Maor Melikson (or Melicsohn,
Early life
Melikson was born in
Yavne,
Israel, to
Ashkenazi Jewish parents. His father was born in
Romanian Jews, whereas his mother was born in
Legnica,
Polish Jews, and both
Aliyah to Israel separately at young age.
He also holds a Polish passport, on account of his mother's birthplace.
Club career
Israel
Born in
Yavne, Melikson started in the youth department of Maccabi Yavne. During the 2001–02 season, he made his senior debut in
Liga Alef in a match against Ironi Ramat HaSharon.
At the end of that season Maccabi Yavne were relegated to
Liga Bet, and Melikson moved to Beitar Jerusalem. At the end of 2005–06 season after not reaching a financial settlement with Beitar,
[ בית"ר ירושלים שיחררה את מאור מליקסון] Melikson decided to join Ligat ha'Al champions, Maccabi Haifa on a three-year contract.
During the 2007–08 season, Maccabi Haifa sold Melikson to Hapoel Kfar Saba.
[ מאור מליקסון נמכר להפועל כפ"ס ] After just six months which included a relegation to
Liga Leumit, he signed in June 2008 a five-year contract with Hapoel Be'er Sheva,
and later was appointed as the team captain.
Wisła Kraków
On 31 January 2011, Melikson joined Polish
Ekstraklasa side Wisła Kraków on a four-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee from Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
[ Maor Melikson zawodnikiem Wisły! 31 January 2011, wisla.krakow.pl] He won the Ekstraklasa championship in his debut season. He was also named the Ekstraklasa Revelation of the Season, even though he only played for one half of the season.
On 27 July, Melikson scored his first goal in European Cups in the first leg of a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round match against Litex Lovech, giving a vital 2–1 win to Wisła. Melikson scored again twice in the second leg and helped Wisła secure qualification for the play-off round, where they eventually lost to APOEL. He picked up an injury in September's league match against Ruch Chorzów, which ruled him out of play until December.
Melikson returned to play the last two UEFA Europa League group stage matches and helped his team to qualify for the round of 32. He was chosen the biggest discovery of Ekstraklasa by other players in Polish Footballers' Association voting, as well as named to the Ekstraklasa Best XI in 2011.
Valenciennes
On 15 January 2013, Melikson joined Ligue 1 club
Valenciennes FC on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee from Wisła Kraków. He made his debut on 25 January in a 2–0 loss against Lyon, coming on as a substitute in the second half.
Return to Beer Sheva
On 10 July 2014, it was announced that Melikson would return to Beer Sheva.
International career
Melikson played in Israel national under-21 football team for several years, and helped the team qualify for the 2007 UEFA Under-21 Championship, but missed out on the final tournament due to injury.
He made his debut for the Israeli senior national team in a friendly match against Uruguay on 26 May 2010.
On 20 September 2011, the Polish Football Association chairman Grzegorz Lato revealed that Melikson in a conversation with him expressed his desire to play for the Poland national football team.
In his first appearance in 2012, Melikson assisted Ben Sahar's goals in a 3–2 home loss to Ukraine in a friendly match.
Career statistics
Club
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |
|
|
| Beitar Jerusalem | 2002–03 | Premier League | 3 |
| 2003–04 | 2 |
| 2004–05 | 2 |
| 2005–06 | 3 |
|
| Maccabi Haifa | 2006–07 | Premier League | 1 |
| 2007–08 | 1 |
|
| Hapoel Kfar Saba | 2007–08 | Premier League | 2 |
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2008–09 | Liga Leumit | 8 |
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 14 |
| 2010–11 | 4 |
|
| Wisła Kraków | 2010–11 | Ekstraklasa | 4 | |
| 2011–12 | 5 | |
| 2012–13 | 1 | |
|
| Valenciennes FC | 2012–13 | Ligue 1 | 2 | |
| 2013–14 | 2 | |
|
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2014–15 | Premier League | 5 | |
| 2015–16 | 7 | |
| 2016–17 | 8 | |
| 2017–18 | 7 | |
| 2018–19 | 4 | |
| 2018–19 | 0 | |
|
|
International goals
- Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Melikson goal.
| + List of international goals scored by Maor Melikson |
|
| Friendly match |
| 3–4 |
| 2014 World Cup qualifying |
Honours
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
-
Israeli Premier League: 2015–16, 2016-17, 2017-18
-
Toto Cup: 2008-09
-
State Cup runner-up: 2014–15
-
Israel Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Wisła Kraków
Individual
-
Ekstraklasa Discovery of the Season: 2010–11
-
Ekstraklasa Revelation of the Season: 2010–11
-
Ekstraklasa Best XI: 2011, 2012
External links
