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my time had come to an end and it was a very matter of fact conversation with Steve Gatting.” Asked if he would have done anything differently if he could turn back the clock, he replied: “No. I was happy to leave the club as I knew there was no longer a path for me at Arsenal.
“It’s an amazing lifestyle if you can make it work, but it’s never as rosy as people think.” Lipman admits he “experienced a lot of ups and downs” and said: “It’s how you deal with the setbacks that make you a better person.”
With his career at a crossroads, Lipman did not know where to turn. “I started fishing around for clubs and spoke to more than ten coaches in a short timeframe, but it didn’t work out. Then it became clear it was no longer financially viable. I had to decide whether to stay in the game in some capacity, so I met several coaches, including Steve Grenfell,” who worked with several Maccabi League football teams. “At that moment it dawned on me that I had never realised my Jewish connections,” said Lipman.
Things have moved swiftly for him since, on both a work and football front. Grenfell invited Lipman to train at London Lions, and he has never looked back. “The boys welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “The set-up at Rowley Lane is first-class and I immediately felt part of the football family at Lions. It’s a wonderful platform for Jewish boys to express themselves.”
It was there he met Jon Ellis and Max Kyte. “They introduced me to the world of property development,” said Lipman. “Jon and Max trained me their way and it seems to have worked well. Lions have changed my life. It also made me love football again as I had fallen out of love with it.”
His surroundings at Rowley Lane have resulted in a busy social life too, mixing in Jewish circles. “It’s never been better,” said Lipman, “and I’ve made unbelievable friends thanks to Maccabi London.”
He became an instant hit at Lions and was selected to represent Maccabi Great Britain at the Maccabiah Games in Israel last year. “That was an incredible experience that words really cannot describe,” he said.
“The Maccabiah brings our religion together. The standard of football was very high and it was great to win silver.”
But, for Lipman, the Jewish Olympics was more than just sport. “I met my girlfriend there and the event completely changed my outlook on life.” Love was certainly in the air in Israel — Lipman’s mum also met her boyfriend — the father of MGB and Lions team-mate Adam Burchell.
“Before the Maccabiah, my barmitzvah was just about the only Jewish experience I encountered growing up. But now I enjoy Friday nights with my family and it’s brought me closer to my religion.
“People don’t quite understand how Maccabi London can change the lives of Jewish youngsters. It’s made me reflect on how these experiences can change lives without exerting oneself, but by just being there. My grandparents couldn’t be prouder now, seeing me maintain a Jewish lifestyle. They are prouder of this than watching me play for Arsenal and England.”
I knew my time at Arsenal had come to an end’
ATHLETICS JUST one week after Lonah Chemtai-Salpeter broke the Israeli women’s marathon record in Florence, Girma Amare has replaced Maru Teferi as Israel’s fastest-ever marathon runner. Amare, the first Israeli athlete to run the event in under two hours, 13 minutes, finished the Valencia marathon in 2:12.35, well within the IAAF qualifying standard for next September’s World Championships in Doha.
Another new national record holder is Adva Cohen, whose time of 15:42.85 at a National Collegiate
Athletic Association
Girma Amare inter-university meeting in Boston beat the previous women’s indoor 5,000m Israeli record by 24.92 seconds. At the London Cross Country Youth Games, Lia Radus ran 3,000m in a time of 11.56, finishing an impressive fourth out of 99 athletes. She was also part of the Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers under-17 relay team that placed fourth at the English National Relay Championships in Mansfield. Boston Harriers athlete Zoe Gibson was one of the first under-23 competitors over the line at a Red Rose League meeting in Rossendale, with a time of 23.55 for her 4,700m run.
Additional reporting by Danny Felsenstein (Israel)