I am a Football (soccer) Fanatic with a capital F. I was born in Israel before Israel was born in 1948. As a kid I loved football I played football and I was actually pretty good at it. At 16 I made the first team of my hometown club then in the Israeli premier league. TV was not introduced in Israel (believe it or not) until 1968. But as a football enthusiast I followed International football in the newspapers but more importantly on the radio where important matches were broadcast live by a Hebrew speaking (of course) commentator. I remember his name: Nechemia Ben Abraham. My dream as a child, one that I failed to achieve , was to become a football commentator after my playing career. Unfortunately my career ended at the age of 18 when I was tackled,studs up by an opposing defender and tore groin ligaments.
My most memorable match broadcast live on Radio was the 1958 World Cup final when Brazil beat Sweden 5:2 and my idol and virtual mentor Pele scored a brace. Listening to a live football broadcast on Radio does wonders to your imagination. To this day I replay, sometime in my dream, this match in living colours. When I am stressed or down I “click” on the replay button and I can literally see the match in my minds eye. Kudos to the commentator who brought the match to life and allowed me to visualize it. Since these early childhood days I developed a sense of an uncanny understanding and anticipation of developments on the pitch. I pride myself by almost every time when I watch matches, now on large screen HD TV that I make comments on developments on the field before the colour commentator repeats my comments almost verbatim. I am certain that listening to so many matches on Radio combined with my experience of playing and coaching and watching and attending Football matches on 5 continents in 19 major stadiums around the world was a major contributor. Not having fulfilled my childhood dream I launched a Football Website FootieXI.com for people like me who live and love football. Now I can I do all the commentary I want some 50 or more years later. It’s never too late.
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