Liel Abada ( he, ליאל עבדה, ; born ) is an Israeli professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, to a family of
Mizrahi Jewish
Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...
descent. At the age of 13, his first manager in
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...
took Abada's father Ronen and him to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in Barcelona. His younger brother Orel Abada is also a footballer who plays for
Hapoel Ra'anana
Hapoel Ra'anana Association Football Club ( he, עמותת הפועל רעננה מחלקת כדורגל, ''Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Mahleket Kaduregel'') is an Israeli football club based in the city of Ra'anana. They currently play in Liga Alef ...
. Abada is observant and does not play football on the
Jewish high holiday
The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe")
#strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jewi ...
of
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
.
Except for a 3-month period in 2022, he has been in a relationship with Israeli Bar Rashti since 2020.
Club career
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Abada made his professional debut for
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...
in the Israel State Cup on 22 August 2019, coming on as a 63rd minute substitute against
Hakoah Amidar Ramat Gan
Hakoah Maccabi Amidar Ramat Gan Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הכח מכבי עמידר רמת גן) is an Israeli football club based in Ramat Gan. The club is currently in Liga Alef South division and plays at the Winter Stadiu ...
, in a match that ended in a 4–1 home win for his team. On 9 September 2019, he scored his first senior Israeli
Liga Leumit
Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League.
Structure
There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...
goal in the 90th minute against
Bnei Sakhnin
Bnei Sakhnin F.C. ( ar, اتحاد أبناء سخنين, he, איחוד בני סכנין, ''Ihud Bnei Sakhnin''; ''Ittihad Abna Sakhnin'', ) is an Israeli football club based at the Doha Stadium in Sakhnin. They are the most successful clu ...
, that finished as a 1–1 home draw for Maccabi Petah Tikva. On 30 August 2020, Abada scored his first
Israeli Premier League
The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...
goal, which coincided with his team's 86th minute winning goal, earning his side a 1–2 away victory over
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...
.
Celtic
On 14 July 2021,
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
club Celtic announced the signing of Abada on a five-year contract, for a reported fee of £3.6 million. 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
The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...
, that ended in a 1–1 home draw. On 5 August 2021, Abada scored his first
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
qualifiers goal against Czech side Jablonec, that ended in a 2–4 away win for his team. 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
Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary.
Name
The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary.
History
The development of Fe ...
, that ended in a 2–3 away victory for his team.
On 21 August 2021, in his third
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
appearance, Abada scored both his and Celtic's first two league goals, that lead to a 6–0 home victory over St. Mirren. On 26 December 2021, Abada netted an early brace in a
2021–22 Scottish Premiership
The 2021–22 Scottish Premiership (known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the ninth and current season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football, and the 125th edition overall of the top nationa ...
match against St. Johnstone, earning his team a 1–3 away win.
On 2 May 2022, Abada has become the first ever non-European (and the first
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i) footballer to win the
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...
award.
On 28 August 2022, Abada scored a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
and assisted one goal, in a 9–0 away win against
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
in the
2022–23 Scottish Premiership
The 2022–23 Scottish Premiership (known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is the tenth season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football, and the 126th edition overall of the top national league co ...
. On 3 September 2022, he scored both the first and third goal against Rangers in an
Old Firm
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
derby league match, that ended in a 4–0 home win for Celtic. Abada made his debut
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
Group stage appearance on 6 September 2022, opening against Spanish side Real Madrid. 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.
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".
On 1 September 2023, Abada has signed a new four-year contract with Celtic, keeping him at the club until 2027.
International career
He also plays for Israel's U-21 since 2020.
Abada was first called up to the Israeli senior side on 18 March 2021, ahead of the
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The European section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams that are members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). A total of 13 slots i ...
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
Montenegro
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, 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. He scored his first senior goal against
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, during a
2022–23 UEFA Nations League
The 2022–23 UEFA Nations League is the third season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA in Europe. The competition is being held ...
match on 2 June 2022, which ended in a 2–2 home draw for his native Israel.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Abada goal''.
Honours
Celtic
*
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2022–23
*
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...