The BBC reports today that The Israeli, who was the club’s director of football, will take charge alongside assistant Steve Clarke.
“The club is delighted in Avram we have an experienced man who can come in at a difficult time,” said a club statement. The statement comes after BBC Sport’s Garry Richardson revealed the former Israel coach would be handed the management reins at the Blues.
Avraham “Avram” Grant is an Israeli football coach. Once coach of both Maccabi Tel Aviv (twice, from 1991-1995 and less successfully from 1997-2000) and Maccabi Haifa (2000-2002), Grant was formerly the national team coach of Israel, taking the position in May 2002 when he replaced Dane Richard Møller Nielsen. Israel finished third in 2006 World Cup qualifying Group 4 behind winners France and runners-up Switzerland.
This meant that Israel marginally missed on qualification to the finals, despite being undefeated in the group - with four wins and six draws. He announced on 26 October 2005 that he would step down from the national team as his contract expires in June 2006. Subsequent to this he took up his new position as Technical Director at Portsmouth. A personal friend of Roman Abramovich, on 8 July 2007 he was appointed Director of Football at Chelsea. (From Wikipedia)
Amazing achievement for David Blatt, the Israeli coach of Russia, who beat the world Champion’s Spain in the final of the EuroBasket yesterday in Madrid!
Yarone Arbel at the official web site of the Eurobasket 2007 wrote today that Any coach can take over a new team and change the X’s and O’s, the style of play, teach a new defense or pick new players.
The big challenge isn’t to be able to change the team tactically, but to change the mentality, the character. When you find a coach who can do that, you know you’ve found something special. David Blatt has led a Russian team to the 2007 EuroBasket finals for the first time since 1993 and in the process has changed the public’s perception of them and their perception of themselves.
It’s a story about a connection in many layers that starts in basketball but goes beyond it.
David Blatt (born 22 May 1959 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an Israeli-American present day basketball coach and a former basketball point guard. Today he is one of the most successful Israeli and European basketball coaches in European basketball and is the head coach for the Turkish Efes Pilsen Basketball Team.
Blatt played basketball at Princeton University from 1977 to 1981 under coach Pete Carril. He participated in the Maccabiah Games as part of the USA national team that won a gold medal in 1981.
After competing in the Maccabiah Games, Blatt decided to abandon his American career and began to play basketball in Israel.
After retiring from basketball he became assistant manager for Hapoel Galil Elyon, coaching them from 1993/94 season. In the middle of the season the head caoch was sacked and he took his place. Next, he became Pini Gershon’s assistant in the 1994/95 season. In the following year he won the title “Coach of the Year” (1996) and in 1997 he continued coaching at Hapoel Galil Elyon whilst also becoming assistant coach of the Israeli National team.
Blatt returned to coach Galil Elyon and remained assistant manager of the Israeli National team for the next 2 year (1997-1999).
For the 1999/2000 season, he moved to Maccabi Tel Aviv and once again served as assistant manager to Pini Gershon. During this season his team took part in the Israeli League and Cup (won both) and also in the Euroleague where Maccabi finished in 2nd place.
In the years between 2000-2004 he continued as assistant coach under Pini Gershon and actively recruited foreign players such as Anthony Parker (in 2000) and Maceo Baston to the team. During those 4 years, Maccabi won 1 Euroleague title, reached the Euroleague Final Four (2001/2002 season), and reached the final stage of the Adriatic League. Maccabi won the SuproLeague title in 2001, which was held in Paris. Blatt was still working as assistant coach of the Israeli National team in 2002 when he won the title of “Coach of the Year” for the second time, the year he was appointed head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv .
In 2004 he moved to Russia and signed as head coach with Dynamo St. Petersburg. During this year he won the FIBA EuroCup championship with Dynamo and also the title of “Coach of the Year in Russia” (2004/2005 season).
During the 2005/2006 season he was signed by Pallacanestro Treviso from Italy, and subsequently led them to the Italian Championship through a 3-1 victory in the final series of the Italian playoffs. In the same year he was also appointed head coach of the Russian National team.
Blatt is now the head coach of Istanbul based Turkish team Efes Pilsen, as well as the Russian national basketball team, with which he won Eurobasket 2007 in Madrid.
A concert such as never before been seen in Israel! The Black-Eyed Peas, the Commitments, and Arrested Development at the Jerusalem Rocks festival, with an eye toward peace.
Jerusalem keeps proving itself as the source of all traditions and that Teddy Stadium is not just for football. The Jerusalem Rocks festival will celebrate its inception with a colossal musical event the likes of which have never before been seen in Israel, marking the inauguration of a great new tradition.
It?s happening on September 9, 2007 from 16:00 to midnight at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, with the Black-Eyed Peas, Arrested Development, the Commitments and Israeli artists, with the intention of providing a big stage to a great variety of styles, voices, cultures and sounds.
So what are we offering alongside these excellent Grammy award-winning foreign artists? A giant peace-promoting event, as what unites all the participants and spectators is their love of music. Hadag Nahash, the Israeli hip-hop band with deep roots in Jerusalem, will host Muki and DAM, the successful Arab rap group. Reva Lesheva, one of best-known bands in Jewish soul music, will be hosting Shai Gabso and rising star Geva Alon.
?This is a non-profit event being held in cooperation with the Jerusalem Fund, 2bVibes and Digital Jerusalem. Arrested Development dreamed of performing in Jerusalem. We dreamed of bringing them here, and the dream is coming true, ?says show producer Brian Steiner. The entire initiative was conceived, he adds, because ?we thought that music is the best way to break down the barrier between cultures and peoples. This is a whole day of fun for youngsters who love the Black-Eyed Peas and their parents who love the Commitments. Our goal is to bring culture to Jerusalem and to show the world a face of culture and fun.?
The Idan Raichel Project burst onto the Israeli music scene in 2002, changing the face of Israeli popular music and offering a message of love and tolerance that resonated strongly in a region of the world where the headlines are too often dominated by conflict. With an enchanting blend of Ethiopian and Middle Eastern flavors coupled with sophisticated production techniques and a spectacular live show, the Idan Raichel Project has become one of the most unexpected success stories in Israeli music today. While he regularly fills large concert halls at home, the upcoming international release of his recordings on the Cumbancha record label promises to introduce the work of this inspirational collective to a wide global audience.
The New York Times Times Wrote that The Idan Raichel Project was a huge hit in Israel for good reason: it envisions a modern, multicultural nation where voices of young and old, Ethiopian and Yemenite, are all heard in songs devoted to love and tolerance. Idan Raichel is the keyboardist, songwriter and producer behind the scenes, and he’s clearly as familiar with Peter Gabriel as with Middle Eastern traditions. His arrangements bind the voices together in somber minor-mode anthems paced by electronic beats, earnestly seeking to uplift.
We wish to call your attention to the 3-day program of the Conference beginning on Tuesday, October 30, with individual pre-arranged meetings (pending receipt of your requirements through the Conference Website).
The Conference then offers, on October 31, alternate tours to the Negev and Galilee Regions. You will find the tours to be most interesting and informative. The program will enable the Israeli and international community to gather insights from the best and brightest in their field.
This important International Event culminates with a day long Conference, which opens with the address by the President of the State of Israel and closes with the presentation by Israel?s Prime Minister and includes an impressive list of business leaders as keynote speakers.
Two days prior to the conference, attendees will have personal opportunities to explore viable examples of current economic-development strategies. These include pre-organized meetings for international participants with Israeli companies/business people, and introductory tours of innovative development projects in the Galilee and Negev Regions.
A Festive Gala Dinner will be held on Wednesday Evening, October 31.
This year?s conference is organized by the Israel Export & International Cooperation Institute in cooperation with the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel, the Federation of Bi-National Chambers of Commerce, the Office for the Development of the Negev & Galilee Regions, the Ministry of Industry Trade & Labor, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tel-Aviv has wide beaches with golden sand, exotic markets and exclusive shopping centers - a unique combination and a source of pride for the city. Tel Aviv boasts with museums of every type, a beautiful opera house, and the Mann Auditorium, home to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, considered one of the world’s best. There are also many parks, gardens, and boulevards and sculptures scattered throughout the city that all merit more than a passing glance. Tel Aviv can also boast the largest concentration of International Style “Bauhaus” architecture remaining in the existence in the world today. Hotels list: Tel-Aviv (total 45 hotels)
