Liel Abada
Abada playing for Celtic in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-10-03) 3 October 2001 (age 22)
Place of birth Petah Tikva, Israel
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger, forward
Team information
Current team
 Celtic
Number 11
Youth career
2006–2014 Hapoel Petah Tikva
2014–2019 Maccabi Petah Tikva
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Maccabi Petah Tikva 67 (20)
2021– Celtic 79 (21)
International career‡
2017 Israel U16 6 (1)
2017–2018 Israel U17 21 (2)
2018 Israel U18 4 (0)
2018–2019 Israel U19 12 (4)
2020– Israel U21 8 (1)
2021– Israel 10 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 February 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 June 2023

Liel Abada (Hebrew: ליאל עבדה, /lɪˈɛl/ li-EL; born (2001-10-03)3 October 2001) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a winger or a forward for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Israel national team.

Early and personal life

Abada was born in Petah Tikva, Israel, to a family of Mizrahi Jewish descent.[2] At the age of 13, his first manager in Maccabi Petah Tikva took Abada's father Ronen and him to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in Barcelona.[3] His younger brother Orel Abada is also a footballer who plays for Hapoel Ra'anana.[3] Abada is observant and does not play football on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur.[4]

Except for a 3-month period in 2022,[5] he has been in a relationship with Israeli Bar Rashti since 2020.[6]

Club career

Maccabi Petah Tikva

Abada made his professional debut for Maccabi Petah Tikva in the Israel State Cup on 22 August 2019, coming on as a 63rd minute substitute against Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan, in a match that ended in a 4–1 home win for his team.[7] On 9 September 2019, he scored his first senior Israeli Liga Leumit goal in the 90th minute against Bnei Sakhnin, that finished as a 1–1 home draw for Maccabi Petah Tikva.[8] On 30 August 2020, Abada scored his first Israeli Premier League goal, which coincided with his team's 86th minute winning goal, earning his side a 1–2 away victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.[9]

Celtic

On 14 July 2021, Scottish Premiership club Celtic announced the signing of Abada on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of £3.6 million.[10] On 20 July 2021, he scored on his debut in the first leg of Celtic's Champions League second round qualifying match against Danish side Midtjylland, that ended in a 1–1 home draw.[11] On 5 August 2021, Abada scored his first UEFA Europa League qualifiers goal against Czech side Jablonec, that ended in a 2–4 away win for his team.[12] On 4 November 2021, he scored the crucial third goal for Celtic in a 2021–22 UEFA Europea League Group stage match against Hungarian side Ferencváros, that ended in a 2–3 away victory for his team.[13]

On 21 August 2021, in his third Scottish Premiership appearance, Abada scored both his and Celtic's first two league goals, that lead to a 6–0 home victory over St. Mirren.[14] On 26 December 2021, Abada netted an early brace in a 2021–22 Scottish Premiership match against St. Johnstone, earning his team a 1–3 away win.[15]

On 2 May 2022, Abada has become the first ever non-European (and the first Israeli) footballer to win the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year award.[16]

On 28 August 2022, Abada scored a hat-trick and assisted one goal, in a 9–0 away win against Dundee United in the 2022–23 Scottish Premiership.[17] On 3 September 2022, he scored both the first and third goal against Rangers in an Old Firm derby league match, that ended in a 4–0 home win for Celtic.[18] Abada made his debut UEFA Champions League Group stage appearance on 6 September 2022, opening against Spanish side Real Madrid.[19] On 19 October 2022, he scored a brace in the span of 11 minutes and later on added an assist against Motherwell in the 2022–23 Scottish League Cup quarter-finals, to lead his team to a 4–0 away victory.[20]

In January 2023, Abada was featured in the official 40-man list composed by UEFA.com – which named the best young players in the continent that: "have the potential to take European football by storm in 2023".[21][22]

On 1 September 2023, Abada has signed a new four-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2027.[23]

International career

He also plays for Israel's U-21 since 2020.[24]

Abada was first called up to the Israeli senior side on 18 March 2021, ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA).[25] He made his senior debut with the Israel national team on 5 June 2021, in a friendly match against Montenegro, where he substituted Yonas Malede in the 61st minute with the score at 0–0; the game ended with a 3–1 away victory for Israel.[26] He scored his first senior goal against Iceland, during a 2022–23 UEFA Nations League match on 2 June 2022, which ended in a 2–2 home draw for his native Israel.[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 31 December 2023[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Maccabi Petah Tikva 2018–19 Israeli Premier League 2 0 1 0 0 0 – 3 0
2019–20 29 8 5 0 0 0 – 34 8
2020–21 36 12 2 1 4 0 – 42 13
Total 67 20 8 1 4 0 – 79 21
Celtic 2021–22 Scottish Premiership 36 10 3 1 3 1 12[c] 3 54 15
2022–23 34 10 4 1 4 2 5[d] 0 47 13
2023–24 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 1
Total 75 21 7 2 8 3 17 3 107 29
Career total 142 41 15 3 12 3 17 3 186 50
  1. ^ Includes Israel State Cup, Scottish Cup
  2. ^ Includes Toto Cup, Scottish League Cup
  3. ^ Two appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, eight appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of 17 June 2023[24]
National team Year Apps Goals
Israel 2021 4 0
2022 5 1
2023 1 0
Total 10 1
Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Abada goal.[29]
List of international goals scored by Liel Abada
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 2 June 2022 Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel  Iceland 1–0 2–2 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Celtic

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ "Liel Abada".
  2. ^ Reporter, Jewish News. "Celtic sign Israeli international winger Liel Abada". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com.
  3. ^ a b "סולומון החדש של הלוזונים: הטירוף סביב ליאל עבדה - ספורט 5".
  4. ^ McGarry, Graeme (15 September 2021). "Liel Abada to miss Real Betis test through religious reasons as Ange Postecoglou mulls over Celtic captaincy". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  5. ^ "כוכב נבחרת ישראל חזר לאקסית: "אני הכי שמחה בעולם"". ספורט 1 (Sport 1 - Maariv) (in Hebrew). 12 June 2022.
  6. ^ "New Celtic star Liel Abada's girlfriend poses in Hoops top after he signs". 9 August 2021.
  7. ^ "מכבי עירוני פתח תקווה 4 : 1 הכח עמידר רמת גן". Israel Football Association. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Maccabi Petah Tikva vs. Bnei Sakhnin - 9 September 2019 - Soccerway".
  9. ^ "Maccabi Tel Aviv vs. Maccabi Petah Tikva - 30 August 2020 - Soccerway".
  10. ^ "Celtic sign Israel winger Abada". BBC Sport.
  11. ^ "Celtic-Midtjylland | UEFA Champions League 2021/22".
  12. ^ "Jablonec-Celtic | UEFA Europa League 2021/22".
  13. ^ "Ferencváros-Celtic | UEFA Europa League 2021/22".
  14. ^ "David Turnbull hat-trick helps Celtic hit another six in thrashing of St Mirren". The Guardian. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  15. ^ "St. Johnstone vs. Celtic - 26 December 2021 - Soccerway".
  16. ^ a b "Celtic take five prizes at PFA Scotland awards, including manager of the year". BBC Sport. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Dundee United 0–9 Celtic: Celtic strolled to an incredible record-breaking away league victory by humiliating beleaguered Dundee United to climb back to the top of the Scottish Premiership". BBC Sport. 28 August 2022.
  18. ^ "Celtic overwhelm Rangers to lay down title marker". BBC Sport.
  19. ^ UEFA.com. "Celtic-Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League 2022/23". UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Abada bags double as Celtic set up Kilmarnock semi". BBC Sport.
  21. ^ UEFA.com (4 January 2023). "Players to watch out for in 2023: Who could star in European football this year?". UEFA.com. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  22. ^ "The curious case of Liel Abada, Celtic's 'breakout star'". Celtic Way. 5 January 2023.
  23. ^ "Liel Abada: Celtic winger agrees new four-year deal". www.skysports.com. Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Israel Football Association - Liel Abada".
  25. ^ "סגל הנבחרת למוקדמות המונדיאל: זימון בכורה לעבדה, רפאלוב בחוץ". הארץ.
  26. ^ "Montenegro v Israel game report". ESPN. 5 June 2021.
  27. ^ "Israel-Iceland | UEFA Nations League 2023".
  28. ^ "Israel - L. Abada - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  29. ^ "Israel - L. Abada - Profil mit News, Karriere Statistiken und Historie - Soccerway". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  30. ^ "Dundee United 1–1 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side reclaim league title". BBC Sport. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  31. ^ Watt, Martin (7 May 2023). "Heart of Midlothian 0–2 Celtic: Ange Postecoglou's side seal back-to-back titles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  32. ^ Duncan, Thomas (3 June 2023). "Celtic 3–1 Inverness CT: Ange Postecoglou's side win Scottish Cup to claim treble". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  33. ^ "Hibernian 1–2 Celtic". BBC Sport.
  34. ^ Moffat, Colin (26 February 2023). "Kyogo strikes twice as Celtic beat Rangers in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 February 2023.

External links

Celtic F.C. – current squad
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
Categories