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The only Israeli to have worn the Nice colours, Alon Mizrahi finished his career at Beer-Sheva in 2005. OGCNICE.com caught up with the former forward, a privileged observer of this first meeting of the Gym and an Israeli club.

When we ask him to describe himself, Alon uses one of the phrases he holds the secret to: "I'm Israel's king of goals." And he's not wrong. Having played for several clubs in his country, Maccabi Haïfa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoël Beer-Sheva, Alon left his mark as a player particularly at ease in the opposition's box. In 1998, two of his goals shone the spotlight on him in France. He explains: "In 98-99 I played against PSG for Maccabi Haïfa in the Round of 32 of the Cup Winners' Cup. In the return leg, I scored 2 goals and we knocked out Paris (3-2, 1-1 in the first leg). It was at that moment that Nice wanted to bring me to France." He arrived in 1999: "I played for OGC Nice under Guy David and with Daniel Bravo, Lionel Prat, Dominique Aulanier, José Cobos and Damien Grégorini," he said.

"I would have liked to have stayed longer at Nice"

Having joined Nice in the winter of 1999, Alon Mizrahi enjoyed his first - and only - experience of foreign football. The top scorer in the history of Israeli football, the forward continued to score in France ("4 goals in the league, I remember") but his adventure on the Côte d'Azur wasn't the one he'd dreamed of: "At that point in time, Nice weren't the team they are today. When I arrived, the club belonged to AS Roma and you knew that if you were good then there might be opportunities afterwards. But at Nice I had several problems, notably with the President Primo Salvi. West Ham and Aston Villa wanted to buy me but he didn't want to let me go."

At St Etienne in April 1999, during a 0-2 victory at the Verts in D2

After just 20 matches, the former Israeli international left the Côte d'Azur to return home, where he continued to score goals, while continuing to feel he had unfinished business in France: "I would have liked to have stayed longer at Nice; At the time, it was difficult for foreigners and especially for Israelis to move to Europe. When you arrive you also need a bit of luck and I didn't have that. I didn't sign for Nice at the right time." 21 years after his departure, his affection for the Rouge et Noir remains intact: "I love the club and it has developed well since my departure. There's a very good stadium and the team plays good football. I follow Nice and I'm interested in Ligue 1, a championship I watch every week. I also come often to the Côte d'Azur as I have friends there and I like the region a lot."

Against Hapoël Beer-Sheva "50/50"

In 2005, Alon Mizrahi finished his career in the colours of Hapoël Beer-Sheva, Nice's opponents in the Europa League on Thursday (21:00 CET): "In 2006, Alona Barkat became the owner of the club and turned it into one of the best clubs in Israel. Since then, they have been champions on three occasions, they won the Cup last season and they've played regularly in the Europa League. The team has a new coach, Yossi Abukasis, whom I played with in the Israeli national team and who is a big star in the country. They have very good players, mostly foreigners like Josué. He's a midfielder with a very good left foot, who scores goals and sets them up. He could create problems for Nice. (N.B. having tested positive, Josué won't make the trip according to RMC). And then there are lots of young Israeli players." Having played 18 European matches in his career, the former Aiglon refuses to identify a favourite: "It will be difficult for both teams. In Europe, you cannot make predictions. I would say it is 50/50 between Nice and Beer-Sheva and that anything is possible in the clash."

A lover of the round ball, Alon didn't go far away from his passion once his career as a footballer was behind him: "I'm still in football. I work for Channel 5, an Israeli TV channel, and I coach forwards, from Under-12s to professionals. I work notably with Eden Ben Basat (formerly of Brest and Toulouse). I also play beach soccer. In July and August we have a championship and I played for the national side, like Eric Cantona."

Michel Saad