Golden Leg: The Young Footballer Who Lost a Leg in an Accident Shines in Israel’s Amputee Team
Eighteen-year-old Ben Maman was predicted to have a brilliant future as a footballer. He played as a striker for Beitar Tubruk, kept scoring goals, and even drew interest from a European club – but a car accident, after which doctors had to amputate his strong left leg, ended that dream.
During his rehabilitation, he was introduced to Israel’s national amputee football team, and just last month he scored a goal for them in the Euro tournament in Poland.
“Regular football was my whole life,” he says. “But a year after the serious injury, I’m playing again, scoring again, living again.”
A month ago, at the European Championship for national amputee football teams, 18-year-old Ben Maman swung his right leg and scored a stunning goal for Team Israel — a goal that gave the team its first-ever victory in the Euro tournament, 1–0 against Belgium. A moment of pure joy, after a year filled with many other moments of hardship and pain.
“I was seriously injured in a car accident, and my left leg — my strong leg — was amputated,” recalls someone who, just a year ago, was considered a footballer with a promising future.
“I was overwhelmed with pain and sorrow over losing my leg and, essentially, the dream of a professional football career — the love of my life. I cried and screamed from both physical and emotional pain. I couldn’t find peace,” he remembers.
“Luckily, a month and a half after the accident, I was first introduced to Israel’s national amputee football team, and a year later — here I am, back on the field. Playing, kicking, scoring, living. I feel like I’ve found a place — maybe a different one, but a real one — to be with the ball again.”
We meet at his home in Netanya, just after he returned with the team from the European Championship in Poland. From the window, you can clearly see Maccabi Netanya’s football stadium, only a five-minute walk away. How much Ben would love to be out there, juggling the ball with both legs.
During the interview, he walks through the house wearing the prosthetic fitted for his left leg, explaining that he wears it for only 4–5 hours a day.
“It’s not enough,” he says. “There are people who manage to wear theirs for 18 hours a day. I still struggle with mine. It hurts, and I need long breaks.”
He is the eldest son of Shai (44) and Oshrat (42), and brother to Selin (16) and Matan (8). His father, Shai, works hard to support the family — leaving early in the morning for his job with the municipality on a garbage truck, and working nights as a DJ at events. “Since the accident, we’ve had many expenses because of Ben’s condition,” he says, “and Oshrat is fully dedicated to caring for him.”
From the time he was tiny, Ben remembers himself with any kind of ball — sponge, tennis, soccer — kicking hard at anything that moved under his feet. “I even played soccer with bottles in the street with my friends. All I wanted was to kick, to play football in any way I could. That’s all I cared about.
I remember playing from the age of six, during every school break and of course after school. I’d go with the guys, we’d find an empty field somewhere in the city or neighborhood, and we’d play hard.”
Read the full article on Israel HaYom.
