For Israel, the blue was wrong but the score was right

NEW YORK — The stadium, which was hosting Israel’s national soccer team for its first game on US soil in 35 years, was a sea of blue and white. Unfortunately, it was the wrong blue and white.

Even Eli Guttman, the coach of the Israeli squad, could tell that the Honduran fans outcheered and outattended the Israeli fans Sunday night. Honduran boosters, dressed in royal-blue jerseys and holding aloft Honduran flags, their faces painted a deep azure, led the fans at New York’s Citi Field in the wave, and chants of “Hon Du Ras!”

“I saw 30,000 people in blue and white. For me, it is OK,” Guttman said after the match, when asked why the Jewish community didn’t show up in large numbers.

Of course Israel fans were also in attendance, many of them from the city’s large Jewish community, but they weren’t as loud or as visible as the Hondurans, who were convinced that their team would be the victor.

“Israel has a good team, but we’re going to win 2 to 1,” the Linos, a 20-something couple from the Bronx, said before the game.

Indira and Oscar Alvarado, sitting in the third row with siblings and cousins, were similarly confident, “We know Honduras will win. We predict 3 to 0! That’s the history.”

As it turned out, though, the Hondurans were unable to get a single ball into the net, falling 2-0 to the Israeli squad.

After a scoreless first half, the Israeli national team came to life with two goals: one by Ezra Hen in the 52nd minute, and one by Shimon Abuhatzira who, in the 76th minute, was assisted by Elyaniv Barda in his first score for the national team.

At the press conference after the 90-minute exhibition match, Guttman, impeccable in a dark blue suit and tie, was joined on the stage by defender Rami Gershon.

“We played as a team,” the coach said. “Our defensive line played well, and all players made a good defense. It was a team game. And we will come back to Israel with our heads up!” Guttman complimented Honduras on being an “excellent team,” but also acknowledged that a number of its key players did not play, perhaps to rest for a June 7 World Cup qualification match against Costa Rica.

Asked why he chose Honduras to play Israel, Pierre Mevy Azaria, the organizer of the event and the CEO of the Geneva-based MCI Sport, said, “First, Honduras has come to the United States many times to play soccer. And, as a promoter, we knew they would bring 5,000 to 15,000 fans… There were 15,000 Hondurans!” The actual paid attendance for the soccer game was over 26,000, supporting Mevy Azaria’s case that “in the last two to four years, there has been a real development of soccer in the United States.”

The European-based Mevy Azaria said Citi Field was “a Jewish-friendly stadium — like no other place in the world,” and praised the availability of kosher food: Fans could choose from hot dogs, sausages, knishes, steak sandwiches, hot pretzels and more. “This simply doesn’t exist in Europe,” he said.

IdoAharoni, the Israeli consul general, greeted the crowd after the American national anthem was played. “On behalf of the government of Israel, I convey our gratitude to be here, in celebration of our great friendship,” he said. The New York Knicks power forward Amar’e Stoudemire, who visited Israel in 2010 after discovering his Jewish roots, also briefly addressed the crowd.

The game was not only a celebration of Israeli soccer; it was also the final event in a 24-hour celebration af all things Israel. On Saturday night, the Empire State Building was lit up in blue and white in honor of the following day’s Celebrate Israel Parade. And at 8 a.m. Sunday morning, thousands of runners set out on a sold-out 4-mile (6.4-km) run through Central Park, which according to the Celebrate Israel website, constituted “a symbolic journey through Israel, from Eilat to Tel Aviv.”

The Celebrate Israel Parade, started in 1964 and formerly known as the Salute to Israel Parade, featured school groups, marching bands and a wide range of Jewish organizations including the Chai Riders motorcyclists, and a group called Eagles Wings, that chanted, “Who are we? Christians who love Israel!”

“I’ve been marching for 31 years with Ramaz. Exciting, community building, great experience for faculty and students to share their love and commitment to Medinat Yisrael. We get a chance to demonstrate our connection to our spiritual and sovereign home,” said Ira Miller, dean of Ramaz Upper School on East 78th Street in Manhattan.

Marchers made their way up Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, from 57th Street to 74th Street. The colorful marchers carried illustrations, collages, paintings, and other art forms that reflected the 2013 parade theme, “Picture Israel: The Art & the Craft.” According to the parade website, the art work was designed “to show the diversity of Israel and its people, the land/sea/cityscapes, accomplishments, etc.”