A legend that really was: the late Frida Murphy Levy

“We came as if from the shtetl to play in Belgrade against Yugoslavia, which was one of the biggest teams in the world,” recalled Amatzia Levkovich, the brakeman of the Israeli national team at the time, who was one of the biggest blue-and-white victories of all time. We wanted to? To kidnap as little as possible … “.

In less than a month, it will be 61 years since the “Passover miracle” of Israeli football. Rafi Levy, a Maccabi Tel Aviv striker, a scorer from the land of scorers who died yesterday at the age of 83, was the star of that victory.

It was the team’s first significant victory since the establishment of the state, 12 years earlier. The game was held in the pre-Olympic binding framework. “Our guys,” as the broadcasters called the team with enthusiastic patriotism, had recorded an excellent achievement a few months earlier. At the crowded Raj Stadium, Israel, under the guidance of the legendary Jewish-Hungarian coach Giola Mendy, finished with a surprising 2: 2 against the Yugoslavs. Consecutive championships.

Israel played at home which also included Greece. The first part of the trip to Europe was in Athens. Israel led 0: 1 from a goal by Shia Glazer, and seemed confident. But a pair of Serpidis set up a reversal and a Greek 1-2 at the end.

And with that loss, Israel went to Yugoslavia to fight against one of the biggest teams in the world. 55,000 spectators filled the stadium in Belgrade. The helpless “Voice of Israel” (who thought of television) broadcast only the second half for reasons of economy. When the Nissim Koiti broadcast was first heard on the fans’ old wooden shelters in their homes, two goals had already been recorded. Rafi Levy surprised when he put Israel ahead in the second minute, Muhammad Moitch equalized after half an hour.

Speaking about the second half yesterday to Bekovic: “All the Yugoslavs attacked us. All our players were on defense. In fact, the Yugoslavs went up with everyone upstairs to reach the decision. We did everything to end in a draw.”

But then something amazing happened. In one of Israel’s few attacks, Yaakov Khodorov, the idol of the fans, fired a powerful ball. Amatzia recalled: “As far as I remember, the Yugoslav defensive players were not in the area of ​​their hair. Rafi Levy stopped and subdued Shushkich, their huge goalkeeper. We managed to hold on to the result and brought the biggest victory of the Israeli team ever. In my opinion, thanks to the special circumstances, The binding framework and the strength of the opponent, he was greater than beautiful victories that came after. “

Only a few in the locality planned to spend the Seder night in an unusual way. Who would have believed that the fans would wait after the game, in huge numbers at Ben Gurion Airport. But the amazing result changed plans. Despite the shortness of time, the Dakota plane flown by the famed Ran Packer was forced to stop for two stopovers. It landed at 10 at night and the festivities at the airport set a precedent compared to everything that was known about receptions. Signs of solidarity with the team, which raised national morale, were hung around the country.

The story does not end here. Suddenly there was tension. Israel has, contrary to all expectations, put Yugoslavia in a position where they must beat Greece in the last game. Indeed, Yugoslavia not only won, but defeated 0: 5 and gained a goal advantage, while its number of points and Israel are equal. “Yugoslavia’s display only sharpened the size of our victory,” said Levkovic, who a decade later became Emanuel Sheffer’s assistant coach at the only World Cup in which we participated in the 1970 Mexico.

The headline “Yedioth Ahronoth” the next day, in an article by Yechiel Arazi, was unequivocal: “Israel has become a serious opponent for every European football team.” One sentence that said it all and filled with pride.

Yugoslavia did not stop after the victory over Greece. The team that qualified for Rome in 1960 at the expense of Israel only thanks to a goal difference, won the gold medal with a 1: 3 victory over Denmark that settled for silver. Israel took solace in the fact that for the first time it played an important role in the qualifiers for a world tournament. Rafi Levy, in whose memory this article was written, proved himself in Belgrade, in the international arena, as a huge scorer even against strong rivals.

One of the great stories about Rafi Levy took place in 1957, when his team Maccabi Tel Aviv fought for the championship with Hapoel Petah Tikva and Hapoel Tel Aviv. In the final round, Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv, the two hottest urban rivals, were in first place in a direct battle. . They were found at equal points. A championship game at Basa Stadium in Jaffa, which later became Bloomfield. Exactly in the critical month, Rafi Levy was drafted into the IDF, for training. What to do? At that time, the IDF did not yet treat outstanding athletes in a considerate manner.

Levy was in training as one of the regular soldiers. Maccabi Tel Aviv was preparing for the game at Raanana Pension (now Midreshet Noam), like the leading teams at the time. It was said at the time that the camp’s major, where Rafi Levy served, was linked to Hapoel Tel Aviv and prevented the young bomber from entering the game.

Eventually, Rafi escaped from his unit and arrived at the last minute of retirement. He was placed as usual at the front of the attack. His duo led Maccabi to a 0: 3 victory and win the championship, and in fact to a double that year. Knocked absentees and brought a championship.

The fans wanted to break into the field and lift, as is customary in celebrations, Rafi on his shoulders. Unfortunately, they found themselves in front of the military police soldiers who had come to arrest the defector. Instead of the championship feast, he spent the happy night, much to his credit, in the military detention center. That same year he was crowned for the first time the top scorer of the Premier League – 14. Two years later, he won the title again with an excellent balance: 19 goals in 20 games. Almost an average of a goal per game. In total, he scored 86 goals in two terms at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Most of his time since Europe was not yet open to Israeli players at the time, he turned to professional football in South Africa and Australia to establish himself financially. Instead of Arsenal or Chelsea, he played for Sydney and Highlands Park. ⁇ Her⁇ in⁇ action⁇,⁇ unanimous⁇ that⁇ had⁇ all⁇ the⁇ features⁇ to⁇ integrate⁇ into⁇ Europe⁇.

Another memorable story related to it, indirectly, took place a month after the victory over Yugoslavia. This was when Israel hosted the young England, up to the age of 23, for a friendly match in Ramat Gan. Since we did not participate in the European Cups then, every such game was a holiday for the fans. Indeed, the Ramat Gan Stadium was again filled with 45,000 fans, in order to see The team players face the English, some of whom were marked for their squad years later.

It turned out that the victory in Belgrade was not accidental. The ability of 20-year-old Rafi Levy in Yugoslavia was not accidental either. He scored the first goal and his power in the second half: another goal, a foul on the penalty spot and cooking. The England national team coach, the famous Walter Winterbottom, even wrote it down in a notebook with the intention of transferring him to an English team.

When he returned to Israel from South Africa and Australia, he was surprised when he joined Hapoel Raanana from the second division. The fans could not understand that they see Rafi Levy, literally him, wearing their team shirt.

At the time, Rafi Levy also became a star in a successful youth book series – “The Young Athletes”. He filled, according to the author, the character of Alon in the book “Pen Oak, Pen”. With 11 goals in 17 games for the team, because half of his career played abroad, he was one of the greatest in the legends.

It can be defined, without a doubt, as the greatest star of Israel, about whom the younger generation here has heard the least.