Lior Refaelov (or Rafaelov, ; born 26 April 1986) Was an Israeli former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or as a winger. He began his career at Maccabi Haifa, where he won the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

three times. In 2011, he transferred to Club Brugge for €2.5 million. With the Belgian side, he won two first division titles in 2016 and 2018 and scored the winning goal in the

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

final in 2015. Refaelov made his senior international debut in 2007, and has since earned 40

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and scored 6 goals for the Israel national team.

Early and personal life

Refaelov was born in

Or Akiva Or Akiva () is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, on the country's coastal plain. It is located inland from the ancient port city of Caesarea and the Mediterranean Sea, and to the north of the city of Hadera. It is south of Haifa and ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, to

Mountain Jewish Mountain Jews are the Mizrahi Jews, Mizrahi Jewish subgroup of the eastern and northern Caucasus, mainly Azerbaijan, and various republics in the Russian Federation: Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Kabardino-Balkaria. M ...

(Kavkazim) parents who

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

to Israel prior to his birth. He married his Israeli girlfriend Gal ( Aviv) in 2012.

Club career

In 1998, Refaelov began to play in

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

youth teams. In the 2002–03 season he moved up from the under-16 team to the youth team of the club, and scored in his first match against Neve Yossef. During the 2003–04 season he scored 7 goals in the youth team, lead it to the youth championship and won the best player award.

Maccabi Haifa

Refaelov scored his first goal in the senior during the 2005–06 season on a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

against Hapoel Nazareth Illit, a game which Haifa won 6–0. In the 2008–09 season, he finished with 9 goals as Maccabi Haifa won the Israeli league championship for the 11th time. At the conclusion of the 2010–11 season, he was voted 'Player of the Year' in the Israeli football. Between 2004 and 2011, he proudly wore the Maccabi Haifa Football Club jersey, contributing significantly to the team's triumphs in the Israeli Premier League, securing the title thrice.

Club Brugge

On 20 June 2011, Refaelov signed with

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

side

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

for a fee of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

4 million euro and 15% from the next sale. In his first season with the Brugge he scored 7 goals and made 9 assists in all club competition as the club finished as runners-up in the Belgian league. In the next season, Refalov had a great form as he scored 12 goals and made 10 assists. In the 2013–14 season he scored 5 goals and made 14 assists and was one of the most valuable players of the club as they finished third in the league. On 6 November 2014, he scored a hat-trick as Brugge won 4–0 away to

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen (, ), commonly known as F.C. København, F.C. Copenhagen, Copenhagen, or simply FCK, is a Danish professional football club based in Copenhagen. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on top of Kjøbenhavns Boldklu ...

to go top of their

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

group. On 22 March 2015, he scored with an added-time volley the winning goal in the

final, as Brugge defeated

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

for their first trophy in eight years. A year later he repeated the feat, scoring in the 2016 Belgian Cup Final, however this time around Club Brugge lost the final 1–2 to

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

. That same season, he helped Club Brugge win their first league title in 11 years, making 15 league appearances as the club edged out Gent in the final days of the campaign.

Royal Antwerp

On 30 August 2018, Refaelov joined fellow Belgian First Division A side

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

on an initial season-long loan. He scored his first goal for the club in a 5–1 league victory over Zulte Waregem on 16 September. On 9 December, Refaelov netted twice in a 3–0 victory over

Cercle Brugge K.S.V. Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Their matricule number is 12. The club plays home games at the 29, ...

, moving within four points of league leaders Genk through 18 matches. In May 2019, Refaelov made his move to Antwerp permanent, signing a contract with the club until 2021. On 1 August 2020, Refaelov scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over his former team Club Brugge in the 2020 Belgian Cup Final. On 29 October 2020, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in the

2020–21 UEFA Europa League The 2020–21 UEFA Europa League was the 50th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 12th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Villarreal defeated Manchester United i ...

. In January 2021, he was awarded with the

Belgian Golden Shoe In association football, the Belgian Golden Shoe (, , German: ''Goldener Schuh'') is an award given in Belgium at the beginning of each civil year to the best footballer of the Belgian Pro League for the past year. The trophy is sponsored by the B ...

for 2020. He became the third Antwerp player to win the Golden Boot and the first since

Wilfried Van Moer Wilfried van Moer (1 March 1945 – 24 August 2021) was a Belgian association football, footballer who won the Belgian Golden Shoe three times, first in 1966 while at R. Antwerp F.C., Antwerp then in 1969 and in 1970 while at Standard Liège. ...

in 1966. Refaelov collected 271 points from the 196 ballots, ahead of Beerschot midfielder

Raphael Holzhauser Raphael Holzhauser (born 16 February 1993) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He is currently unemployed after most recently playing for Maltese Premier League club Marsaxlokk. Club career Holzhauser w ...

(187) and the prolific Genk striker

Paul Onuachu Ebere Paul Onuachu (born 28 May 1994) is a Nigerian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Southampton F.C., Southampton and the Nigeria national football team, Nigeria n ...

(86). Refaelov helped Antwerp qualify for the 2020-21 Belgian Pro League title play-offs, but was dropped from the squad completely after announcing he would be moving to Anderlecht in the summer.

Anderlecht

On 26 April 2021, it was announced that Refaelov would move to Belgian First Division A side

on 1 July, signing a two-year contract. On 5 December 2021, Refaelov scored a brace in a 3–2 home win against Zulte Waregem. Refaelov was a regular starter under

Vincent Kompany Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He is currently the head coach of ...

as Anderlecht finished third in the Israeli's first season at the club for 2021–22, scoring 19 goals and supplying six assists in all competitions in the process, Refaelov's best-ever goals tally for a single season. But continuing boardroom upheaval and the re-emergence as a force of neighbours Union St-Gilloise, who had beaten Anderlecht a record four times in the league campaign, resulting in Kompany being let go at the end of the season, moving to

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. Replacements

Felice Mazzu Felice is a unisex given name. It is a common name in Italian, where it is equivalent to Felix. Notable people with the name include: Arts and entertainment Acting *Felice Andreasi (1928–2005), Italian actor *Felice Farina (born 1954), Italia ...

and Brian Riemer failed to make waves domestically with Anderlecht slumping to 11th in 2022–23, their lowest finish since 1937. Despite reaching the quarter-finals of the

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

, only losing to

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known internationally as AZ Alkmaar, or simply and most commonly as AZ () in the Netherlands, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan#The Zaan district, Zaan district. ...

on penalties in the last-eight, Refaelov was released at the end of the 2022–23 season.

International career

Refaelov represented Israel in the

2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship The 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the second edition of UEFA's UEFA European Under-17 Championship. Portugal hosted the championship, during 7–17 May. The format of the competition changed, and only 8 teams entered the competition ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, scoring his international youth side's only goal in the tournament in a 1–2 loss to England U-17 on 7 May 2003. As part of the Israel U-21, he won the

Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament Valeriy Lobanovskyi Memorial Tournament () is an international football tournament established in honour and memory of Valeriy Lobanovskyi since his death on 13 May 2002, hence the name Memorial. The idea was initiated by the FC Dynamo Kyiv managem ...

2006. He made his debut for the Israeli senior national side in an friendly against

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

on 22 August 2007, replacing

Idan Tal Idan Tal (; born 13 September 1975) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Early life Tal was born in Beersheba, Israel, and is Jewish. He lives in Haifa, is married to Doreen, and has two children, Miron and Am ...

for the last nine minutes of a 1–2 away defeat. His next appearance came in another friendly match on 27 May 2010, against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

at the

Estadio Centenario Centenario Stadium (, ; , named after the Constitution of Uruguay of 1830, centenary of Constitution of Uruguay, Uruguay's Constitution) is an association football stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay. Located in the Parque Batlle, Parque Battle neig ...

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

; he scored the equaliser in a 1–4 away defeat. On 15 March 2022, Refaelov announced his retirement from the Israel national team.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Refaelov goal''.

Honours

Maccabi Haifa *

: 2005–06, 2008–09,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

* Israel Toto Cup (Ligat Ha'Al): 2005–06 *

Israel Super Cup The Israel Super Cup, also known as the Champion of Champions (, Aluf HaAlufim), is an Israeli association football club competition played as a single match between the winner of the latest Israeli top league champions and the winner of the late ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Club Brugge *

: 2015–16, 2017–18 *

: 2014–15 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Royal Antwerp *Belgian Cup: 2019–20 Individual * Footballer of the Year in Israel: 2010–11 *

Player of the Month: March 2014 *

: 2020

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Refaelov, Lior 1986 births Living people Israeli Mizrahi Jews Israeli men's footballers Footballers from Or Akiva Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Club Brugge KV players Royal Antwerp F.C. players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Israeli Premier League players Belgian Pro League players Israeli people of Mountain Jewish descent Israeli expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Israel men's youth international footballers Israel men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football wingers Israel men's international footballers Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients 21st-century Israeli sportsmen