Fan who carried Brazil coach’s sleeping grandson gets shirt signed by team

Coach Adenor Leonardo Bacchi asked people to help identify the man during a press conference

Brazil's coach Adenor Leonardo Bacchi with the Palestinian who helped carry his sleeping grandson from Doha's Lusail stadium to the metro station.
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After a week of searching, Brazil's coach Adenor Leonardo Bacchi found the Palestinian football fan who had helped carry his sleeping grandson from Doha's Lusail stadium to the metro station.

The man, wrapped in the Palestinian flag, was seen on a video carrying the sleeping child on November 24 after Brazil won 2-0 against Serbia.

He had offered to help after he saw a woman carrying the child.

After the video went viral, the coach asked for help to identify the man during a press conference ahead of his country’s team match with Switzerland.

“My family was heading to the metro after the match and it was a very long walk — he offered to carry one of my two grandchildren, Luca,” said the coach.

“What I saw is very very beautiful and I would like to meet this Arab man because he showed a sense of solidarity that goes beyond football.”

The man was located on Wednesday and taken to meet Mr Bacchi during the Brazilian team’s training.

He was thanked for his kind gesture.

“Thank you so much for caring, we are brothers regardless of nationality,” Mr Bacchi told the man.

“I'm so humbled, I did not do anything,” the Palestinian man replied.

He was given a shirt signed by the 26-man squad.

“This means the world to me, this is something I can't buy with money and I hope you win in the final,” he said.

Updated: December 01, 2022, 4:34 PM