Đovani Roso
Đovani Roso (born 17 November 1972), also known as Giovanni Rosso, is a Croatian-Israeli former footballer of partial Italian descent. Roso was a midfielder, who preferred to play on the center-right flank of the field. He finished his footballing career at Hajduk Split. Roso is known in Israel for his technique and free kicks.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Đovani Roso[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 17 November 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Split, Croatia | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1993 | Zadar | 30 | (9) |
| 1993–1996 | NK Zagreb | 64 | (11) |
| 1996–1997 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 34 | (6) |
| 1997–2000 | Hapoel Haifa | 89 | (26) |
| 2000–2001 | Beitar Jerusalem | 33 | (6) |
| 2001–2005 | Maccabi Haifa | 101 | (23) |
| 2005–2007 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 52 | (5) |
| 2007–2008 | Maccabi Haifa | 28 | (3) |
| 2008–2009 | Hajduk Split | 4 | (0) |
| Total | 435 | (89) | |
| National team | |||
| 2002–2004 | Croatia | 19 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
In the media, his name is often Italianized to Giovanni Rosso, due to its origins.
Early life
Roso was born in Split, Croatia, (then as SR Croatia, part of SFR Yugoslavia), in a family, whose grandfather was of Italian origin.
Club career
He played for NK Zagreb between 1994 and 1996 before moving to Israel. Roso enjoyed great success in the decade. He played for top teams in Israel, including a campaign in the UEFA Champions League with Maccabi Haifa. He's acknowledged as being among the very best foreign players to ever play in the Israeli Premier League. He is also known for his lively personality and prominent sense of humour.
Roso's form in 2004 got him called up for Croatia, so he played for his birth country at Euro 2004. It was only later, in 2005, that he finally obtained Israeli citzenship. However he could never play for the Israeli national team, since he had already played for Croatia.
Roso speaks fluent Hebrew, and has stated numerous times that he plans on coming back to live in Israel at the end of his football career.
His return to Hajduk Split was ruined by injuries. He only ended up playing four games in the Croatian first league during this stretch. He retired from club football in June 2009.
Later career
He appeared as the Pit Stop greeter during Leg 3 of HaMerotz LaMillion 2 ("The Amazing Race: Israel"), which took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia. In 2015, he participated in the reality TV series "Goalstar". In 2019, he participated and won the reality TV series "Survivor VIP" that was broadcast on Channel 13 in Israel.
Honours
Club
- Israel State Cup: 1997
- Israeli Championships: 1998-99
- Israeli Championships: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05
- Toto Cup: 2001-02
Individual
- Israeli Player of the Year: 1998–99, 2001–02[2]
References
External links
- Đovani Roso at National-Football-Teams.com
- Stats at Maccabi Haifa
