Lior Refaelov facts for kids
Refaelov with Club Brugge in 2011
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lior Refaelov | ||
| Date of birth | 26 April 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Or Akiva, Israel | ||
| Height | 1.76m | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Maccabi Haifa | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2004 | Maccabi Haifa | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2011 | Maccabi Haifa | 194 | (32) |
| 2011–2018 | Club Brugge | 234 | (53) |
| 2018–2021 | Royal Antwerp | 112 | (38) |
| 2021–2023 | Anderlecht | 91 | (25) |
| 2023– | Maccabi Haifa | 54 | (10) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002–2003 | Israel U17 | 13 | (4) |
| 2004 | Israel U18 | 4 | (1) |
| 2004 | Israel U19 | 9 | (2) |
| 2006–2008 | Israel U21 | 17 | (4) |
| 2007–2017 | Israel | 40 | (6) |
† Appearances (Goals). |
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Lior Refaelov (born April 26, 1986) is a talented Israeli football player. He is known for playing as an attacking midfielder or a winger. Currently, he plays for the Israeli club Maccabi Haifa.
Lior started his football journey at Maccabi Haifa, where he helped his team win the Israeli Premier League championship three times. Later, in 2011, he moved to Club Brugge in Belgium. There, he won two league titles and scored the winning goal in the Belgian Cup final in 2015.
He first played for the Israeli national team in 2007. Lior played 40 games for his country and scored 6 goals.
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About Lior Refaelov
Lior Refaelov was born in Or Akiva, Israel. His parents were from a group called Mountain Jews (Kavkazim). They moved to Israel from Derbent, Dagestan before Lior was born.
In 2012, Lior married his Israeli girlfriend, Gal.
Lior's Club Career
Lior Refaelov began playing football in 1998. He joined the youth teams of Maccabi Haifa. By the 2002–03 season, he moved up to the club's main youth team. He even scored in his very first game against Neve Yossef.
During the 2003–04 season, he scored 7 goals for the youth team. He helped them win the youth championship and was named the best player.
Playing for Maccabi Haifa
Lior scored his first goal for the senior team in the 2005–06 season. It was a penalty kick against Hapoel Nazareth Illit. Maccabi Haifa won that game 6–0.
In the 2008–09 season, Lior scored 9 goals. This helped Maccabi Haifa win the Israeli league championship for the 11th time.
At the end of the 2010–11 season, Lior was voted 'Player of the Year' in Israeli football. Between 2004 and 2011, he was a key player for Maccabi Haifa. He helped them win the Israeli Premier League title three times.
Time at Club Brugge
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On June 20, 2011, Lior Refaelov joined Belgian Pro League team Club Brugge.
In his first season with Brugge, he scored 7 goals and made 9 assists. The club finished second in the Belgian league that year. The next season, Lior was in great form, scoring 12 goals and making 10 assists.
In the 2013–14 season, he scored 5 goals and made 14 assists. He was one of the most important players as the club finished third in the league.
On November 6, 2014, Lior scored three goals in one game (a hat-trick). This happened when Brugge won 4–0 against FC Copenhagen in the UEFA Europa League.
On March 22, 2015, he scored the winning goal in the Belgian Cup final. His goal in added time helped Brugge beat Anderlecht. This was Brugge's first trophy in eight years.
A year later, he scored in the 2016 Belgian Cup Final again. However, Club Brugge lost that final 1–2 to Standard Liège. That same season, he helped Club Brugge win their first league title in 11 years. He played in 15 league games as the club won the championship.
Playing for Royal Antwerp
On August 30, 2018, Refaelov joined another Belgian team, Royal Antwerp, on loan. He scored his first goal for them on September 16. It was in a 5–1 league win against Zulte Waregem.
In May 2019, Lior officially joined Antwerp permanently. He signed a contract to stay with the club until 2021. On August 1, 2020, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against his old team, Club Brugge. This was in the 2020 Belgian Cup Final.
On October 29, 2020, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Tottenham Hotspur. This was during the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.
In January 2021, Lior was given the Belgian Golden Shoe award for 2020. He was the third Antwerp player to win this award. He received the most votes, beating other top players.
Lior helped Antwerp qualify for the league play-offs. However, he was later removed from the team. This happened after he announced he would be moving to Anderlecht in the summer.
Time at Anderlecht
On April 26, 2021, it was announced that Refaelov would move to Anderlecht on July 1. He signed a two-year contract with the club. On December 5, 2021, Lior scored two goals in a 3–2 home win against Zulte Waregem.
Lior was a regular player under coach Vincent Kompany. Anderlecht finished third in the league during Lior's first season (2021-22). He scored 19 goals and made six assists in all games. This was Lior's best goal-scoring season ever.
However, the club faced some challenges. Coach Kompany left at the end of the season. Anderlecht finished 11th in 2022-23, which was their lowest finish since 1937.
Even though they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League, Lior was released from the team at the end of the 2022-23 season.
International Career
Lior Refaelov played for Israel in the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Portugal. He scored his team's only goal in that tournament. It was in a 1–2 loss to England U-17 on May 7, 2003.
As part of the Israel U-21 team, he won the Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament in 2006.
He first played for the Israeli senior national team in a friendly game. This was against Belarus on August 22, 2007. His next game was another friendly on May 27, 2010, against Uruguay. He scored a goal in that game.
On March 15, 2022, Lior Refaelov announced that he was retiring from the Israel national team.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Maccabi Haifa | 2004–05 | Israeli Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| 2005–06 | Israeli Premier League | 19 | 1 | — | 19 | 1 | ||||||
| 2006–07 | Israeli Premier League | 25 | 1 | — | 25 | 1 | ||||||
| 2007–08 | Israeli Premier League | 27 | 3 | — | 27 | 3 | ||||||
| 2008–09 | Israeli Premier League | 33 | 9 | — | 33 | 9 | ||||||
| 2009–10 | Israeli Premier League | 34 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 46 | 8 | |||||
| 2010–11 | Israeli Premier League | 27 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 11 | |||||
| Total | 167 | 32 | 14 | 1 | 181 | 33 | ||||||
| Club Brugge | 2011–12 | Belgian Pro League | 32 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 7 |
| 2012–13 | Belgian Pro League | 28 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 36 | 12 | |
| 2013–14 | Belgian Pro League | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 37 | 5 | |
| 2014–15 | Belgian Pro League | 30 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 38 | 18 | |
| 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 15 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 7 | |
| 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
| 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 4 | |
| Total | 177 | 40 | 15 | 3 | 41 | 10 | 47 | 10 | 224 | 53 | ||
| Royal Antwerp (loan) | 2018–19 | Belgian Pro League | 34 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 11 |
| Royal Antwerp | 2019–20 | Belgian Pro League | 24 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 33 | 13 | |
| 2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 5 | — | 43 | 14 | ||
| Total | 91 | 30 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 112 | 38 | ||
| Anderlecht | 2021–22 | Belgian Pro League | 37 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 19 |
| Career total | 406 | 102 | 27 | 10 | 70 | 18 | 48 | 11 | 551 | 141 | ||
International Goals
- Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Refaelov goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 May 2010 | Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay |  Uruguay |
1–1 | 1–4 | Friendly |
| 2 | 17 November 2010 | Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel |  Iceland |
3–0 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | 11 October 2011 | Ta' Qali National Stadium, Mdina, Malta |  Malta |
1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualification |
| 4 | 6 February 2013 | Netanya Stadium, Netanya, Israel |  Finland |
2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 26 March 2013 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Northern Ireland |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA |
| 6 | 24 March 2017 | El Molinón, Gijón, Spain |  Spain |
1–3 | 1–4 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA |
Awards and Honours
Maccabi Haifa
- Israeli Premier League: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11
- Israel Toto Cup (Ligat Ha'Al): 2005–06
- Israel Super Cup: 2023
Club Brugge
- Belgian Pro League: 2015–16, 2017–18
- Belgian Cup: 2014–15
- Belgian Super Cup: 2016
Royal Antwerp
- Belgian Cup: 2019–20
Individual Awards
- Footballer of the Year in Israel: 2010–11
- Belgian Pro League Player of the Month: March 2014
- Belgian Golden Shoe: 2020
See also
In Spanish: Lior Refaelov para niños
- List of Jewish footballers
- List of Jews in sports
- List of Israelis
