Luka, Luka, Luka, Luka!

The Beitar Jerusalem fans can’t get enough of Luka and it’s not the NBA superstar Luka Doncic who scores and scores and scores some more.

It’s Luka Gadrani, the yellow-and-black central defender who always seems to be in the right place and at the right time to stymie the opposition as they look to find the back of the goal time and time again.

Less than two weeks ago after Beitar drew with Hapoel Beer Sheva, the etam bus stopped near Yad Binyamin and Gadrani went onto the roof of the bus where the fans hoisted him on their shoulders to the 2,000 supporters who met them in the middle of the highway after a thrilling 2-2 draw down south in one of the great moments of the season. A season that has seen so many rollercoaster twists and turns.

Gadrani joined Beitar in September from Kairat Almaty and has been a mainstay as one of the most important players in Barak Itzhaki’s squad. The Georgian International is not only such a good player in his own right and plays his position to perfection, he makes everyone around him better.

From his central defense partner in Brayan Carabali who became an entirely different player than the one everyone saw after the first few weeks in Israel and was almost jettisoned back home to Colombia, to the midfielders who play in front of him as well as the wingbacks.

The 29-year old, who has been battling some nagging injuries but should be ready to go, is perhaps the most important cog in the Beitar machine as they head to Tel Aviv for a how Wednesday night (19:30) date with Hapoel.

“First of all, he is a very, very positive personality,” Beitar Head Coach Barak Itzhaki said about Gadrani. “He is truly a leader, the type of ‘quiet leader’ who doesn’t need to shout or talk too much, but rather leads through his actions. You see it on the pitch; he performs and motivates the players around him.”

The last time the now first place capital city side played Hapoel Tel Aviv at Bloomfield Stadium was way back at the end of September in an unforgettable matchup for both sets of fans. For Beitar, the yellow-and-black blew a 2-1 lead and gave up a pair of goals in second half injury time to lose the contest 3-2 in stunning style and for Hapoel, it was arguably one of their greatest comebacks.

Who knew at that time that a struggling Beitar defense was about to get that much stronger and that Hapoel would go on from there and not lose a home match at Bloomfield?

No one could have predicted it without a doubt.

But Gadrani was the special ingredient for Beitar and Bloomfield became a fortress for Hapoel.

“In general, our defensive play has improved,” Itzhaki said. “Of course, he (Gadrani) contributed to that, especially from the moment he arrived, but we should credit our entire defensive effort. It’s not just one specific player; it’s a combination of many things.”

Hapoel Head Coach Elyaniv Barda added, “We’ll prepare and try to shut down their strengths. We know they have very high quality, they concede very little and score a lot. We’ll try to maintain the good things we do at home. We’re coming to play our kind of football; we’ve managed to beat every team in the league this year and we want to keep that going.”

A great game should be in store with so much at stake for Gadrani and Beitar who now sit in first place by a point over Hapoel Beer Sheva, while Elyaniv Barda and Hapoel will try to not only keep streak intact but also to keep working their way up the table from their current position in 4th to their cross city rivals Maccabi who sit in 3rd.

There will be plenty to play for and Omri Altman, who played hero for the Reds on that September night when they beat Beitar who wore a special black kit.

“Both matches were very heated, as befits a game like this,” Altman said. “I don’t think there’s anyone who needs an explanation right now about what this match means to the whole Hapoel Tel Aviv community. It’s no secret that Beitar Jerusalem are one of the best teams in the league, but I think we belong in that category as well. I try to focus on ourselves and hope they’ll be trailing again.”

The bottom line is any time that these two teams take to the pitch, no matter at what stadium, there will be fireworks, hopefully on the pitch and not off of it.

Can Beitar be the first team this season to take down Hapoel at home?

“First time I heard this from you,” Gadrani said. “It’s good if they are playing home games like that. We can go there and show our game. Whatever will be, we can see after the game. We are ready for this game and we are preparing. I don’t know about their motivation, but I can say that we are ready. Everyone can see that we have the quality. We have the character and whatever happens in the game, I think we can get our points and show our game to everyone.”

Itzhaki also spoke about Hapoel’s fine home record, “First of all, it’s a fact and a very impressive one on their part, those statistics since the start of the season, winning all their home games; that is not a simple feat. Of course, we always respect the opponent and while we focus mostly on ourselves, there is an opponent across from us, especially with the stat you mentioned. We will need to come and do our job as we know how, focus heavily on our game and how we need to play, and hopefully, things will work out for us so we leave with a smile at the end of the match.”

One thing that will be certain is the fans smiling and cheering for Luka, at least the Beitar supporters that is, who would love to see Gadrani part of the team for years to come.

“I am very pleased with the way he came in and acclimated,” Itzhaki commented. “I hope he just continues this way. He is a player who belongs here. He has a contract and you know, in football things can change in an instant, but clearly, the goal of this club is to keep its core players for the future.”

Gadrani explained how important the fans have been for him, “It’s really amazing. For me, it’s a double, triple motivation when I hear all this crowd noise. I hope that this will continue to the end of the season. I want to say thank you to each and every one of them who is supporting me and our team. Sometimes there are situations in the game where you feel tired or injured. But all this crowd, when they are screaming your name, you cannot stay off of the field, you must play. You must leave your heart on the pitch.”

Luka Gadrani will no doubt always leave his heart on the pitch for these fans.

Luka, Luka, Luka, Luka!