A typical season of football has many ups and downs. For Maccabi Tel Aviv the 2001/02 year was definitely a season that shared many difficult moments plus also had some times of joy but it will always be remembered as the year when Meni Levi collapsed on the Teddy Stadium pitch.
Fourteen year have gone by since Meni Levi collapsed in Jerusalem on January 26, 2002. One of the most amazing things that occurred during that year was how the players, staff and fans all came together joining in support of the defender. Levi was honored at every match that season and when the Yellow-and-Blue advanced to the State Cup final against Maccabi Haifa at Ramat Gan Stadium, there was one mission that had to be accomplished – win the cup for Meni.
Nir Levin coached the 2001/02 side and spoke about what feelings he experienced during the year: “It was a very emotionally charged season. With Meni collapsing in Jerusalem and with the problems that we had all year, the club really suffered as a whole.”
Levin also recalled the moment when the team advanced to the State Cup final: “The team began to play well near the end of the season and defeated Hapoel Petach Tikva 5:1 in the State Cup semi final match and met Maccabi Haifa in the final that probably featured that franchise’s best squad of all time.” Levin reflected back on the match and remembered how difficult it was to celebrate: “We were happy that we won the cup, but something was missing without Meni being there with us. It didn’t have the same feeling like it did last year. Before the match, Meni’s name was everywhere and after the victory we went to visit him at Beit Loewenstein. It was such a drastic change going from the joy of winning the cup to the sadness of seeing our teammate. It was very difficult.”
Baruch Dego also spoke about the tough times he experienced that season: “We’re going a long way back. Before the match we really thought a lot about Meni. It was a traumatic experience that every single one of the layers had to deal with the whole season. When we played in the State Cup final we wanted to to take the title. That way the whole Levi family could come together and give strength and a bit of happiness to try and damper the sadness that we all had felt during the year.”
Dego also spoke about the transition between winning the cup and then going to visit Meni at the rehabilitation center: “Beit Loewenstein is not an easy place to visit. It was very emotional to be there with him and the cup, but it was also very painful. It was such a crazy change from one minute to the next. His family was hurting and broken and when we arrived we forgot all about the celebrations we had just been having.”
The striker continued to talk about the perspective he gained that same day: “You understand that good health comes before everything and that the win was just a small thing that we could do to help relieve a bit of the family’s pain as well as the team’s and the club. The match that wasn’t easy, the penalties, celebration, it was all forgotten in an instant. I hope that no team, club or person ever has to deal with the challenges that we had to face during that season.”
