Shon Weissman won the Austrian Bundesliga topscorer award with 30 goals, ahead of Salzburg's Patson Daka, earlier this week.
How is it possible that an Israeli player that wasn't a key player in his home nation became such lethal?
Shon Weissman started his career in one of the biggest youth clubs in Israel, Maccabi Haifa. In his first seasons at the senior level, he was loaned several times. Only in the previous season, when he was 23 years old, he got his first chances to play in the first XI of Maccabi Haifa.
The fact that he got a real opportunity to play in that age is a common problem in Israel. It begins in the U-19 league, when 20 years old players are still playing for their youth teams, due to a rule that allows registering five over-age players. Later, teams don't have enough faith in their home-grown player, and they are being loaned to teams from the bottom of the top tier or even second division clubs. In the end, it's common to see Israeli players that fail to fulfil their potential before the age of the 23.
In 2019, Maccabi Haifa was going through a horrible situation. They had two managers and two more caretaker coaches, and the club was far from the top places. The newly appointed manager, Marko Balbul, didn't lead the club to play the most impressive football, but Maccabi Haifa finished second. During that period, Balbul gave more chances to Weissman, as he played in 16 out of 22 matches. Even in these matches, Weissman scored only six goals, mostly in the later stages of the season.
In the summer of 2019, Weissman was signed by Wolfsberger. His decision to sign in Austria was based on the playing style in the league. "I talked with teams in Spain, where he can start playing for the reserves," said his agent, Shahar Greenberg, "but then we decided to focus on Austria. They play in a similar style to Weissman's style – high pressure with strikers that don't stop to confuse the defenders." Weissman also knows that in the last two seasons, the top scorer in Austria was another Israeli, Munas Dabbur.
Weissman's first season abroad was tremendous. He scored 7 goals in his first four league matches in the Austrian Bundesliga. A month later, he scored his debut European goal, which was also Wolfsberger's first-ever goal in the Europa League group stage. He made long scoring streaks, with scoring for four and five consecutive matches. He became the first player to score 30 goals in a season at the Austrian Bundesliga since Jonatan Soriano in 2015.
The big question now is what his next destination will be. According to recent reports, Lokomotiv Moscow already made an offer, but there is enough confidence in Wolfsberger to say that he can get much more than that. "Of course we have offers, but Weissman is currently thinking about Germany and England," said Dietmar Riegler, the club's president.
Weissman will face an exciting season in 2021. Whether he will leave Austria or not, Weissman will have the challenge of keeping his scoring record. Moreover, the national team will play in the Euro 2020 playoffs against Scotland with a newly appointed manager. It will be his time to show if he is a one-season wonder or one of the leading Israeli players nowadays.
Thumbnail photo from Wolfsberger AC official Facebook page.
