Maor Buzaglo

At the age of 14, Buzaglo joined the youth academy of Olympique Lyonnais in France, where he spent approximately two years.[1] His roommate during that period was Karim Benzema.[1] Despite the promise of a European career, Buzaglo ultimately left Lyon because he had no guardian in France and his parents could not afford to relocate.[1] He later described the departure as a missed opportunity that stayed with him. From Lyon, he wrote to his family: "I will get you out of the financial mire; the name Buzaglo will yet be raised with pride."[1]

Returning to Israel, Buzaglo joined Maccabi Haifa, where he began his senior career.[1] Across Israel's youth national teams he accumulated 64 appearances and 38 goals, with a separate record for the under-19 side of 35 appearances and 21 goals.[2]

Buzaglo's path to prominence ran through a series of loan spells before he established himself as one of the Premier League's leading midfielders. Maccabi Haifa sent him on loan to Hapoel Petah Tikva for the 2006/07 season, and he subsequently moved on loan to Bnei Sakhnin.[1] During his breakout season at Sakhnin, he scored against Beitar Jerusalem in an end-of-season league match and provided the assist for Bogdan Apostu's winning goal.[3] When hostile sections of the Beitar crowd directed abuse at him, he responded by pointing to his shirt number, 11; asked about the fans afterward, he said, "I like their fans."[3]

Maccabi Tel Aviv later paid a reported Israeli-record fee of $2 million to sign Buzaglo from Maccabi Haifa.[1] His first season at the club produced nine goals and 13 assists, yet he recalled being branded the season's failure after Maccabi finished third; the criticism affected him deeply and led him to stop reading football coverage.[1] He later moved to Standard Liège in Belgium, where fractures in his ankle and fibula required surgery and ten months of rehabilitation. After returning to play, a serious knee infection put his life at risk and required six operations in eight days.[1]

A return to Israel brought Buzaglo to Hapoel Be'er Sheva, where he enjoyed the peak of his career. By December 2014, under coach Elisha Levy, he had scored seven goals and made seven assists, benefiting from the trust and freedom Levy gave him on the field.[2] He connected with captain Elianiv Barda and relocated his family closer to the club.[2] His first season with Be'er Sheva brought 13 goals and 13 assists, which he later called the best period of his playing life.[1] He also said he turned down a reported €2.5 million offer from Beşiktaş because he wanted first to win a championship with Be'er Sheva.[1]

On the final day of the 2015/16 season, Buzaglo scored in the 16th minute against Bnei Sakhnin to equalize, setting Be'er Sheva on the way to a 3–1 victory.[4] The result secured the club's first league championship since 1976 and its third title in club history.[4] During the following season, he scored a free kick against Inter Milan in Europe and further free kicks against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Kfar Saba in domestic competition.[5] In Be'er Sheva's home Europa League match against Inter, goalkeeper Samir Handanovic brought Buzaglo down and was sent off; Anthony Nwakaeme converted the resulting penalty to make it 2–2, and Be'er Sheva went on to win 3–2, completing a group-stage double over Inter.[5]

In December 2016, Buzaglo scored in the 77th minute at St Mary's Stadium, arrowing a shot past goalkeeper Fraser Forster as Be'er Sheva secured passage to the Europa League round of 32.[6] Buzaglo later described the Southampton goal as the biggest of his career.[1]

A serious knee injury late in the 2016/17 season interrupted his run of form. In September 2017, while still undergoing rehabilitation, he signed a three-year contract with Maccabi Haifa worth approximately €500,000 per season.[7] After nearly nine months of rehabilitation, he tore his cruciate ligament again during a match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva. He recalled reaching 34 km/h before braking awkwardly and trying to continue playing despite immediately realizing that he was injured.[1]

Following another rehabilitation, Buzaglo spent one season at Beitar Jerusalem before joining Hapoel Tel Aviv ahead of the 2019/20 season.[1] He later said that he developed anxiety during his time at Hapoel, was diagnosed with mononucleosis and sometimes took medication to calm himself before matches.[1] After leaving the club, attempts to return with Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Beitar Jerusalem did not succeed. He formally announced his retirement in January 2022 at age 34.[1]

Buzaglo represented Israel at senior level but never established himself as a regular fixture in the national squad. By 2016 he had made 20 senior appearances, 11 of them in competitive matches, with only three full 90-minute outings.[8] His sole senior international goal came in a March 2014 friendly against Slovakia in Netanya, when he came on as a substitute and scored in the 80th minute with a strike from roughly 25 meters—his first appearance for the national team since October 2011.[9] Slovakia scored again three minutes later to win 3–1.[9]

In a 2016 interview, Buzaglo expressed frustration at the gap between his club form and his national-team opportunities, noting that he had played only 75 minutes in the preceding qualifying campaign while his image was still used in promotional material for the team.[8]

Buzaglo's father, Yaakov, served as his agent and was closely involved throughout his career.[1] Maor credited his father with helping him assess major decisions and instilling core values, while acknowledging that Yaakov's outspoken public interventions sometimes created complications.[1]

In March 2018, while identified as a Maccabi Haifa and Israel national-team player, Buzaglo posted a photograph on Facebook and Twitter with Ashkan Dejagah, captain of Iran's national team.[10] He captioned the image: "In soccer, there are different rules, and there is one language without prejudice and without wars."[10] The post presented soccer as a bridge across the political divide between Israelis and Iranians.

By his own account, the practical end of Buzaglo's career came roughly a year and a half before his formal January 2022 retirement announcement. He described spending five months in a deep depression, rarely leaving home and gaining around seven kilograms.[1] As he moved beyond football, he began establishing a personal-training academy, worked as a Sports Channel commentator and pursued television and music projects.[1] His playing legacy rests especially on two championships with Be'er Sheva, goals against Inter and Southampton in European competition and repeated comebacks from major injuries.[1]

Buzaglo's departure from Hapoel Tel Aviv led to a contested legal dispute. The club released him before his contract ended, and Buzaglo won an arbitration ruling requiring it to pay NIS 1.3 million; Hapoel had appealed the ruling at the time of his 2022 retirement interview.[1] His father's prominent public role also generated recurring tensions during his career. Buzaglo defended Yaakov's influence and values while acknowledging that some of his public interventions made relations with clubs more difficult.[1]