Not every signing announcement comes with a conversion story, but Hapoel Marmorek Rehovot's newest full-back has one worth telling. Shnior Sofer, 25, has put pen to paper with the Liga Alef club, and as ONE reports, his path to organised football only began at an age when most professionals are already established.

Sofer grew up as a yeshiva student in Kfar Chabad, the Chabad-Lubavitch community near Lod, and by his own account never played in a structured league as a boy. "Until age 16, I never played in a professional framework at all," he told ONE, describing a late start that makes his current trajectory all the more unusual.

That changed when he joined the youth ranks at Nahalat Yehuda, his entry point into competitive Israeli football. From there he worked his way into the senior game at Hapoel Ashdod, breaking through with a season that produced ten goals, according to the report, before a brief stint further north with Umm el-Fahm in Liga Alef North.

Now he moves to the club's southern equivalent, joining a Marmorek side that, per ONE, is bracing for a demanding season under coach Danny Tolmasov, who is trying to build a competitive squad on a limited budget simply to hold the team's place in the division.

Sofer, who plays as an attacking left-back, said the decision to sign came down to trust rather than money. He turned down offers with higher wages, telling ONE he chose Marmorek because he knows Tolmasov from before and believes the coach's belief in him will pay off on the pitch.

His transfer was arranged through his representative, attorney Shai Avni, according to the Rehovot outlet BE106, which also confirmed the move to the Marmorek defence.

For his own season, Sofer has set himself ambitious personal targets: 12 goals and 15 assists from full-back, along with regular 90-minute appearances. It's the kind of statement more often heard from an attacker than a defender, but it fits a player who sees the position as a platform to attack from rather than just defend.

Beyond this season, his stated aim is a breakout campaign that opens the door to professional football, whether that ends up being in Israel's higher divisions or overseas. For a club fighting to stay afloat in Liga Alef South, a player with that hunger — and that story — is a useful addition regardless of the numbers he ultimately posts.