Shaker Asad (born August 18, 1979) is a Palestinian former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

midfielder who spent three seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

and one in the USL First Division. He also played for the Palestinian national team.

Club career

Early career

Asad was born in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina where he attended Athens Drive High School. Asad was First Team All-ACC at N.C. State in 1999, when he led the Wolfpack with 19 points.

Professional

The New England Revolution of

(MLS) picked Asad in the third round (31st overall) in the

2000 MLS SuperDraft The 2000 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 6, 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and consisted of six rounds. One of the most successful draft picks was goalkeeper Nick Rimando, a third round pick, who went on to hold the record ...

. He saw minimal time in 2000 as the Revs loaned him to the MLS Project-40 team. In 2001, Asad played in nineteen games before being traded on August 15, 2001, along with

Johnny Torres Johnny Torres (born April 24, 1976) is a Colombian-American soccer midfielder and coach who is currently the head coach of his alma mater, Creighton University. Torres has played in Major League Soccer, USL-1, and also played for the Omaha Vi ...

, to the Miami Fusion in exchange for Leo Cullen. He played only one game with the Fusion, which folded at the end of the season. On January 11, 2002, the Revolution drafted Asad for a second time, this time in the third round (22nd overall) of the 2002 MLS dispersal draft. He played in only six games with the Revolution, which loaned him to the Charleston Battery of the USL First Division. In August 2002, he was injured while playing on loan to the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

in an exhibition game with the Rochester Raging Rhinos. The Revs waived him on November 4, 2002, and Asad moved to the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

of the USL for the 2003 season. He is not recorded as playing after that.

International

From 2002, Asad played several years with the Palestinian national team. His first game was a 1–1 tie with Jordan on February 16, 2002, and his last recorded game was a 2–1 loss to Iraq on June 19, 2004.Palestine International Results
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External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asad, Shaker 1979 births Living people Atlanta Silverbacks players Charleston Battery players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Association football midfielders Major League Soccer players Miami Fusion players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players New England Revolution players Palestinian expatriate footballers Palestinian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Palestinian footballers People from Gaza City A-League (1995–2004) players MLS Pro-40 players New England Revolution draft picks Athens Drive High School alumni Palestine international footballers