Lior Refaelov

Lior Refaelov

Refaelov with Club Brugge in 2011
Personal information
Full name Lior Refaelov
Date of birth (1986-04-26) 26 April 1986
Place of birth Or Akiva, Israel
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Club Brugge
Number 8
Youth career
1998–2004 Maccabi Haifa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2011 Maccabi Haifa 161 (30)
2011– Club Brugge 160 (39)
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– Israel 36 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 April 2017.
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 24 March 2017

Lior Refaelov[1] (or Lior Rafaelov, Hebrew: ליאור רפאלוב‎‎; born 26 April 1986) is an Israeli footballer who plays for Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge as an attacking midfielder or winger.

He began his career at Maccabi Haifa, where he won the Israeli Premier League three times. In 2011, he transferred to Brugge for €2.5 million, and scored the winning goal in the Belgian Cup final in 2015.

Refaelov made his senior international debut in 2007, and has since earned over 30 caps for Israel.

Club career

Maccabi Haifa

In 1998, Refaelov began to play in Maccabi Haifa youth teams. In the 2002–03 season he moved up from the under-16 team to the youth team of the club, and scored already in his first 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. His first goal in the first team he scored at 2004–05 season on a penalty kick against Hapoel Nazareth Illit, a game which Haifa won 6–0.

In the 2008–09 season, he scored 9 goals and won the championship with Maccabi Haifa.

In the 2010–11 season, He was voted 'player of the year' in the Israeli football.

Club Brugge

Refaelov in the Club Brugge in 2015.

On 20 June 2011, Refaelov signed with Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge for a fee of €2.5 million and 15% from the next sale.[2]

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 to go top of their UEFA Europa League group.[3]

On 22 March 2015, he scored with an added-time volley the winning goal in the Belgian Cup final, as Brugge defeated Anderlecht for their first trophy in eight years.[4] A year later he repeated the feat, scoring in the 2016 Belgian Cup Final, however this time around Club Brugge lost the final 2-1 to Standard Liege.

International career

Refaelov represented Israel in the 2003 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Portugal, scoring three goals.

He made his debut for the national team in an away friendly against Belarus on 22 August 2007, replacing Idan Tal for the last nine minutes of a 1–2 defeat. His next appearance came on 26 May 2010, against Uruguay at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo; he scored the equaliser in a 1–4 defeat.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 2 August 2017 [5]
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Maccabi Haifa 2004–05 Ligat HaAl 20 20
2005–06 191 191
2006–07 251 251
2007–08 273 273
2008–09 339 339
2009–10 347 12[lower-alpha 1]1 468
2010–11 2711 2[lower-alpha 2]0 2911
Maccabi Haifa F.C. 16732 141 18133
Club Brugge 2011–12 Pro League 3262012[lower-alpha 2]100467
2012–13 2810107[lower-alpha 3]2003612
2013–14 334202[lower-alpha 2]100375
2014–15 30104214[lower-alpha 2]6004818
2015–16 156511[lower-alpha 2]000217
2016–17 Belgian First Division A 212101[lower-alpha 1]01[lower-alpha 4]0242
2017–18 10002[lower-alpha 1]00030
Club Brugge KV 1603815339101021551
Career total 3277015353111039684
  1. 1 2 3 Appearances in the Champions League
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearances in the Europa League
  3. ↑ Five appearances and two goals in the Europa League and two appearances in the Champions League
  4. ↑ Appearance in the Belgian Super Cup

International

Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first.[6]
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, Jaffa, 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
6. 24 March 2017 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain  Spain 1–3 1–4 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Maccabi Haifa
Club Brugge

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Profile page at the Israel Football Association website
  2. ↑ Ben Dor, Doron (21 June 2011). "Lior Refaelov moving to Club Brugge" (in Hebrew). One. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  3. ↑ Vinde, Nicklas (6 November 2014). "Club Brugge's Refaelov runs rings round FCK". UEFA. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Club Brugge win Belgian Cup final thriller". UEFA. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Lior Refaelov at Soccerway. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Refaelov, Lior". National Football Teams. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
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