- Apr 5, 2014
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The unlikely friendship at heart of Brighton’s surge
- Kayal, right, an Israeli Muslim, celebrates his winner with Hemed, a Jew, after Zamora, below, had equalisedGraham Hughes for The Times
James Masters
Last updated at 12:01AM, December 7 2015
Beram Kayal and Tomer Hemed united in bid to fire club’s promotion campaign
It is a journey that began in Haifa and could yet finish with the Barclays Premier League in Brighton & Hove Albion.
The story of how two children from northern Israel, one Jewish, one Muslim, became best friends and went on to play in the biggest football league in the world reads like something from a Hollywood movie.
Beram Kayal, a Muslim and a proud Arab Israeli, and Tomer Hemed, who is Jewish, have known each other since their days as wide-eyed dreamers at Maccabi Haifa’s academy. Now the possibility of playing in England’s top flight is beginning to dawn on them as Brighton extended their unbeaten run to 19 matches.
Charlton Athletic came close to bursting that bubble on Saturday when they took a 2-0 first-half lead at the Amex Stadium before Brighton staged a remarkable comeback to take all three points — with Hemed the match-winning hero. James Wilson, on loan from Manchester United, dragged Brighton back into the match before the turning point of Patrick Bauer, the Charlton defender, being sent off. Bobby Zamora equalised and Hemed’s header five minutes from time sealed a 3-2 victory. The Premier League dream of Kayal and Hemed is drawing closer.
Their friendship, which ultimately persuaded Hemed to make the move from Almeria last summer to be reunited with Kayal, has not only benefited the pair, but the club too. “He is like a big brother to me and it has always been like that,” Kayal said of Hemed. “We’ve been good friends from the day we met and we have the same birthday so that’s always special. As soon as I knew the club wanted Tomer to come here I phoned him and told him how great it was.”
Kayal, who enjoyed four and a half years with Celtic before moving to Brighton last January, was the driving force behind Hemed’s decision to leave Spain.
The forward had enjoyed success with Real Mallorca and Almeria while playing against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but it was in England where his heart lay.
The close friendship between the pair is well known to all who know them and yet they could scarcely be any different.
Kayal, 27, who is a year younger, is more outspoken and more extrovert. He is conscious of his fashion, his hair is spiked immaculately and he talks in the manner in which he plays, quickly, seemingly without needing to breathe and, most importantly, is upset by his failure to find good humus in England.
“In Acre, near where I lived in Israel, the humus is perfect,” he says with a hint of frustration. “I can’t find any here.”
Food aside, Kayal, who grew up in the village of Jaidedi, and was often forced to take an eight-hour round trip to training, is happy on the south coast. He is married to Angela and has a son, whom he is rather delighted to have named “Pirlo” after the Italy midfielder, Andrea.
Hemed is more relaxed, shy, perhaps less inclined to be the centre of attention. He recently became a father to baby Mia and is married to his high-school sweetheart, Shunit.
Kayal prays every day and recites passages from the Koran before matches, Hemed visits the local synagogue in Hove on Friday evenings to welcome in Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) and often prays before taking to the field.
Two men, two different religions, one friendship — forged on the fields of Haifa, they are the product of a club in Maccabi who are hugely proud of their work in bringing communities together. “It didn’t matter whether you were Arab, Jewish, Muslim, Christian — the club brought everyone together and the people who developed that togetherness were unbelievable,” Kayal said.
“All the players, like myself and Tomer, were brothers. It made us better people. It was a pleasure to play for Maccabi Haifa. I learnt so, so much there.”
It is a sentiment that Hemed, who was born just outside Haifa in Kiryat Tiv’on, echoes.
“I know we never felt any negativity and the club and city are both very proud of that. It isn’t dangerous in Haifa, people are not living in fear,” he said.
That sense of community and togetherness is something Kayal and Hemed have taken into the Israel team — a squad that includes those from Jewish, Muslim and Circassian backgrounds.
Kayal, one of the more prominent Arab Israelis to feature for the national side, is visibly proud of his heritage and having made his debut some seven years ago, feels at home in reciting and listening to the Koran in the dressing room.
“When I say something from the Koran, I really focus,” Kayal said. “People might think that’s special but from the first day I entered the dressing room I’ve been comfortable.”
Kayal has been one of the outstanding midfielders in the Sky Bet Championship and Hemed’s six goals have proved crucial.
“If you had asked most people before the start of the season whether we would be in this position then most wouldn’t have predicted it,” Kayal said.
“Nobody expected us to be up there, but we can do it.”
I fail to understand why it is an 'unlikely friendship'.
