There are things only soccer can do. Barriers, hatred, suspicion and fear of someone we are taught to see as an enemy can, for one night, give way to a shared fate built on color, chants and love for the same team.
That is what happened to Nimrod Levy, a 45-year-old from Tel Aviv and a devoted Brazil supporter, who arrived at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey with an Israeli flag to watch his beloved team face Norway in the World Cup.
Brazil’s campaign ended in a stunning 2-1 defeat to Norway, with Erling Haaland scoring twice late in the match and sending the Norwegians into the quarterfinals while eliminating one of soccer’s great powers.
Around the 25th minute, Levy noticed that next to a Japanese couple sitting beside him stood another fan loudly cheering for Brazil. The man was holding a Syrian flag.
And so, for a brief moment on the stadium’s giant screen, there was an almost historic frame: Levy with an Israeli flag, and about a meter and a half away, a Syrian fan with his own flag, both united by the same yellow shirt and the same hope that Brazil would survive.
“Within a moment, a dialogue started between me and the Syrian guy, whose name is Wada,” Levy recalled. “We started talking about the match, about how much we were rooting for Brazil, and we were disappointed every time Brazil missed, and of course when Erling Haaland scored twice.”
At the final whistle, the disappointment became shared, too.
(Photo: Nimrod Levy)
“At the end, I told him that only soccer can create a connection like this,” Levy said. “We complained together that the journey of our Brazil ended before it even really began. We exchanged phone numbers and we’re in touch. We mainly talk about soccer, but also about the day he might visit me in Tel Aviv, maybe even for a Hapoel Tel Aviv match, the team I support, and maybe I’ll visit him in Syria.”
Levy knows how unlikely that sounds. But he also believes the moment said something larger than the result.
“It may sound like a vision for the end of days, but the conversation between me and Wada is a small step that proves soccer removes all the barriers and all the natural fears,” he said. “In the end, we are all human beings with the same loves.”
Had Brazil won, Levy said, the two might have celebrated together and continued to Miami for the quarterfinals, where Brazil would have been expected to face England. Instead, Norway turned the night into a shared heartbreak for Brazil fans around the world.
“The picture of us summarizing the match together, while a crowd of Norwegians celebrated around us, is an optimistic moment that gives hope that maybe one day there will be peace and quiet here,” Levy said.
He may still attend France’s match against Morocco, he added, but it will not feel the same.
“My Brazil, Wada’s Brazil, and the Brazil of so many Brazilians and people from around the world, is no longer part of this celebration.”