After a long search, the football official got to personally thank the man for his kindness.
Brazil coach Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, known as Tite, was finally reunited with the Arab superhero who helped carry his sleeping grandson all the way from the Lusail stadium to the metro station.
A heartwarming video that had gone viral last week showed a man wearing a Palestinian flag, identified as Palestinian-Jordanian Husam Saffarini, carrying a sleeping child on his shoulder during the long walk between the two areas.
The child, Lucca, later turned out to be Tite’s grandson.
The video dates back to 24 November ,when Brazil triumphed Serbia in a 2-0 score following a tough game, which saw the former step closer to the round of 16. At the time, Saffarini, who did not know who the child was, generously offered to help a woman carry her child after the game.
Many had praised his kind act as Tite asked to meet the man who he said displayed the value of unity that football aims to promote. Despite the search for the man taking days, the superhero was easily identified by the Palestinian flag he wore at the time.
Saffarini met with Tite during the Brazilian team’s training and was given a shirt signed by the 26-man squad.
“This means the world to me, this is something I cannot buy with money,” Saffarini said after embracing Tite.
Beyond the warm act of kindness, many have pointed to how it reflects the spirit of the 2022 World Cup in Doha – the first to take place in the Arab region. In the lead up to the event, the beauty of sports was overshadowed by criticism and stereotypes from the West over the region.
“This is what Qatar 2022 is about our shared humanity Brazil’s coach watching a video showing a stranger- with Palestine flag- helping to carry the coach’s grandchild. Sorry ideologues, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 not meant for your politics but for football, so welcome fans,” Lolwah Al Khater, Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister, tweeted upon seeing the video.
One social media user echoed Al Khater’s sentiment, highlighting the core value of humanity in the Arab world that he hopes would spread to the rest of the globe.
“The Palestinian Arab youth who carried the grandson of Brazil coach Tite on his shoulders to the metro bus left a human impact on this coach that he will pass on to all the Brazilian people,” the Twitter user said.
Others have praised the values of Palestinians as thousands in the Gulf state wear Palestine’s flag to shed light on the ongoing Israeli occupation that has only persisted for decades.
With the Palestinian cause being at the heart of the Middle East, many have used the tournament to further stand in solidarity with Palestine and educate the world about the continuous crimes committed by the Zionist regime.
