2024-01-26 16:49:30
“That match at Teddy’s that changed the world. Maccabi Tel Aviv against Beitar Jerusalem. Ninth minute, a simple high ball. Manny Levy, the talented player, who all of Israeli football was talking about at the time, runs towards the ball and gets excited, falls, gets up and falls again – loses consciousness. And then like in a bad, indigestible movie, the pictures come up. Players are crying, Tal Benin and Itzik Zohar try to help, Professor Rivkind runs from the podium to revive him and an ambulance enters the field. The game is stopped, thousands of fans go home in tears. Hadassah Hospital. People from all over the country arrive quietly. crying praying”.
That evening described by Uri Mashiach, a close friend of the family and an ardent fan of the Yellows, is burned into the memory of every Israeli soccer fan, and linked the Levy family and Maccabi forever. A discharged soldier, 21 years old, who went up to the meadow and returned to his family’s house as a plant. In an interview with the Sport Channel, his brother, his uncle, together with Avi Nemani and Nir Levin, talk about Manny Levy’s lifestyle today, his overcoming of hardship and their wounds, which are still open.
“Every time when fans come to him, Manny gets excited”
“My father and I would usually accompany Manny to every game,” said his brother, “specifically the game at Teddy against Beitar Hachi that we saw at home on TV. It was a significant game and period for him, he had just been released from the IDF and coach Nir Levin talked to him about the national team. He changed his role from striker to defender. Then suddenly we saw him fall on the grass and not get up.”
“I started the car and drove straight to a hospital in Jerusalem, my mother and father followed me. It is a moment that cannot be forgotten, it stands in front of me in memory all the time. On the one hand, I saw my brother confined to the bed, but I also maintained optimism and believed that he would come out of it. God willing, He could be in a completely different place today.”
“From day one, the Maccabi Tel Aviv club and the fans surround us. From the beginning at Beit Levinstein until Manny’s release to care at home,” his uncle told about his brother. The fans come to Manny’s birthdays, Friday dinners and holidays. Beit Shean, Dimona, Safed and Eilat. From all corners of the country, the crowd comes to be with Manny Levy, as well as former players and members of the media who had difficulty coping mentally in the past.
“On Hanukkah, Rabbi Afalo lights candles and there is a special atmosphere in the air. Everyone comes for Manny. We got used to Fridays at noon, in the sun on the grass, with Manny in a wheelchair,” continued Uri Moshiach, “after that we go into the living room, drink tea, and the regulars arrive. Nir Levin, the late Shimon Kork, Avi Nemani, Rami Levy and relatives of the family. You look at them and know that with these people Manny Levy has already won. He wins every day that passes thanks to warmth, love and a mother who hugs him.”
“You can see that it happens from the heart. Every time fans or people from the club come and sing for Manny, we see how excited he is,” continued his brother Dodo, “fans from other teams also support us, like the Maccabi Netanya fans who honored the ceremony last year in Bloomfield. Manny has value in football The Israeli and this is very important to us as a family. We tell him everything and he is aware of everything.”
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Pilgrimage center for Maccabi players Fans from all over the country come to the family home (courtesy of Uri Mashiach) Uri Mashiach, a Maccabi fan
Goldhar’s visit to an entire village
“Today, Manny is with us in life, and we try to give him everything possible, that’s what gives us the hope to continue,” his uncle said excitedly, “the support from Maccabi is very helpful and exciting and the truth is that since Mitch Goldhar became the owner, the bond with the family has only gotten stronger.”
In the first years after the difficult event, the club was involved in the legal battle along with the family’s claim to recognize Manny’s disability. After an agreement in 2012, the Levy family received compensation in the amount of NIS 5.3 million from a number of parties sued by them.
“Goldhar was twice at our house in Kfar Shalem and came with the championship plate to Manny after the win, which ended a period of ten years without the title. A year later, during the second championship, he also invited us to Maccabi’s offices and presented Manny with a personal championship plate. Mitch is an amazing person, a man of values And that’s very important. In those moments Meni was very excited, Maccabi is a part of him.”
Goldhar and Manny Levy’s brother, his uncle: dedicate the championship to Manny Levy (courtesy of the family)
Rehabilitation in the pool – watching the sea and songs: Manny’s agenda
“We take care and help my brother 24 hours a day,” his uncle said, “he may not express himself with words, but he feels. We watch Maccabi games with him and he shouts with excitement when they sing to him on the field or when fans come to him. Manny listens to the broadcasters and the commentators And he knows he’s being talked about. You can see it in his facial expressions, he understands the situation the best in the world.”
“People think he lies in bed all day, but Manny has a life, a daily schedule. He gets up in the morning, takes a shower, does physical therapy six times a week. Some of them happen in the pool because the only place he can go is the water. This treatment is very important for his physical activity And he walks 50-60 meters at a time.”
“In addition, Manny also eats twice a day independently, in the morning avocado and various fruits in the morning and in the evening he likes chicken. Everything is mashed of course, like mashed potatoes. This is one of the most important things that happened over time when we got home, and thanks to counseling and a communication therapist. We spend time with him at home, there We have a yard, on nice days we take him in the car and see the sea. His life is full. My mother gets up in the morning and goes to him and he smiles at her.”
The future was promising. Manny Levy in the dressing room of Maccabi T
Nemani’s wound, the picture and the cup
“I remember the personal conversation between me and Manny in the office in Kiryat Shalom,” said Nir Levin, “he took the spot in the Maccabi team and I told him that the next step for him was the national team. He scored goals against Hapoel PT with a strike and against Hapoel BS. Manny was A young and very quiet player, it took time to peel off the shells from him. We marked the team as a target, and then what happened happened.”
“That same season we won the State Cup and beat Maccabi Haifa 4:5 on penalties. I still have a picture of him at home from the final game. I keep it because it has many symbols, but mainly a sign on the back, with the inscription “For Manny” with the number 12. You see In the picture there are many important people in the history of Maccabi, Nemani and Tal Benin hoisting the trophy together. The sign during the hoisting preserves its part this season and after the game we went to bring him the trophy to the Levinstein house.”
“The story of Meni Levy is an open wound,” said Avi Namani, one of Maccabi’s great symbols, who was present at Levy’s side during the collapse. “There are different memories from that day. Every time I remember it, there is a bad feeling, a feeling that never goes away. It caused me two months in which I lost all desire to play. I didn’t want to watch football. I postponed a minor knee surgery that I was supposed to undergo at the end of the season. Right after that evening in Teddy, I did the surgery just to escape from this story.”
“I have a relationship of many years with the family. I appreciate them very much, they do holy work with great commitment and love that you don’t see anywhere.”
“The mother Dalia, the brothers Guy and his uncle, the late father Murdoch, were and are around him all the time,” emphasized Levin, “You know, when I get to attend Maccabi games in Bloomfield as a commentator or as a spectator, I get chills every time when the crowd sings for him in the last minute 12. I remember what happened and I hope for a miracle, I pray that good things will happen to me.”
They dedicated the trophy to him
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