Ofek Melika-Aharon ( he, אופק מליקה-אהרון; born 23 January 2005) is an Israeli professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Israeli club

Maccabi Petah Tikva Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...

and the Israel national under-19 team.

Early life

Melika-Aharon was born and raised in

Givatayim Givatayim ( he, גִּבְעָתַיִים, lit. "two hills") is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population o ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to an Israeli family of

Mizrahi Jewish Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...

descent. He hails from a family of Israeli football goalkeepers, with his grandfather

Shmuel Malika-Aharon Shmuel Malika-Aharon (1 January 1947 – 16 August 2011) was an Israeli footballer. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as ...

and uncle Meir Melika, both playing for the Israel national team. He is also the son of Yaron Melika, who played as a goalkeeper in the Israeli Premier League.

Club career

Melika made his senior debut for

Hapoel Ra'anana Hapoel Ra'anana Association Football Club ( he, עמותת הפועל רעננה מחלקת כדורגל, ''Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Mahleket Kaduregel'') is an Israeli football club based in the city of Ra'anana. They currently play in Liga Alef ...

on 4 April 2022, playing 90 minutes in a

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

away match against

Hapoel Ramat Gan Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל רמת-גן גבעתיים, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim'') is an Israeli football club from Ramat Gan and Givatayim. They currently play in Liga Leumit, ...

, that ended in a 2–1 win.

International career

He is a youth International for

, who plays for the under-17 national team since 2021.

Career statistics

Club

External links

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References

2005 births Living people Israeli Mizrahi Jews Israeli men's footballers Footballers from Givatayim Hapoel Ra'anana A.F.C. players Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Israel men's youth international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers {{Israel-footy-bio-stub