Sportsעמרי אפק

Omri Afek

Omri Afek is a retired Israeli footballer who played for Hapoel Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem, Maccabi Haifa and the Israel national team, and later became a football commentator.

born 1979Hapoel Tel Aviv midfielderIsraeli league titles with three clubsIsrael national team playerSport Channel football commentary

Born: 31 March 1979, Kiryat Ono
Occupation: association football player

Omri Afek was born in 1979 in Kiryat Ono

Omri Afek was born on 31 March 1979 in Kiryat Ono to a Jewish family. He grew up in the youth teams of Hapoel Kiryat Ono before Hapoel Tel Aviv bought his player card. As a child he appeared on the TV show Halom Aleichem, where he asked to play for Maccabi Haifa.

In the 1998/1999 season he was loaned to Maccabi Jaffa and scored several goals. He returned to Hapoel Tel Aviv for the 1999/2000 season and won the league and cup double, and he was named the discovery of the season. In the 2001/2002 season he won the Toto Cup and helped the club reach the UEFA Cup quarterfinal.

In 2003 he moved to Racing de Santander in Spain, alongside Yossi Benayoun and Dudu Aouate, and was later loaned to UD Salamanca. He joined Beitar Jerusalem in the 2005/2006 season and won the league title with the club in the 2006/2007 season. He then played for Maccabi Haifa, winning the title in the 2008/2009 season, and later for Bnei Yehuda.

In 2000 the Israel Football Association court suspended him from the national teams after a youth team affair, and he was pardoned in January 2002. He made his national team debut on 21 August 2002 against Lithuania and scored twice. He earned 27 caps and scored 5 goals, with his last match against Croatia on 15 November 2006.

He retired in September 2011 because of a hip injury. In June 2009 he completed a bachelor's degree in business administration at Ono Academic College, and since 2011 he has been a commentator on the Sport Channel. He is married to Lilach, and the family lives in Ramat HaSharon.