion to a lesser league is just inconceivable.”
He will never forget the coming from behind against Kiryat Shmona with the score 2:0 with just 10 players. “We were able to cope with the pressure and play the way we know how. It’s very easy to say in such a situation that we are already down to 10 men and it will not be ‘our fault,’ but we showed character and were able to continue against all odds. These are moments I’ll remember forever.”
Even the fact that he grew up in Maccabi Tel Aviv’s children’s division and switched to the red at the age of 15 does not detract from the deep connection he feels to Hapoel Tel Aviv. “If the situation had been different, I would’ve been happy to stay at the club,” he says. “And to tell the truth, I didn’t hesitate at all about moving to another club in Israel. It was either Europe or staying in Hapoel. People may have thought that my goal was to make money at another club in Israel, but that’s really not the goal.”
The defender acknowledges his place in the heart of the fans. “I enjoyed it there a lot, and I’m still awed by the turnout when we were facing demotion. When other clubs don’t bring 50 people, this club was bringing 10,000 to 15,000 people to help push the players. The fans have almost gone through a lot, but they stood by us through and through. I truly believe that the situation can only improve. From what I hear, there’s a new energy, and I truly wish them all the best.”
There is also a new energy with Lemkin right now. “It’s really exciting to move to such a huge club, and I will use this opportunity for all it’s worth,” he says. “I’ll keep working hard, and really hope it pays off.”
Haim concludes: “It’s an excellent move, and I hope he plays. I believe he can fit in there easily, and that if they give him the opportunity, he’ll grab it with both hands.”
