Gai Assulin facts for kids
Assulin with Barcelona in 2009
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gai Yigaal Assulin | ||
| Date of birth | 9 April 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Nahariya, Israel | ||
| Height | 1.77 m | ||
| Playing position | Winger, attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–1999 | Hapoel Haifa | ||
| 1999–2003 | Beitar Nes Tubruk | ||
| 2003–2007 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2007–2010 | Barcelona B | 67 | (13) |
| 2009–2010 | Barcelona | 0 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 2012 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Racing Santander | 25 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | Granada | 0 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Mallorca | 32 | (3) |
| 2014–2015 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 6 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Sabadell | (0) | |
| 2018 | Kairat | 6 | (0) |
| 2019–2021 | Politehnica Iași | 14 | (2) |
| 2021 | Crema | ||
| National team | |||
| 2008–2013 | Israel U21 | 22 | (0) |
| 2008 | Israel | 1 | (0) |
|
|||
Gai Yigaal Assulin (Hebrew: גיא יגאל אסולין), born on April 9, 1991, is an Israeli professional footballer. He plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder. He last played for the Italian club Crema.
When he was a teenager, Gai Assulin was part of famous clubs like Barcelona and Manchester City. However, he did not play in a league match for either of their main teams. After that, he played for many different teams, mostly in Spain. This is sometimes called being a "journeyman" in sports.
Assulin also played for his country, Israel. He played 22 times for the Israel national under-21 team. In 2008, he played once for the main senior team. He became the youngest player ever to play for Israel's senior team at that time.
Contents
Early Life and Youth Football
Gai Assulin was born in Nahariya, Israel. He started playing football at a young age. His first club was Hapoel Haifa.
In 1999, when he was seven, he joined the youth team of Beitar Tubruk. When he was just 12 years old in 2003, his coach, Shlomo Scharf, suggested he try out for FC Barcelona. Barcelona is one of the biggest football clubs in the world. Gai was accepted into their famous youth academy.
Club Career Highlights
Time at Barcelona
In August 2007, Assulin moved up to the FC Barcelona B team. This is Barcelona's reserve team for young players. He was offered a new contract, which included a €20 million "buy-out clause." This means another club would have to pay that amount to sign him.
Barcelona B won their league title in the 2007–08 season. Their manager, Pep Guardiola, then became the manager of the main Barcelona team. People thought Assulin might join the first team too.
Gai missed most of the 2008–09 season because of an injury. But he was invited to play in pre-season matches with the main Barcelona team. He made his official debut for the first team on October 28, 2009. This was in a Spanish cup match called the Copa del Rey.
On July 1, 2010, Assulin left Barcelona. They offered him a new contract, but they could not promise him a spot on the main team. They wanted him to stay with the Barcelona B team. So, he decided to look for new opportunities.
Playing for Manchester City
On December 14, 2010, Assulin joined Premier League club Manchester City in England. He signed a contract for two and a half years. He hoped to play alongside his former Barcelona teammate, Yaya Touré.
In early 2011, Assulin played his first game for City's reserve team. He came on as a substitute in a 5–1 win against Newcastle United.
By November 2011, Assulin wanted to play more first-team games. He said he was ready to go on loan to another club. A loan means a player temporarily plays for a different team. On February 17, 2012, he joined Brighton & Hove Albion on a one-month loan. Brighton was in the Championship, which is the second-highest league in England.
Assulin made his debut for Brighton on February 22, 2012. He came on as a substitute in a match against Hull City. After playing in a few games, his loan was extended until the end of the season.
Manchester City released Assulin on May 22, 2012. This meant he was free to find a new club.
Later Career Journey
On July 11, 2012, Assulin signed a one-year deal with Racing de Santander in Spain. They had just been relegated to the Segunda División, which is Spain's second division. He scored his first goal for them on September 15, helping the club get their first win of the season.
After Racing Santander, Assulin continued to play for various clubs. On July 5, 2013, he signed with Granada CF. He was immediately loaned to Hércules CF, another team in the Segunda División. He played regularly for Hércules.
On August 15, 2014, Assulin signed a two-year deal with RCD Mallorca, also in the second division.
In October 2015, Assulin had a trial with Rangers in Scotland, but he was not offered a contract. He then had a short time playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel. This was his first time playing in Israel's top league.
He then returned to Spain and signed for CE Sabadell FC in the third division on August 10, 2016. He left Sabadell in January 2018.
On February 13, 2018, FC Kairat in Kazakhstan announced they had signed Assulin. However, his contract was cancelled by mutual agreement on March 30.
On September 26, 2019, Assulin signed a two-year contract with Politehnica Iași in Romania.
Finally, on February 13, 2021, he joined Crema, a club in Italy's Serie D (a lower league). He left the club at the end of that season.
International Career
Gai Assulin was called up to play for the Israel national team for a friendly match against Chile on March 26, 2008. He made his debut for Israel as a substitute. He came into the game in the 78th minute.
This was just 14 days before his 17th birthday. By playing in this match, he broke the record for the youngest player to debut for the national team. He was 195 days younger than the previous record holder, Ben Sahar. He also played for the Israeli under-21 national team. They prepared for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, which was held in Israel.
