From Israel with goals
Soccer A-League club Perth Glory has confirmed that commanding Israeli striker Ben Azubel has signed a two-year contract with the club.
Courtesy Perth Glory
The 28-year-old, who stands 1.93m tall, is a former Israel Under-19 international who has made 75 appearances in the Israeli top-flight and a further 68 in the second division, scoring 43 goals in the process.
He has represented a number of prominent clubs in his homeland, including Hapeol Acre, Hapoel Haifa, Maccabi Netanya and Hapoel Petah Tikva.
Azubel is now looking forward to launching a new chapter of his career in Western Australia.
“I had offers from the top league in Israel and from other countries,” he said, “but I preferred to wait for a challenging offer and that is when the interest came from Perth Glory.
“I am very excited and cannot wait to land in Australia.
“I personally want to connect as quickly as possible to the team and the club and what motivates me most is to make the fans happy.
“I want to impress the fans with my qualities and together with the rest of the players and the whole club, strive to make it a special season.”
Head Coach Ruben Zadkovich, meanwhile, believes that the new recruit is capable of making a major impact on the competition and club alike.
“Ben brings a lot of physical and technical attributes,” he said, “and has the potential to cause a lot of headaches for defenders in this league.
“He is an imposing figure who provides a different outlet in the front third.
“Ben’s an intriguing player who is very professional with his standards and will help us raise the levels within the group.”
“We are delighted to welcome Ben to Perth Glory,” he said.
“Ben will add a different dimension to our ever-evolving squad and at 28, he is at a prime age to really help the team on the pitch.
“We look forward to seeing him flourish in our beautiful city.”
Born in the town of Ganei Tikva, Azubel played his youth football for Maccabi Petah Tikva, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Kfar Saba, eventually making his senior debut for the latter in 2011.
He featured regularly in both of Israel’s top two divisions in subsequent seasons, notably with Hapoel Petah Tikva for whom he scored 15 times in 36 games during 2015-16.
Two campaigns with Hapoel Acre saw the towering frontman continue to impress and having spent 2020/21 back in the top flight with Maccabi Netanya, he enjoyed a highly-productive season in the second tier last year, netting an impressive 16 goals in 31 league appearances for Hapoel Ra’anana to finish third in the competition’s overall top-scorer standings.
At international level, meanwhile, he debuted for Israel Under-19s in November 2011, subsequently featured against both Italy and Portugal and scored twice during his eight overall appearances.
