Levy pride in son's achievement

'Big achievement'
"This is the first time that a team from Israel is among the eight best Under-21 teams from Europe," Levy told uefa.com. "It has never happened before and I think everyone should be proud of this. People must understand that being here is the big achievement and everything that happens now will be for Israel, for my son and the players, a bonus."

Pride
The former president of the Israel Football Association, Levy was also a coach in his day and is delighted by the success enjoyed by his son since he decided to follow in dad's footsteps. "I am proud of my son, of course. I think he is an excellent coach - he is very intelligent, very smart. He is young, he knows the business, he thinks well about football and is a real professional. Before the tournament he watched a lot of videos of all the teams, I think he knows every team and every player, what kind of shoes he wears and what pants he wears."

Fatherly advice
After his playing career was ended prematurely by injury, Daniel's first coaching job came at Hapoel Petach-Tikva FC, a club where his father had held the reins before. "He's already been a coach for 12 years, he started coaching when he was 28 and he's gone a long way," said Levy, who joked that the advice he gives his son tends to fall on deaf ears. "If he talks to me about football and if I say something, he does the opposite! The only advice I give him is to do what his intuition says to him. Don't listen to noises from the side – if you feel that this player should play, go with it. If you think you should play one way, do it."

Motivational talk
Levy cut a relaxed figure as he sat watching Israel train yesterday but he appreciated the pressure was on following the opening loss to the Netherlands. "We have to win so it will be very attacking football. Belgium cannot get another draw and for us a draw will mean almost nothing so we have to play to win. This game is very important for both teams and I hope the luck will come to us." One thing Israel will not be lacking is motivation – and perhaps their coach remembers something his father once told. "I told him when he was 14, look at Maradona. Not the way he plays but the motivation this guy has, that's what you need and that's what you have to teach people." He has certainly got the message across so far.