Amos Sassi (Hebrew: עמוס סאסי, born 29 January 1979) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a left-back.[2] Sassi is often referred to as one of Israel's greatest wastes of talent and was the subject of a documentary in Israel on why Israel has yet to produce quality footballers and the hardships they face in improving in the Israeli system of football.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1979-01-29) 29 January 1979 (age 43) | ||
| Place of birth | Israel | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Left-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Maccabi Netanya | |||
| Borussia Dortmund | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2000 | Borussia Dortmund | 0 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | → Maccabi Haifa (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Maccabi Netanya | 38 | (1) |
| 2002–2004 | Borussia Dortmund II | 65 | (1) |
| 2004 | Maccabi Netanya | 4 | (0) |
| 2005 | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | ||
| 2006–2018 | Maccabi Los Angeles | 126 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2000 | Israel U-21 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Sassi was a product of the Maccabi Netanya youth system where he managed to catch the eye of a scout from German club Borussia Dortmund. He left Netanya for Dortmund along with Shlomi Dahan where the two enjoyed great success even capturing a world title in a tournament for ORT high schools.
Both Dahan and Sassi excelled at Dortmund, even taking the German youth championship while there.[3] But in order to be able to play for Israel's full national team, they had to complete their mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces. Both were loaned out to Maccabi Haifa where they languished on the bench. After a short period in Haifa, Sassi moved to Maccabi Netanya and in 2005 he retired after an unsuccessful spell with Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon. Both he and Dahan are referred to as some of the greatest wasted talents ever in Israeli football.