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 as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Israel national team.
![]() Abada playing for Celtic in 2021 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Date of birth | (2001-10-03) 3 October 2001 (age 21) | ||
Place of birth | Petah Tikva, Israel | ||
Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Winger, forward[citation needed] | ||
Club 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 | 51 | (17) |
National team‡ | |||
2017 | Israel U16 | 6 | (1) |
2017–2018 | Israel U17 | 21 | (2) |
2018 | Israel U18 | 4 | (1) |
2018–2019 | Israel U19 | 12 | (4) |
2020– | Israel U21 | 8 | (1) |
2021– | Israel | 9 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 November 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 September 2022 |
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 Maccabi Petah Tikva.[3] Abada is observant and does not play football on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur.[4]
He has been in a relationship with his Israeli girlfriend Bar Rashti since 2020,[5] after three months separated they have returned to each other since June 2022.[6]
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 winnning goal, earning his side a 1–2 away victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv.[9]
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] On 19 October 2022, Abada 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 0–4 away victory.[19]
Abada made his debut UEFA Champions League Group stage appearance on 6 September 2022, opening against Spanish side Real Madrid.[20]
He also plays for Israel's U-21 since 2020.[21]
Abada was first called-up to the Israeli senior side on 18 March 2021, ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA).[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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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 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
2019–20 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 8 | ||
2020–21 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 13 | ||
Total | 67 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 21 | ||
Celtic | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 36 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 54 | 15 |
2022–23 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 6 | ||
Total | 43 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 64 | 21 | ||
Career total | 110 | 36 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 143 | 42 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Israel | 2021 | 4 | 0 |
2022 | 5 | 1 | |
Total | 9 | 1 |
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
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1. | 2 June 2022 | Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel | ![]() | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B |
Celtic
Individual
Celtic F.C. – current squad | |
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PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year | |
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