Israeli soccer talent to play alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami CF
Breaking into the big leagues, Idoh Zeltzer-Zubida inked his first professional contract on Tuesday with Inter Miami, a soccer team that includes Lionel Messi. “It’s very exciting, I can almost taste it already,” he told Esti Perez Ben-Ami on Kan Reshet Bet’s “Midday” show.
Zeltzer-Zubida, 20, plays as a winger. He is the son of Dr. Hani Zubida, a former commentator on [the popular sports and music radio show] Shirim u-Sha’arim. Zeltzer-Zubida described the long road to the contract, starting with stints at Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
“At 13, I decided I wanted a new challenge and moved to the U.S. for boarding school, without really knowing the language,” he said. “I was given an opportunity to prove myself, and I feel like I made the right start.”
Zeltzer-Zubida also noted that, despite joining the team only recently, he has already established connections with some of the club’s top players.
He described Jordi Alba, for example, as “the cool uncle who hangs out with the younger guys,” while Lionel Messi is “very quiet, very much to himself.”
“I’ve had a few interactions with him; they’re brief, but, for example, during an attacking drill he’ll say, ‘Instead of running like this, run like this,’ and you just nod to him,” Zeltzer-Zubida said.
Even after signing with the team alongside the Argentine star, Zeltzer-Zubida conveyed a sense of caution and seriousness as a newcomer.
“I just signed my first professional contract with the reserve team, and I’m starting the season with them. I’m working very hard, training with the first team often, and waiting for the call that I’m on the team roster,” he said.
For Zeltzer-Zubida, this means the first team can effectively “borrow” him from the reserve team for as long as they need, up to a point when they are required to sign him.
“I’m waiting for the moment they need me, and I’m ready for the opportunity,” he said.
When asked when he expects to make his debut with the first team this season, Zeltzer-Zubida said, “I know I’ll give my best with the reserve team so that they’ll have to call me, but my personal goal is to make my first-team debut by the end of this season.”
He also shared that playing for the Israeli national team “is a dream” for him.
“I’m waiting for the day I get a call from my agent saying, ‘Get on a plane and head to the training camp,’” he added.
Based in Fort Lauderdale, part of the Miami metro area, Inter Miami CF plays in Major League Soccer (MLS), the premier professional soccer league system in the U.S., and is owned by former soccer star David Beckham.
Lian is a sports reporter for KAN 11.
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