Đovani Roso

Giovanni Rosso

Personal information
Full name	Đovani Roso[1]
Date of birth	(1972-11-17) 17 November 1972 (age 48)
Place of birth	Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
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

Đovani Roso (Italian: Giovanni Rosso; born 17 November 1972^[1]) is a Croatian former footballer. 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, and resides there with his Israeli wife Maya Fishel and their son.

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 Catholic family, whose grandfather was of Italian origin.^{[citation needed]}

Club career[]

Roso 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 has been 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 citizenship. However he could never play for the Israeli national team, since he had already played for Croatia.^{[citation needed]}

Roso speaks fluent Hebrew,^[2] and has stated numerous times that he plans on coming back to live in Israel at the end of his football career.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[2]

Later career[]

Roso 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[]

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

• Israel State Cup: 1997

Hapoel Haifa

• Israeli Championships: 1998–99

Maccabi Haifa

• Israeli Championships: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05
• Toto Cup: 2001–02

Individual

• Israeli Player of the Year: 1998–99, 2001–02^[3]

References[]

External links[]

• Đovani Roso at National-Football-Teams.com
• Stats at Maccabi Haifa