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AMSTERDAM: Scoring goals is arguably the hardest task in football, but for new Aberdeen signing and Palestine international Oday Dabbagh that has been the easy part.

His first professional goal came at his hometown club Hilal Al-Quds three weeks after he turned 17. Nine years later, Dabbagh’s performances have landed him a spot in the Scottish Premiership via Kuwait, Portugal and Belgium.

A difficult six months saw Dabbagh limited to an average of 32 minutes across 15 league appearances for Charleroi this season. When he netted his first goal of the campaign against Standard Liege in November he earned a point for his club and the ire of his own fans after making a shushing gesture towards them.

In the aftermath, Palestine’s all-time leading scorer was limited to just 36 minutes in four appearances and shortly after all parties agreed that a change of scenery would be best.

The loan to Aberdeen, engineered in the last days of the winter transfer window, comes with an option to buy in the region of $1m that can be triggered at the end of the season. The forward’s exploits were well known to the club’s head of recruitment, Nuno de Almeida, who was at Rio Ave and watched the then-unknown Palestinian’s goals lift Arouca from the relegation zone to Europe in just two seasons.

Commenting on his move to the Scottish Premiership, Dabbagh said: “I am very happy to be joining AFC and look forward to meeting my teammates, the coaches and people around the club. I am looking forward to the challenge and I am hopeful I will repay the trust everyone has shown in me with good performances for the team.”

The 26-year-old has faced plenty of adversity since leaving Hilal Al-Quds in 2019. A turbulent first year abroad in Kuwait saw him suffer a broken collarbone, contract COVID-19 and play for three different clubs. The scar tissue from that time laid the foundation for success as his sophomore campaign saw him lead Al-Arabi to their first league title in two decades. His parent club, Al-Qadsia, could only watch as a player they deemed surplus to requirements mere months earlier won the competition’s Golden Boot.

Dabbagh’s resilience was further tested in Arouca when visa issues caused his debut to be delayed by several weeks. It made little difference, with the player finding the net on his third appearance for the club after just 34 minutes on the pitch. A haul of four goals and an assist in his first season netted four points for the club, which escaped the relegation playoffs by a meager two points.

In his second year at Arouca, a contractual dispute hampered an otherwise fine season that concluded with 11 goals in 21 appearances across all competitions. Dabbagh signed a pre-contract with Charleroi in February 2023 and was promptly frozen out of Arouca’s squad.

Dabbagh’s response was once again emphatic. He enjoyed his best spell with Charleroi early in the 2023/24 season, with five goal involvements over the first 10 match days.

Aberdeen FC supporters will hope lightning can strike twice. Dabbagh leaves Charleroi feeling hard done by the club’s decisions over the last year; he had not envisioned a substitute’s role after finishing the previous season as the club’s top scorer.

On paper, the move to Aberdeen is a match made in heaven. The player needs minutes and the club needs goals, scoring just one in their last eight Scottish Premiership matches. The Dons have been in a malaise stretching back to last November, wasting a near-perfect start to their season — they collected 31/33 points in their first 11 matches.

“Oday is a clinical finisher who has an exceptional work ethic and his combative qualities will be a real asset for us,” Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin told the club’s official website.

“He has a strong personality both on and off the pitch and we believe he will be a positive addition, adding another dimension to our attacking options as we work to get back to winning ways.”

In spite of his struggles at Charleroi, Dabbagh has achieved a lot in the past 14 months. Dabbagh joined elite company in 2023, becoming only the 10th Asian player to score more than 100 goals for club and country before turning 25. The list of luminaries features Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia), Abdul Kadir (Indonesia), Majed Abdullah (Saudi Arabia), Cha Bum-Kun (South Korea), Fandi Ahmad (Singapore), Bader Al-Mutawa, Bashar Abdullah (both Kuwait), Ali Mabkhout (UAE) and Omar Al-Somah (Syria).

Dabbagh could debut for Aberdeen at Dundee United on Saturday, when a good start will send expectations soaring.

Six goals for Palestine in 2024 helped propel the team to new heights at the Asian Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. If Dabbagh can get the game time he craves at Aberdeen in 2025, it could result in a return to form and trouble for Palestine’s Group B rivals.

GLASGOW: Bayern Munich took a major step toward the Champions League last 16 as Michael Olize’s thunderbolt and Harry Kane’s clinical finish secured a 2-1 win at Celtic in the play-off round first leg on Wednesday.

Vincent Kompany’s side dominated the first half and a stunning strike from Olize gave them a deserved lead before Kane maintained his red-hot scoring streak after the interval.

Daizen Maeda netted in the closing stages to give Scottish champions Celtic hope of a miraculous escape act in the second leg.

The Japan forward was only playing after his two-game ban was unexpectedly reduced on appeal this week following his red card against Young Boys.

But Bundesliga leaders Bayern will still be favorites to advance to the last 16 when Celtic visit Munich on February 18.

Celtic finished just three points behind Bayern in the league phase, yet there is a huge gulf between the clubs’ European pedigree.

Six-time European champions Bayern lead the Bundesliga by eight points, while Celtic are attempting to reach the last 16 for the first time since 2012-13.

For the first 70 minutes that chasm in quality was clear to see before Bayern eased up in the closing stages, nearly allowing Celtic back into the tie as a result.

Celtic’s first defeat in 33 home matches across all competitions was a welcome confidence boost for Bayern, who had shown a weakness on the road in league phase defeats at Barcelona, Aston Villa and Feyenoord.

Celtic thought they had preyed on that weakness when former Bayern forward Nicolas Kuhn fired home from 20 yards inside the first minute, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside against Adam Idah.

Bayern could have been swept away by the tidal wave of noise cascading down from the Parkhead stands.

But Kompany’s men are too experienced for that and they quickly seized control with a steady diet of possession.

Olize nearly put Bayern ahead with a powerful strike that forced Kasper Schmeichel to save at his near post.

Schmeichel was forced into action again moments later as Kane’s curler was pushed away by the Dane.

Bayern were camped on the edge of the Celtic area as they probed for an opener.

Kane should have broken the deadlock when he nodded Olize’s corner into the side-netting from close-range.

But the England captain’s blushes were spared by Olize on the stroke of half-time.

Cutting inside Greg Taylor to reach Dayot Upamecano’s long pass, Olize unleashed a blistering drive that arrowed into the top corner from 15 yards.

It was no more than Bayern deserved for their territorial dominance and the Germans struck again four minutes after the interval.

Joshua Kimmich’s corner swung all the way to the far post without a Celtic clearance and the unmarked Kane guided a composed volley past Schmeichel from five yards.

Kane’s typically predatory finish took his season tally to 29 goals in 29 games in all competitions.

Upamecano’s challenge on Arne Engels prompted a long VAR check for a potential penalty, but Celtic’s appeal was correctly rejected.

That was the signal for Celtic to mount a late bid to haul themselves back into the tie.

Bayern had grown increasingly sloppy and Rodgers’ men earned their lifeline in the 79th minute when Maeda met Yang Hyun-Jun’s shot with a header from virtually on the line.

Kompany’s men had to cling on for dear life in the final minutes, with Manuel Neuer producing a crucial save to deny Alistair Johnston.