Shaker Asad (born August 18, 1979) is a Palestinian former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who spent three seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

and one in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

. He also played for the Palestinian national team. Asad is currently on the staff of Wake FC.

Club career

Early career

Asad was born in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, and grew up in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

where he attended

Athens Drive High School Athens Drive Magnet High School, formerly known as Athens Drive High School, is a secondary Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County public high school in southwestern Raleigh, North Carolina, that serves grades 9–12. As of 2023–2024 ...

. Asad was second team All-ACC in 1998, and First Team All-ACC at N.C. State in 1999, when he led the Wolfpack with 19 points. Asad, who was regarded as one of the top midfielders in the ACC Conference, announced in January of 2000 that he would forgo his final year of eligibility in order to make himself available for the MLS draft.

Professional

The

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

(MLS) picked Asad in the third round (31st overall) in the

2000 MLS SuperDraft The 2000 Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft was held on February 6, 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and consisted of six rounds. One of the most successful draft picks was goalkeeper Nick Rimando, a third round pick, who went on t ...

On February 4, 2000. He had a penalty saved in the 2000 U.S. Open Cup second round, en route to a 1-0 Revolution loss to the Mid Michigan Bucks. Asad made his MLS debut on June 21, 2000 in a 2-2 draw against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

. In that match, he recorded his first professional assist, setting up Mauricio Wright's 91st-minute equalizing goal. Asad earned his first start on July 12, 2000 in a 4-1 loss to the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

. Ultimately Asad saw minimal time in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, as the Revs loaned him to the MLS Project-40 team. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, Asad played in nineteen MLS matches for the Revolution, scoring his first MLS goal (and recording an assist) on June 20, 2001, in the 88th minute of a 3-3 overtime draw against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

in front of 31,211 at

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...

. Asad had a successful 2001 U.S. Open Cup campaign, recording two goals and an assist in three matches played. Asad scored the opening goal of the Revolution's 7-1 victory over the Mid Michigan Bucks in the second round on June 27. He also scored the opening goal against the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

in the tournament's third round on July 11. On August 15, 2001, Asad, along with Johnny Torres, to the

Miami Fusion Miami Fusion F.C. was an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team played from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one ...

in exchange for Leo Cullen. He played only one game with the Fusion (8 total minutes), which folded at the end of the season. On January 11, 2002, the Revolution drafted Asad for a second time, this time in the third round (22nd overall) of the 2002 MLS dispersal draft. He played in only six games with the Revolution, which loaned him to the

of the

. In August 2002, he was injured while playing on loan to the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...

in an exhibition game with the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American association football, soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-Major League Soccer ...

. The Revs placed Asad on waivers on November 4, 2002, and Asad moved to the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

of the USL for the 2003 season. He is not recorded as playing after that.

International

From 2002, Asad played several years with the Palestinian national team. His first game was a 1–1 tie with

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

on February 16, 2002, and his last recorded game was a 2–1 loss to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

on June 19, 2004.Palestine International Results
/ref>

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asad, Shaker 1979 births Living people Footballers from Gaza City Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Charleston Battery players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football midfielders Major League Soccer players Miami Fusion players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players New England Revolution players Palestinian expatriate men's footballers Palestinian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Palestinian men's footballers A-League (1995–2004) players MLS Pro-40 players New England Revolution draft picks Athens Drive High School alumni Palestine men's international footballers 21st-century Palestinian sportsmen