Family and fans remember 'Palestinian Pele' killed in Gaza
Obeid's widow Doaa al-Obeid now clutches the blue-and-white number 10 shorts he wore for his Gaza club, Al-Shati, one of the only mementos she has of her late husband, as she and her five children mourn the revered 41-year-old striker.
"This is the most precious thing left behind by him," she said.
The family has few other belongings of Obeid, whose home was destroyed in a bombardment earlier this year. The family now lives in a tent among the ruins of a neighborhood in Gaza City.
Obeid, likened by fans to Brazilian great Pele for his skills and goalscoring, hit headlines this week after Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah criticized a tribute to Obeid by Europe's governing body UEFA that did not mention the cause of death.
"Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?" Salah wrote.
The Palestinian Football Association said Obeid was killed in an attack by the Israeli military in southern Gaza while waiting to collect aid at a distribution point.
His family said it was a tank shell that killed him.
Responding to Salah's post on X, an Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said: "Hey Mohamed, After an initial review, we found no records of any incidents involving Suleiman al-Obeid. In order to take a closer look, we need more details."
Obeid, who had played for the Palestinian national team, was still playing for his club in Gaza when the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023.
Hamas attacked Israeli towns and villages killing more than 1,200 people. Israel in response has laid waste to the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave housing more than 2 million people, and killed some 61,000 Palestinians.
Most have been killed by airstrikes, artillery and gunfire, but a growing number are starving to death.
Obeid kept playing throughout the hardship, his widow Doaa said.
"He used to go training every day and never stopped, not a single day," she said. "Even during the crisis of war, in the midst of rockets, shelling and mass killing, he would go play. He used to gather his friends and loved ones and go play with them."
The Palestinian Football Association says hundreds of athletes and sports officials are among those killed by Israel's assault, with most sports facilities now destroyed.
Palestinian soccer fans say they will focus not on Obeid's violent death but his legacy.
"Children called him the Henry and Pele of Palestine," said Hassan al-Balawi, a barber in Gaza City who also offered a comparison to French great Thierry Henry.
"This player was a gazelle — when we stepped onto the pitch, we enjoyed watching him. All Palestinian soccer fans enjoyed captain Suleiman al-Obeid."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Japan Times
Family and fans remember 'Palestinian Pele' killed in Gaza
The "Pele" of Palestinian soccer hoped to keep scoring goals until he was 50. An Israeli tank shell dashed that dream a decade early, his family said, killing Suleiman al-Obeid as he queued in southern Gaza this week to collect food. Obeid's widow Doaa al-Obeid now clutches the blue-and-white number 10 shorts he wore for his Gaza club, Al-Shati, one of the only mementos she has of her late husband, as she and her five children mourn the revered 41-year-old striker. "This is the most precious thing left behind by him," she said. The family has few other belongings of Obeid, whose home was destroyed in a bombardment earlier this year. The family now lives in a tent among the ruins of a neighborhood in Gaza City. Obeid, likened by fans to Brazilian great Pele for his skills and goalscoring, hit headlines this week after Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah criticized a tribute to Obeid by Europe's governing body UEFA that did not mention the cause of death. "Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?" Salah wrote. The Palestinian Football Association said Obeid was killed in an attack by the Israeli military in southern Gaza while waiting to collect aid at a distribution point. His family said it was a tank shell that killed him. Responding to Salah's post on X, an Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said: "Hey Mohamed, After an initial review, we found no records of any incidents involving Suleiman al-Obeid. In order to take a closer look, we need more details." Obeid, who had played for the Palestinian national team, was still playing for his club in Gaza when the war between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023. Hamas attacked Israeli towns and villages killing more than 1,200 people. Israel in response has laid waste to the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave housing more than 2 million people, and killed some 61,000 Palestinians. Most have been killed by airstrikes, artillery and gunfire, but a growing number are starving to death. Obeid kept playing throughout the hardship, his widow Doaa said. "He used to go training every day and never stopped, not a single day," she said. "Even during the crisis of war, in the midst of rockets, shelling and mass killing, he would go play. He used to gather his friends and loved ones and go play with them." The Palestinian Football Association says hundreds of athletes and sports officials are among those killed by Israel's assault, with most sports facilities now destroyed. Palestinian soccer fans say they will focus not on Obeid's violent death but his legacy. "Children called him the Henry and Pele of Palestine," said Hassan al-Balawi, a barber in Gaza City who also offered a comparison to French great Thierry Henry. "This player was a gazelle — when we stepped onto the pitch, we enjoyed watching him. All Palestinian soccer fans enjoyed captain Suleiman al-Obeid."
Japan Times
6 days ago
- Japan Times
Japanese soccer legend Kunishige Kamamoto dies at 81
Kunishige Kamamoto, who was widely considered the greatest striker in Japanese soccer history, died of pneumonia at a hospital in Osaka Prefecture on Sunday. He was 81. Kamamoto was the soccer competition's top scorer with seven goals at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, serving as the driving force behind the national team, which earned bronze to secure the country's first-ever soccer medal. A native of Kyoto Prefecture, Kamamoto started playing soccer in elementary school. After graduating from Yamashiro High School in Kyoto, he attended Waseda University in Tokyo and was the top scorer in the Kanto university soccer league for four consecutive years. In 1967, Kamamoto joined Yanmar in the Japan Soccer League (JSL), the predecessor to the In the JSL, he played in 251 games over 17 seasons and scored a record 202 goals. He also won the scoring title a record seven times. Kunishige Kamamoto, who was elected to the Upper House in 1995, attends parliament in 2000. | Jiji Kamamoto was first selected for the Japanese national team in 1964 and competed in both the Tokyo Olympics that year and the Mexico City Games four years later. He played in 76 top-level international matches and scored 75 goals, which remains a national team record to this day. He was known for his right-angled shots, and "right 45 degrees" became his trademark. Kamamoto retired as a player in 1984. After serving as head coach of Gamba Osaka in the J. League, he held various positions, including vice president of the Japan Football Association, from 1998. He was inducted into the Japan Football Hall of Fame in 2005. In 1995, he was elected to the Upper House as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as a lawmaker until 2001. In recent years, Kamamoto had been in poor health and was undergoing medical treatment.
Japan Times
7 days ago
- Japan Times
'Tell us how he died': Salah criticizes UEFA tribute to 'Palestinian Pele'
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah on Saturday criticized UEFA's tribute to the late Suleiman al-Obeid, known as the "Palestinian Pele," after European soccer's governing body failed to reference the circumstances surrounding his death last week. The Palestine Football Association said that al-Obeid, 41, was killed by an Israeli strike targeting civilians waiting for humanitarian aid in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. In a brief post on the social media platform X, UEFA called the former national team member "a talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times." Salah responded: "Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?" UEFA was not immediately available to comment. One of the Premier League's biggest stars, the 33-year-old Egyptian has previously advocated for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza amid the nearly two-year-old war. The PFA later posted a statement on its Facebook page attributed to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, calling al-Obeid "proof of the joy that can flourish in the hearts of people despite hardship. "He gave his talent and dedication to the children of Gaza and gave their dreams a hope to blossom despite the suffering," the statement read. "His death is a great loss to the world of football and to everyone who recognises the power of sport to unite people." The PFA said on Saturday that 325 players, coaches, administrators, referees and club board members in the Palestinian soccer community have died in the Israeli-Hamas conflict since it began in October 2023. The war began after Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a cross-border attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Israel's subsequent air and ground campaign has leveled entire neighborhoods in Gaza, displaced most of the population of 2.3 million and pushed the enclave to the brink of famine, according to the United Nations. The U.N. says more than 1,000 people have been killed near aid distribution sites and aid convoys in Gaza since the launch of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.- and Israel-backed aid distribution system, in late May.
