Marciano backs deadly Dabour to crush Scotland
DEADLY Moanes Dabour has already put Celtic to the sword this season.
And Ofir Marciano has backed his Israel international teammate to do the same to Scotland.
Dabour, 26, bagged a brace as big-spending Red Bull Salzburg swept the Hoops aside on Europa League duty last week, continuing his remarkable scoring record in the competition.
The prolific attacker found the net five times in the tournament last term as the Austrians reached the semi-final stage, narrowly losing out to Marseille for a place in the Lyon showpiece. He also finished as top scorer in the league as Salzburg won their fifth consecutive title.
Hibs keeper Marciano, who boasts 11 caps for his country, admits he is staggered that Dabour is not already plying his trade in one of Europe’s top league, having proved himself as a consistent marksman with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Grasshopper Zurich and Salzburg.
“If you look at Dabour last year, he had a brilliant campaign in the Europa League,” lauded Marciano. “They reached the semifinal and it was like he scored in every game.
“He is one of the best players in our squad at the moment. I don’t know why he isn’t there [in a major European league] at the moment because he’s shown consistently that he is at a really high level.
“Every year he scores about 15 or 20 goals, so I think he’s already at the standard required to be a big success at a top club. It’s just a matter of someone giving him a chance and his team [Salzburg] selling him.
“We [Israel] have good players, especially in the attacking positions. As well as Dabour, we have Tomer Hemed, who was playing for Brighton and is now at QPR. These are players at an excellent level who can really affect the game in the final third.”
Israel have won only one of their last 10 fixtures – a narrow 1-0 triumph in Liechtenstein – and kicked off their Group C1 campaign in the Nations League with a 1-0 reverse against Albania. Their most recent game was a chastening 3-0 defeat in a friendly against Northern Ireland.
Nevertheless, Marciano is anything but downbeat regarding his country’s chances of seeing off the Scots in Haifa tomorrow night as new boss Andi Herzog puts his stamp on the side.
“People might think the standard is not good in Israel, but the view within the country is that we have real talents,” continued Marciano. “We think there is a real chance to beat Scotland. If we start well, press high and try to be dominant then I think we have a good opportunity.
“With the new manager [Herzog] we’re trying to build a good group that can go further and try to involve the young players. The Nations League can give those players a chance.”
Given he has been plying his trade in Scotland for two years – and was even a teammate of Scotland star John McGinn – Marciano is well-placed to carry out spying duties on behalf of his compatriots.
“I can’t tell you that. It is a national secret!” he said.
‘‘ We think there is a real chance to beat Scotland