Asael Ben Shabat

Asael Ben Shabat is an Israeli central defender, born on 9 May 1988.

Asael began his football career, when he was 18 years old. In July 2006 the player signed a senior contract with FC Maccabi Tel-Aviv, where he was playing for the “B” team of the club. Just a month and a half later he was offered to join the ranks of FC Maccabi Netanya, where he was offered more first-team opportunities. The deal was clinched on 14 August 2006. There he spent two seasons, seldom featuring with the first team. He spent most of his time there either warming the bench or playing in the reserve teams fixtures.

In 2008 the defender moved to FC Hapoel Kfar Saba, representing the second Israeli division. There he was considered as an important member of the squad and finally got regular first-team football. He managed to make 28 first-team starts and scored two goals during his only season at the club and caught the attention of many other Israeli sides with an illustrious performance on the pitch.

In 2009 the footballer joined FC Hapoel Ironi Nir from Ramat HaSharon, where he immediately won the confidence of the head coach. He made 37 appearances during the next two seasons, hitting the net on 3 occasions and helped his team to get the promotion to the Israeli top division. Usually playing as a sweeper, Asael is still considered as a key member of the first-team squad. This can be easily proved by the fact that he took part in 25 first-team fixtures during the 2011/2012 season, netting a goal.