Photo: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters
Hani Al-Masdar broke into the first team for Gaza club Al-Maghazi in the late 1990s when he was 16 and had a fine career as a talented midfielder. After retiring in 2018, the genius father of four initially officially joined the Palestine Under-23s team as kit manager.
A natural at dealing with players with an instinct for reading the game, he soon acquired the highest coaching licenses in Asia and became an assistant coach. The 42-year-old had a bright future, but on January 6, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) announced that he had been killed by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City.
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"He was one of the great sporting talents of Palestinian football," said Makram Daboub, the head coach of the Palestinian national team. "He is a great loss."
As Palestine begin their Asian Cup campaign against Iran on Sunday, the news from back home, where death and destruction has been raining down on Gaza for more than three months, is devastating. "Of course it is difficult for everyone," says Daboub.
Striker Mahmoud Wadi and defender Mohammed Saleh play abroad but are residents of the narrow strip of land that has suffered such fierce and brutal bombing. Daboub says: "Those coming from Gaza worry about the safety of their relatives and friends, but all players are on their phones whenever possible. It does make it difficult for them, but there is still the determination to give everything at the Asian Cup."
This is the third consecutive appearance at the tournament, the continent's biggest football event, for Palestine, which became a full FIFA member in 1998 after decades of struggle. Their opening match will attract a lot of international attention like none of the others. 23 teams in the Asian Cup - which was won by Israel in 1964 before being ousted in 1974 and making its way to UEFA - have the same problems.
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"Success in the tournament would mean a lot to us and our people. It is very important, especially with the exceptional circumstances that Palestine is going through," says Daboub. "We want to send a message to the world that there are people in Palestine who deserve a better life, love peace and deserve freedom."
There has been no peace or freedom since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, triggering a retaliation that has killed more than 23,000 people in Gaza, 1% of the territory's population, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Press last week destroyed a third of all buildings. The PFA has accused Israel of targeting athletes as well as football facilities. Football is the most popular sport in Palestine, with Gaza and the West Bank having their own competitions, but there have been no matches since October. Even if it was safe to play, there's nowhere to do that.
Before the Hamas attack, Daboub knew all about the frustrations that come with being Palestine's head coach. The Tunisian, appointed in 2021, says he was never granted a permit to enter Gaza to watch matches or meet players, although he was allowed into the West Bank.
The difficulties also extend in the other direction. Players from both areas selected for international duty have complained for years about lengthy delays at Israeli checkpoints while trying to report for duty.
In the World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon and Australia in November - which were played at neutral venues - those called up from Gaza were unable to attend at all. Since then, the national team has remained outside Palestine, initially in Jordan before leaving.
"The preparation went well despite the difficult circumstances," says Daboub. "On December 12, we started with a first camp in Algeria, followed by a second camp in Saudi Arabia."
The camps were financed by the host countries. "The main purpose of that was to focus on the physical aspect of the players. On January 2 we traveled to Qatar where nine other players joined us and this was the start of the actual preparation for the cup.
"We played two practice matches. We lost 1-0 to Uzbekistan and drew with Saudi Arabia 0-0. We involved all players to determine their technical and physical readiness. We are now ready and looking forward to the challenges ahead."
Striker Oday Dabbagh, who scored five goals for Belgian Sporting Charleroi this season, is one of those who joined later. The Jerusalem-born striker will be well supported by both locals and Palestinians in the region. Some emotional scenes may occur, especially if the team records a first win at the Asian Cup.
That is the main goal, even though the group that includes Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong is a difficult group. "We know what we have to do," says Daboub. "The match against Iran is a big one against one of the top teams in Asia. It will be a very difficult match, but we will try to get a positive result."
The expectation is that the final against Hong Kong, the lowest ranked team in the group at 150 - 51 places below Palestine - offers the best chance.
"The game in Hong Kong is hugely important," Daboub said of their opponents, who warmed up last week by beating China for the first time since their country became a British territory. "Many say they are the weakest team and this is the game we have to win, but all games are important. I can say that whatever happens, we will do everything we can to reach the round of 16."
Reaching the knockout stages would really be a cause for celebration. Given that the top two from each of the six groups of four and the four best performing third-placed teams will advance, this is realistic and it could be that the tragic circumstances at home push Palestine to make history.
"The atmosphere among the players is excellent and we in the national team work as a group and everyone supports them," said Daboub. "Our goal is to present a face that honors Palestinian football and put a smile on the faces of our people. Despite the pain, we want to give them hope."