Omer Yosef Atzili (or Atsili, עומר יוסף אצילי; born 27 July 1993) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a winger for UAE Pro League club Al Ain.
2002
Atzili started his career at Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv's youth setup in 2002.
2010
In 2010, he moved to Israeli side Hapoel Rishon LeZion, spending the last season out of three with them playing for both the youth and senior squads.
2011
Atzili made his senior debut on 30 July 2011, coming on as a 77th minute substitute in a 2–1 home win against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, during the Israel Toto Cup for the Israeli Premier League clubs.
2012
Atzili scored his first senior goal in the Israeli Premier League on 12 May 2012, in a 2–1 home loss against Hapoel Acre; his side also suffered relegation in the end of the season.
Atzili helped his side win the 2012–13 Israel Toto Cup for the Israeli Liga Leumit clubs.
2013
He subsequently became an important unit for the club in Liga Leumit, scoring six goals as his side missed out promotion in the play-offs; highlights included a brace in a 2–2 draw at Maccabi Petah Tikva on 10 May 2013.
On 30 July 2013, Atzili signed a four-year contract with Israeli Premier League club Beitar Jerusalem in the main category.
He made his debut for the club on 24 August by starting in a 2–0 home loss against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and was mainly used as a substitute during his first season.
2015
Atzili only became an undisputed starter for Beitar Jerusalem in the 2015–16 season, where he scored a career-best seven goals.
He also captained Beitar Jerusalem.
2016
Atzili has also haven been a full international from 2016 to 2022, and capped six senior matches for his native Israel.
Atzili was born and raisesd in Holon, Israel, to an Israeli family of Ashkenazi Jewish (Romanian-Jewish) descent.
His maternal grandfather was born in Bucharest, Romania.
He also holds a Romanian passport, on account of his Ashkenazi Jewish ancestors, which eases the move to certain European football leagues.
On 31 August 2016, Atzili signed a four-year deal with Spanish La Liga side Granada CF, for a rumoured fee of €750,000.
He made his debut in the La Liga on 11 September, starting in a 2–1 home loss against SD Eibar.
Atzili played 11 total league and cup matches, starting five, for the Andalusian club.
He did not manage to score, the club was relegated at the end of the 2016–17 season and Atzili left Granada.
Atzili was first called-up to the Israeli senior national team on 31 August 2016, for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers match against Italy.
He then made his senior debut with Israel on 5 September 2016, substituting Nir Bitton in a 1–3 home loss against Italy.
On 10 November 2022, Atzili announced his retirement from the Israel national team.
2017
On 20 June 2017, Atzili signed a four-year deal with Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Tel Aviv.
2018
He married his Israeli girlfriend Or ( Ben David) in 2018.
They have a son who was born in 2018, and a daughter born in 2020.
2020
On 23 August 2020, Atzili signed a two-year contract with the Cypriot First Division club APOEL.
In the mid-season transfer window he was released from his contract, leaving on 5 January 2021.
On 13 January 2021, Atzili signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa.
On 23 August 2022, Atzili assisted his team's last qualifying goal during their 2022–23 UEFA Champions League Play-offs second leg against Serbian side Red Star Belgrade, with a 90th minute free kick that made a rival player score an own goal, earning Maccabi Haifa a 2–2 away draw (5–4 on aggregate), and a place in the UEFA Champions League Group Stage.
On 11 October 2022, Atzili scored both his first and second Champions League goals, by netting a brace in a 2–0 home win over Italian side Juventus, to be his club's first victory in the competition since the 2002–03 season.
He also received UEFA's Player of the Match award for this game.
On 14 June 2023, he signed a three-year deal with UAE Pro League club Al Ain, becoming the first Israeli Jew to play in an Arab country.
His annual salary is estimated to be around $1.9 million, excluding any victory bonuses.
During his presentation, he was introduced as a Romanian player rather than an Israeli.
Prior to accepting the transfer, he had specific requests related to his faith, Judaism, allowing him the freedom to abstain from playing or training during various Israeli and Jewish holidays and memorial days.
Additionally, a clause in the contract states that he will not participate in away matches outside the Emirates for the AFC Asian Champions League.
This provision is in consideration of the potential encounters with clubs from countries that are extremely hostile against Jews and especially against his native Israel, such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon or Syria, among several other Muslim or Arab countries in the AFC competitions.
A great number of Emiratis expressed their opposition to his signing as well.
He represented Israel internationally at youth levels from under-19 to under-21.
In June 2020, Atzili was investigated along with Dor Micha for having consensual intercourse with two minors aged under sixteen.
