Sakhnin catches cup fever

Bnei Sakhnin Club will make history on Tuesday night if they can overcome second division Hapoel Haifa FC to lift the Israeli Cup.

Arab first
No side from the Arab sector of Israel has won the cup, but that would change with victory for Sakhnin in the Ramat Gan national stadium. More than 12,000 fans from each teams are expected to attend - making the crowd higher than the 21,300 population of Sakhnin.

International interest
Indeed Sakhnin spectators are having to make a two-hour journey south, with extra buses having been hired from central Israel to cope with the demand. Their presence in the final has also attracted interest from across the nation and the world, with the likes of Al-Jazeera and CNN reporting on the match.

Successful campaign
Sakhnin chairman Maazen Ghnaim said: "If we win, then expect a sporting curfew in town. We have got nothing planned but hope to repeat the promotion celebrations of last season." Their campaign has already been a successful one, as they have stayed up despite having the smallest budget in the Premier Division and playing their home games in Haifa with their own stadium deemed unfit for the top flight.

'Second home'
Captain Abas Suan, whose goal against FC Ashdod helped Sakhnin reach the final, is no stranger to the national stadium due to his experience with the Israel side. "It is like my second home here, Suan said. "Securing another season in the top flight was a great achievement for the club. But winning the cup would be the icing on the cake."

'State of frenzy'
Cameroon-born defender Ernest Etchi added: "The town of Sakhnin is reaching a state of frenzy, I have never seen anything like this. There are so many TV crews and cameras following us that we feel like rock stars. I just hope that it will not end on Tuesday night but will only be the beginning."

'Peace Cup'
Coach Eyal Lachman has a full-strength side after Gabriel Lima and Tomer Eliyahu both shook off niggling injuries. He was tight-lipped about their chances, but Ghnaim said: "I cannot promise victory but I will promise this - if we win the cup we intend to dedicate it to peace and call it 'the Peace Cup'."

Top-flight scalps
However, their opponents already have the top-flight scalps of Maccabi Petach-Tikva FC, Beitar Jerusalem FC, Maccabi Netanya FC and Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC under their belts, and would love to add a fifth. However, their focus is also on the weekend, when they have a final chance to clinch promotion having missed their chance to go up before the cup decider.

Financial troubles
Haifa have been in financial difficulties since the suicide of owner Robi Shapira two years ago. They are now in administration, making their success this season under Baruch Maman even more impressive.

Maman hope
Former Maccabi Haifa FC man Maman never lifted the cup as a player. "I reached the semi-finals four times and the final twice," he said. "But every single time I was on the losing side. I just hope that as a coach, I will enjoy a different fate."

Emotional for Zvidat
Shadi Zvidat, who scored Haifa's second goal in the 3-1 semi-final victory against Hapoel Tel-Aviv, is also set for an emotional match. Zvidat grew up in Sakhnin, from where he joined Haifa earlier this season. "I will have mixed feelings regardless of what happens in the final," he said. Should Haifa win their third cup but fail to clinch promotion three days later, those mixed feelings will be shared by Zvidat's entire team.