Salzburg hitman’s silent vigil paved the way for Hoops clash
Salzburg striker Moanes Dabour has revealed the personal heartache behind his mission to pour Europa League misery on Celtic on Thursday.
The Israeli striker has netted four goals in his last five games for Red Bull Salzburg, and averages a goal every other game.
Their easy win against Rangers’ Europa League opponents, Rapid Vienna, last Sunday made it eight wins out of eight in the Austrian Bundesliga.
26-year-old Dabour has revealed his inspiration ahead of the tie, and what’s driving him on to be a success in Europe.
He said: “My father Kasam was killed in a car accident in 2009.
“A few years later, when I was on my way to the airport to go to Switzerland to sign for Grasshoppers, I passed the cemetery where he is buried.
“I stopped and went in to sit with him for an hour and tell him about the transfer. “The dream he and I had since I was little was that I will go to play in Europe.
“When I first went to Switzerland, I missed my family. I was 22 and away from them for the first time. “But I know my dad is always with me, and is happy that I am playing at a good level outside Israel and representing my country.”
Dabour is hoping for a Scottish double next month, with Red Bull facing the champions before Israel host Scotland in the Nations League.
And he’s convinced he will taste two victories after admitting he’s enlisted the assistance of Celtic’s Israeli star, Nir Bitton (above).
He said: “I spoke to Nir immediately after the draw. We’re good friends and have been since we played for Israel’s Under-21s and now the national team.
“I know he’s disappointed to be injured right now. It’s disappointing for Israel, too, because he is a big player for our national team.
“I haven’t seen him for a while, but we are in contact very regularly. I hope to see him while I’m in Glasgow.
“With Israel, we have new staff, and some new players, and we are still getting used to a new competition. The result in Albania, where we lost 1-0, was disappointing. We played well, had a lot of chances, but didn’t score. “We hope to change that in our next matches, at home to Scotland and Albania.”
Red Bull are a classy outfit, and reached the Europa League semifinals last year, only to go out to Marseille in extra time.
After going to Germany and beating RB Leipzig in this season’s group, Dabour admitted: “Of course, we’re confident. We go into every game expecting to dominate and to win.
“That kind of confidence rubs off and make the games simpler to control. You can see on the pitch that everybody is happy and playing well. We will be ready when we play against Celtic.
“The only disappointment for us was losing out in the Champions League. We reached the play-off round and drew 0-0 away to Red Star Belgrade, in an empty stadium because of a UEFA ban.
“Then in Salzburg, I scored twice and we were 2-0 up. But they pulled it back and we went out on away goals.
“So it was vital for us to start the Europa League group in strong fashion, and we did that when we went to Leipzig and won.
“It’s a very tough group. Rosenborg and Celtic are both Champions League teams this season, and Leipzig were in it last season.
“The standard is really high, and every one of the four teams could qualify for the next stage.”