{"id":290589,"date":"2023-09-20T12:20:50","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T12:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=290589"},"modified":"2023-09-20T12:20:50","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T12:20:50","slug":"oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/","title":{"rendered":"Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Oscar Gloukh is the Israeli teenager who grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo and taking on kids twice his age&#8230; now he&#8217;s the next Red Bull Salzburg prodigy aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>At just 19, Oscar Gloukh is one of Red Bull Salzburg&#8217;s most exciting prospects<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The Israeli international will make his Champions League debut this season\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport&#8217;s podcast It&#8217;s All Kicking Off!\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Red Bull Salzburg have made a habit of introducing Europe\u2019s hottest talent to the Champions League stage over the past few years. In Oscar Gloukh, they may just have their next teenage sensation.<\/p>\n<p>Erling Haaland, Dominik Szoboszlai and Karim Adeyemi have all taken the continent\u2019s top competition by storm for the Austrians in recent campaigns, showing up the elite before joining them.<\/p>\n<p>At 19, it is now Gloukh\u2019s turn to take on the giants. Not that it is anything new for the Israeli, who honed his skills as a five-year-old playing four-on-four in the streets of Rehovot against boys twice his age, and twice his size.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I spent every day, all the time I had in the street playing with friends. I was really small and really young,\u2019 the 5ft 7in forward tells Mail Sport.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018When I was five, my father didn\u2019t want me to be a professional footballer. He was told he needed to see me play and he came along.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/18\/75564655-12467727-image-a-10_1695057498392.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Oscar Gloukh is aiming to be the next star off of the Red Bull Salzburg production line<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/18\/75564621-12467727-Gloukh_sat_down_over_Zoom_to_speak_with_Mail_Sport-a-18_1695057758010.jpg\" height=\"528\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/18\/75564635-12467727-Gloukh_sat_down_over_Zoom_to_speak_with_Mail_Sport-a-19_1695057764984.jpg\" height=\"528\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Gloukh sat down with Mail Sport over Zoom to chat about his journey into football\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He was surprised. He said to me: &#8220;If we want to go in on this, we need to go 100 per cent, all in&#8221;.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;All in&#8217; meant joining Maccabi Tel Aviv\u2019s academy and rising through their ranks. Gloukh\u2019s star always shone brightly \u2013 a little too brightly for the liking of some of his coaches.<\/p>\n<p>While 15, he was left on the bench for eight straight games in a row. He was told it was to strengthen his mental fortitude.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was really hard for me,\u2019 he says. \u2018I even wanted to retire from football. But my father was with me. He said he wanted me to continue. He called the club and told them: \u201cIf it continues like this, you will not see him anymore\u201d. From there, everything started going in the right way.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Afterwards, I felt really strong. If I&#8217;m now on the bench, it&#8217;s easier for me. I know how to behave, how to keep the right mental state.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Gloukh was 17 when he made his first-team debut, but it was his Israeli Premier League debut against rivals Maccabi Haifa in April 2022 that saw the diminutive winger announce himself.<\/p>\n<p>His desire for the ball and to shoulder so much responsibility in attack took his team-mates by surprise, as he scored in a 1-1 draw. Despite impressing though, frustration lingered for the teenager.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I got a chance against one of the biggest teams in Israel,&#8217; he says. \u2018It was not easy &#8211; feeling all this pressure, but I came to the game like I was free in my mind. I scored a goal and had a really good game.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/18\/75564223-12467727-image-a-20_1695057796862.jpg\" height=\"357\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The teenager broke onto the footballing scene in his homeland with Maccabi Tel Aviv<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/18\/75564219-12467727-image-a-21_1695057842298.jpg\" height=\"390\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>At 19, he is already a regular for the Israel national team, scoring during this month&#8217;s qualifiers<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I continued in the first team, but for me, it&#8217;s hard to not be with the ball. I want every attack to go through me because I feel I can deliver that key pass. Against every team, in every place.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Some of that confidence in his final product comes from a unique training method. Gloukh has been one of several professionals to use i-BrainTech \u2013 an innovative technology that uses AI to help athletes improve their mental performance on the field.<\/p>\n<p>Using headgear to measure the electrical signals on each side of the brain, the apparatus prompts the user to visualize scenarios within a game until it becomes second nature, allowing the individual to practice a scenario hundreds of times, without any physical strain.<\/p>\n<p>Developed in Israel and used by the likes of the Portugal youth national team, Gloukh insists it has gone a long way to helping his performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018When you do a lot of actions with the technology, with i-Brain, it comes automatically on the pitch. It\u2019s really helped me with free kicks. It&#8217;s given me confidence to do it all.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/18\/75564775-12467727-image-a-22_1695057985495.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Gloukh grew up watching and idolising Cristiano Ronaldo during his first stint at Man United<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/18\/18\/75564817-12467727-image-a-23_1695058031577.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Salzburg winger insists that Nicolo Barella is one of the toughest opponents he has faced<\/p>\n<p>As the teenager is first to admit, however, there is plenty of room for improvement.<\/p>\n<p>Gloukh was part of the Israel Under-21s side that was blown away twice by England at the European Championship in the summer. For a kid that grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo during his Manchester United days, an opportunity to test himself against Premier League pedigree was a good marker.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was special,\u2019 he says of the clashes with the eventual champions. \u2018The best I saw there, it was Curtis Jones and Angel Gomes.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Both were playing as sixes and I think, against us, maybe they lost the ball once all game!<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They moved the ball, their positioning [was good], they controlled the game &#8211; every minute. We didn\u2019t touch the ball a lot. We were more defensive. But to see them, Premier League players, this is the level you want to go to, to get to. It was a good experience.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>There have been tougher challenges since, against bigger opponents. A friendly brought Salzburg, who he joined in January this year, up against beaten Champions League finalists Inter in pre-season, with Gloukh finding one opponent particularly impressive.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018[Nicolas] Barella. He is small, but he is so strong,\u2019 he says. \u2018You can&#8217;t move him, and he doesn\u2019t lose the ball.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was crazy for me. It gave me the will to work harder on my physique. To match up to those guys, to dominate them.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>He will get the chance to see how far he has come in a short space of time after Salzburg were drawn to face the Serie A side once more in the Champions League \u2013 along with Real Sociedad and Benfica in Group D.<\/p>\n<p>Not that Gloukh should be fazed. Going toe-to-toe with giants has always been his forte.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12467727\/Oscar-Gloukh-Israeli-teenager-grew-idolising-Cristiano-Ronaldo-taking-kids-twice-age-hes-Red-Bull-Salzburg-prodigy-aiming-thrive-land-Champions-League-giants.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oscar Gloukh is the Israeli teenager who grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo and taking on kids twice his age&#8230; now he&#8217;s the next Red Bull Salzburg prodigy aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants At just 19, Oscar Gloukh is one of Red Bull Salzburg&#8217;s most exciting prospects The Israeli international will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants - Sports Life Tale<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants - Sports Life Tale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Oscar Gloukh is the Israeli teenager who grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo and taking on kids twice his age&#8230; now he&#8217;s the next Red Bull Salzburg prodigy aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants At just 19, Oscar Gloukh is one of Red Bull Salzburg&#8217;s most exciting prospects The Israeli international will [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports Life Tale\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-20T12:20:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Oscar-Gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-Champions-League-giants.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Robert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/\",\"name\":\"Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants - Sports Life Tale\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-20T12:20:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-20T12:20:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Soccer\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/category\/soccer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sports Life Tale\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"Robert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Robert\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants - Sports Life Tale","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants - Sports Life Tale","og_description":"Oscar Gloukh is the Israeli teenager who grew up idolising Cristiano Ronaldo and taking on kids twice his age&#8230; now he&#8217;s the next Red Bull Salzburg prodigy aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants At just 19, Oscar Gloukh is one of Red Bull Salzburg&#8217;s most exciting prospects The Israeli international will [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/","og_site_name":"Sports Life Tale","article_published_time":"2023-09-20T12:20:50+00:00","author":"Robert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Oscar-Gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-Champions-League-giants.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Robert","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/","url":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/","name":"Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants - Sports Life Tale","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-09-20T12:20:50+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-20T12:20:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/oscar-gloukh-aiming-to-thrive-in-the-land-of-champions-league-giants\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Soccer","item":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/category\/soccer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Oscar Gloukh aiming to thrive in the land of Champions League giants"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/","name":"Sports Life Tale","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"Robert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Robert"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}