Memory of tragic brother drives Celtic signing Hatem Abd Elhamed

New signing Hatem Abd Elhamed ssought advice from fellow Israelis Nir Bitton and Beram Kayal, who left him in no doubt that he should jump at the chance of joining Celtic. Picture: SNS.

For every single day of each of those ten years, the Israeli international defender has been motivated by the harrowing loss of his younger brother Muhammad in a road  accident.

Elhamed’s sibling died in his arms while medics tried in vain to revive the then 15-year-old who had been struck by a lorry as he stepped out of a car to visit a roadside cafe. The brothers had been on their way back from training at Bnei Sakhnin, Elhamed’s first club.

It was a tragedy which Elhamed and the rest of his family understandably struggled to come to terms with. Now, it is the reason the 28-year-old gets up every morning and seeks to maximise his potential and earning power as a professional  footballer.

“My brother died in my hands and it was very difficult for me, my parents and my two sisters. It was very difficult to come out of it,” he said.

“At the start, it was horrible. For the first couple of months, none of us did anything. We were just a really sad family. Then I told myself that only I could bring my family back to life and make them smile again.

“So I did everything I could to succeed in football because that was the only way to lift them up. I’m happy I did it. It has given my family energy, given my parents the will to go back to life.

“My brother is always with me –when I train, when I play in games. When I started playing professionally, I just wanted to do it for him and  my family.

“It was 12 years ago when I started, I have had many difficult moments and I’m proud of what I have done. As a family, we think about my brother all the time and I thought of him again when I signed for Celtic. He is still part of me.”

The personal tragedy Elhamed experienced has doubtless helped him to rationalise and overcome the professional disappointments he has suffered along the way.

Released by Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2011 without playing a first-team game, he had a more profitable spell with Ashdod. That included a loan period at Dinamo Bucharest before he made a £900,000 move to Gent in 2015.

But he made only one appearance in two years at the Belgian club, returning to Israel to join Hapoel Be’er Sheva, where he has been regarded as one of the best defenders in the country over the past two seasons.

“Gent was four years ago and sometimes you go to a country and things don’t go well from the start,” he reflected. “I didn’t get a chance to show what I could do there. I played one game and after that I didn’t play. The fact I am now here at Celtic tells you that I learned from that  experience.

“I have known about Celtic being interested in me for about a month and a half. My agent told me about it and since then I did everything I could to come here.

“I wanted this so much. I played for the past few years in the Israeli league and did my best to get another chance to play in Europe – but this isn’t normal Europe, this is Celtic. It is one of the biggest clubs in the world and I’m so, so happy to be part of Celtic.

“This club is very famous. The games are always on live in Israel and, of course, I know the history of the Israeli players here like my friends Nir  Bitton and Beram Kayal, pictured left. I spoke with both of them, they gave me some fantastic advice about the club, the people and in the end it was an easy decision.

“I am going to wear the number 33 jersey, the same as Beram. He asked me yesterday why, and I told him that I hoped it would make me as good as him. I hope it brings me good luck.”

Elhamed has played in a variety of positions throughout his career but is expected to be utilised at right-back by Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

“I used to play a lot as right-back but my last coach decided to play me at centre-half which I did,” added Elhamed.

“If you say to me ‘play this position or that position’ I will always try my best. My position, however, is right-back. I played only four or five games at right-back over the last few months but I played right-back a lot before that.

“I think I’m versatile. I can do many things. I’m fast, good with the ball, comfortable in possession and good in defence. I give my best in everything I do, 100 per cent, in every game and training session. I will show this on the field in my first game.”

Elhamed’s debut could be back in Israel if Maccabi Tel Aviv, 1-0 down from the first leg, can overcome Romanian champions Cluj to seal a Champions League third qualifying round date with Celtic or Nomme Kalju, Lennon’s side having crushed their Estonian opponents 5-0 in the first leg of their tie on Wednesday night.

“That would be nice,” smiled Elhamed. “I am a Celtic player so obviously I’ll give my best to get the team through to the next round. Maccabi is a good club. They have a good team with very hungry young players. But Celtic should win the tie if Maccabi get through. Do I have friends there? I played with Hapoel Be’er Sheva,  so no!”