Lior Asulin

ליאור אסולין‎Personal informationDate of birth (1980-10-06)6 October 1980Place of birth Ra'anana, IsraelDate of death 7 October 2023(2023-10-07) (aged 43)Place of death Re'im, IsraelHeight 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)Position(s) StrikerYouth career1995–1997 Maccabi HerzliyaSenior career*Years Team Apps (Gls)1997–2007 Maccabi Herzliya 128 (48)2002–2003 → Maccabi Petah Tikva (loan) 31 (11)2003–2004 → Bnei Sakhnin (loan) 28 (10)2004–2006 → Beitar Jerusalem (loan) 57 (27)2006–2007 → Bnei Yehuda (loan) 30 (13)2007–2008 Hapoel Tel Aviv 10 (0)2008 → Apollon Limassol (loan) 8 (1)2008–2009 Maccabi Petah Tikva 24 (7)2009–2011 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 23 (11)2011–2012 Hapoel Ramat Gan 27 (12)2012–2013 Hapoel Rishon LeZion 23 (8)2013–2014 Hapoel Petah Tikva 40 (15)2014–2015 Hapoel Ashkelon 15 (8)2015–2016 Hapoel Petah Tikva 24 (4)2016 Hapoel Marmorek 2 (0)2017 Hapoel Nazareth Illit 11 (1) *Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lior Asulin (Hebrew: ליאור אסולין; 6 October 1980 – 7 October 2023) was an Israeli footballer who played as a striker. He was murdered in the Nova music festival massacre by Hamas gunmen in the attack which led to the outbreak of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

Career

Maccabi Herzliya and Ariel Shaiman

A native of Ra'anana, Israel, Asulin grew up in the youth system of Maccabi Herzliya and it was there that he made the jump to Israel's highest league, Israeli Premier League but did not last long as the club was relegated just two seasons after he made the first team. In Liga Leumit Lior scored a league leading twenty-eight goals, so after the 2001–02 season, club chairman Ariel Shaiman loaned Lior out to clubs in the top league and signed him to a long term contract with Herzliya hoping to cash in on a large transfer fee.

During his seasons on loan, Lior has won the State Cup and established himself as one of the top Israeli strikers in the domestic league. Subsequently, after the end of the 2005–06 season, Herzliya chairman Ariel Shaiman disclosed to the media that he received lucrative offers from Olympique de Marseille and OGC Nice from France, from Russia, Turkey, three teams from Cyprus, and from a team in Greece for Asulin's services though nothing has ever come about from said offers.

After winning the State Cup with Bnei Sakhnin, he signed on loan for Beitar Jerusalem.

Hapoel Tel Aviv and Apollon Limassol

In June 2007, Asulin signed for a four-year contract with Hapoel Tel Aviv.

In January 2008 after a not-so-good time in Hapoel he signed for Apollon Limassol on loan.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Hapoel Ramat Gan

From 2009 to 2011 Lior played for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Premier League.

On 17 August 2011, Asulin signed a contract with Hapoel Ramat Gan in Liga Leumit. Asulin helped them win the Leumit double as they won the Toto Cup and the league to secure promotion to the Premier League. He was the club's top scorer in that season, scoring in total 14 goals in all competitions. ^[1][2]

Hapoel Rishon LeZion

On 17 June 2012, after being released by Ramat Gan for poor behavior he signed a new contract with Hapoel Rishon LeZion.^[3] On 4 December 2012, he helped the club win their first trophy when he scored a goal and a penalty in the 2012–13 Toto Cup Leumit finals.^[4]

Death

On 7 October 2023, Asulin was attending a music festival in Re'im, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on the festival during the first day of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. He was among the more than 200 civilians killed during the attack.^[5]

Honours

• Toto Cup (Leumit): 2011, 2012^[6]
• Liga Leumit: 2011–12

Footnotes

External links

• Lior Asulin at WorldFootball.net