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Ethiopian soccer great Italo Vassalo speaks out

Posted on , Updated on by Elias Kifle

Italo Vassalo is one of the most beloved Ethiopians of this century, on a par with Tilahun Gessesse, Abebe Bikila and others. From Emperor HaileSelassie on down, every Ethiopian loved him and his elder brother Lucciano, the captain of Ethiopia’s National Team in 1960s. Italo helped win Ethiopia’s first African Cup in 1962 by scoring against then powerful Egyptian team.

In 1991, the anti-Ethiopia tribal junta led by Meles Zenawi came to power. A few years later, using its war with Eritrea as an excuse, the junta stripped off Italo Vassalo’s citizenship and kicked him out of Ethiopia, along with tens of thousands of other Ethiopians of Eritrean origin.

In the interview below, Italo expresses his affection for the people of Ethiopia and Emperor HaileSelassie, while indicting Meles Zenawi’s regime for committing a campaign of ethnic cleansing, which is a crime against humanity, against Eritrean-Ethiopians.

56 thoughts on “Ethiopian soccer great Italo Vassalo speaks out”

  2. በጣም የሚገርም ቃለ መጠይቅ። በበኩል ብዙ መልሶች ሰምቻለሁ አይቻለሁ፣ ይህ እጅግ የመሰጠኝ ሆኖ አገኘሁት። ሰውየው በውስጡ የኢትዮጵያ ነገር እንደሚመላለስ ያስታውቃል።

    “እኔ እንደ ባዕድ ወያኔ እንደ ኢትዮጵያዊ ሆኖ፣ ባንዲራ እያውለበለበ ካገር ያስወጣኝ በጣም ይገርመኛል”…እጅግ የሚመስጥ መልስ

    አቶ ኢታሎ ለዘላለም የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ባለውላታ ነዎት። ባሉበት ደስታና የመንፈስ እረፍት እመኝሎታለሁ።

  7. i heard a lot about this guy while i was a child. I have never seen him before. He is real hero, who gave us a chance to win the African cup. Vasallo, thumbs up for you and other Eritran foot ball players. What the backward woyanes do to you is unbelievable. We all know and learn now, the Tigryan juntas are simply Jealous of Eritreans. As far as i am concern the Eritrean contribution to our country is much much better than those lunatic unwanted creature woyanes.

  8. It has been the history of our country that if your love your country dearly you must pay dearly. Unlike other nations Ethiopia never celebrates its heroes. If that is the case then Mr. Vassalo, take that as a commendation. At least, you are living. Many have perished and became unsung heroes for loving mother Ethiopia. Any ways nice to see your face. Your name is as big as any of our heroes and you will always be celebrated, even if you have contributed money, you are an exception.

  10. Thumbs upto Italo. A great man along with his brother Lucciano. They achieved a lot for Ethiopian football.

    It is ironic that people like Italo who love Ethiopia were expelled from the country by those who have nothing but hate for Ethiopia.

    I hope one day, hopefully soon, Italo and other Eritreans who love Ethiopia will be able to return to a woyane-free Ethiopia.

  11. I never thought this icon was an Eritrean. I remember him very well as a legendary football player first and foremost for my former glorious team – Cottone Club of Dire Dawa. I vividly remember when he scored a crushing 3rd goal against the mighty Egyptian team for the 1962 Nations Cup. The other match I never forget is Cotton Club’s win against a European professional club in Dire Dawa. That team had already beaten All Eritrean and Shewan teams. Italo, Lucciano, Mengistu(Mengie), Awad, Netsere, Dula, and all other Cotton Club players will remain indelible from my memory. Especially that overtime play for the 1962 cup. The Egyptian did everything ugly to kill time as they always do. What a finish it was by him and Mengie. And that wonderful sportscast – Solomon. I never forget his wailing and screaming shoutout – Yesegal!!! Yasegal!!! He reminds me of Howard Cossell of ABC Sports in the 70’s and early 80’s. Ato Italo…Thank you very much for giving us unforgettable and glorious memories of Ethiopian soccer both in the national team and the Dire Dawa Cotton Club. You will always remain an icon and national treasury. For whatever you are doing now I say God Speed!!!!

  13. This is part of the crime against Humanity that was done by Weyanne. And I strongly believe there should be a lawsuit one day to compensate those people that are the victims of such actions. What happened to this man happened to so many Ethio-Eritireans including me. Many had left their house and their families behind. Woyane has closed the door behind them while the family suffers. Woyane has dismantled husband and wife and children without giving due respect to family. This is unforgettable for centuries to come.

  14. I appreciate the respected gentleman Ato Italo Vasalo from the bottom of my heart. His genuine analysis of the past during the empire state of Ethiopia is remarkable.
    He expresses how the whole atmosphere among the soccer team and officials of the football federation of that time was harmonious.
    It is very interesting to know after 40 yrs that the then football federation was run by capable people, by their merits and perseverance. Everybody was striving for the well being of the Ethiopian nation, not only for personal cult and ego.
    ከፍ ያለ ምስጋና ለተከበሩ አቶ ኢታሎ ቫሳሎ
    ረዢም እድሜና ጤና እግዜር ይስጥዎ እያልኩ ላገርዎ ኢትዮጵያና ለአዲስ አበባ ስታዲዮም እንደገና ለመታየት ያብቃዎ::
    On the contrary, the mercenaries of Woyane-Tplfs are misruling this cultured people in a barbaric way.
    Hatred, minority complex, ignorance and vulgarity are the main characteristics of Woyane-tplf.
    We will get rid of the father of barbarism and we finally will celebrate the return of all displaced and dishonoured people back home.

    God help Ethiopa !

  17. አስታውሳለሁ ! 1990 ወይም 1991 አከባቢ ነው:: ያኔ የ 2ኛ ደረጃ ት/ት ገና መጀመሬ ነበር:: ከወንድሞቼ እና ከሌሎች የሰፈር ፈላዎች ጋር ሆነን
    እሁድ እሁድ የሚተላለፈውን የ120 ፕሮግራም እየተከታተልን ነበር:: ኤደን ገብረህይወት የምትባለው የፕሮግራም አስተዋዋቂ “አሁን ለትውስታ ፕሮግራም ከብዙ አመታት በፊት የኢትዮጵያ ብሄራዊ ቡድን ከግብጽ ብ/ቡድን ጋር አድርጎት የነበረውን ጫወታ እና ሰለሞን ተሰማ ኮሜንታተር የነበረበትን እንድትመለከቱ እንጋብዛለን “ብላ ተሰወረች::
    ወዲያው ጨዋታው ተጀመረና ኮሜንታተሩ (ሰለሞን ተሰማ) ከፍ ባለ ድምጽ :- “አሁን ኩዋሱዋን ሸዋንግዛው ይዙዋል!!! ,,,ሸዋንግዛው ይዙዋል!! ,,, ሸዋንግዛው ለ ‘ውቻለው’ አቀብሉዋል! ውቻለው መታት!! ኩዋስዋ በአየር ላይ ነች:: ለማን እንደምትደርስ እግዚአብሄር ያውቃል!!! ,,,” በዚህ ግዜ ተሰብስበን የነበርን ሁሉ ሳቅን ,,በኮሜንታተሩ ጭንቀት:: እኔ ግን ከዚያ ግዜ በሁዋላ ” ውቻለው የሚባለው ማነው ? “እያልኩ እራሴን እጠይቅ ነበር::
    ዛሬ ስላየሁት ደስ ብሎኛል:: ግን የሆነው ነገር ሁሉ ያሳዝናል::

  18. Weyane’s crimes will be exposed as time goes by, and the leader of the Weyanes will be ashamed as they are brought to take the responsibility for their crimes.

  20. The Ethiopian people may not write your name in gold because Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) and his wife Jezebel have stolen their gold and exported it to another country; however, you are one of the Ethiopian heroes, and your name is always in the hearts of millions of Ethiopians. If Meles had stripped off your Ethiopian citizenship, don’t worry; as soon as we Ethiopians strip off his and his wife’s citizenships and kick them out and send them to Qaliti jail, we will restore your citizenship immediately and bring you back to Ethiopia, a country you love.

    May God bless you, your family, and all your Ethiopian friends who love you from the bottoms of their hearts!

  21. I was in Elementary school in 1962 when African Cup was played in Ethiopia. I followed all the games through the radio where the talented sportcaster Solomon Tesema put me right in the field with his immotion of Yasegal.. Yasegal Yasegal…Goal! Who would forget Gila the Goal keeper, Asmelash; Asgedom; Berhe; Awad; Ismael; Mengistu; Lichiano; Italo and Getachew. It was a real Ethiopian team that gave every inch of they talent and energy to their country. Thanks Eri-TV and Ethiopian Review for bringing the good old days memmory. Good luck Italo you are a hero of Ethiopian football.

  22. What else is new? Of course this is an Ethiopian hero who contributed a lot to the country but this happens to be the least that Weyane did. I know a guy who lost his leg, hand and eye fighting in the war against Somalia during Mengistu’s era who Weyane deported because they didn’t like the color of his eye as he if has different eye color than theirs. May be they have blue eyes. I don’t know if they are trying to be white or something.

    Weyane thought they could proof to be Ethiopians to the Ethiopian people by doing such atrocities not knowing that they are brewing a time bomb that is going to explode in their face. This is typical of Weyane who is suffering from identity crisis. They don’t know what to be. They are standing on two different roads, one that leads to be an Ethiopian and the other to secede from Ethiopia to be the “great Tigray”. They are like a ship with out a compass in Atlantic ocean.

    I just hate them with passion guys.

  25. ethiopian federation in USA should invite mr.vassalo as a guest of honor next year. Elias, please help us prepare a massive petition for fedration to invite mr.vassalo.thank you may God bless you.

  26. Hi ER readers. I am Eritrean and I can say that eventhough Mr italo Vassalo is Eritrean, most of his accomplishments are with Ethiopia and i can say that he is passionate about it. All he can think is about his life in Ethiopia. As in no24 said he might deserve to be a guest of honour in a sport event in USA/EUROPE. And it might show the solidarity among people of the 2 countries. Anyway if king EZANA wake up today he would be mad at what eritreans and ethiopians are doing.

  33. It was so wonderful to see Mr Italo after so many years. he is one of my heroes. It brought a lot of good memories of the past. GOD Bless him. He should not get caught up in todays dirty politics between Ethiopia and Eritrea. I want him to stay respected and a true hero.

  35. His brother, Luciano Vassalo, was the one who scored that brilliant goal. Italo was the more versatile of the two, but Luciano was the better footballer; the only Ethiopian who won CAF’s African footballer of the year award. Luciano like Italo is also a critic of TPLF and Al-Amoudi. He wrote a book which articulated how Al-Amoudi’s deeds were killing the honor and pride culture of Ethiopians. He lives in Italy now.

  37. The Ethiopian people may not write your name in gold because Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi) and his wife Jezebel have stolen their gold and exported it to another country; however, you are one of the Ethiopian heroes, and your name is always in the hearts of millions of Ethiopians. If Meles had stripped off your Ethiopian citizenship, don’t worry; as soon as we Ethiopians strip off his and his wife’s citizenship and kick them out and send them to Qaliti jail, we will restore your citizenship immediately and bring you back to Ethiopia, a country you love.

    May God bless you, your family, and all your Ethiopian friends who love you from the bottoms of their hearts!

  39. I agree with #25 (chacha). The so called Ethiopian federation in N. America and Europe has been sold to Al Amodin/Woyane juntas as the rest of your country’s resources. Thus, don’t expect these sell-outs to invite Mr. Italos. His brother Luiano is who also lives the majority of year in Asmara and advisor to Eritrean soccer team also has a great respect to Ethiopian people and past football histry. Shame on Woyane!!

  40. #36 i happen to know the presidant of ethiopian soccer fedration dawit agonafer.he is Godly,humble,extermely intelligent,well read and indepent thinker.I am sure ther are many more like him in the fedration.i encourage the fedration to listen to will of the ethiopian people and invite the vassalos and make history and memory that will live on with us forever … not to mention a ton of money you will be making for the fedration . mERRY XMAS

  41. The interview brought so much old memories of my childhood. The Vasalo brothers (Luciano & Italo), along with Mengistu Worku, Awad Mohammed, Getachew Dula, Netsere, Kebede Metaferia, Goal keepers Brehane & Gila, Getachew Abdo and other equally superb players were the pride of Ethiopia during the glory days of Ethiopian football.

    Yidnekachew Tessema, the father of Ethiopian Fottball was also a player and coach at the time. I wish someone lists the teams and famous players of those days.

    Thanks Italo for those great memories!!!

  42. Woyanes are the most nauseating, despiteful people in Ethiopia. Their purpose in life is to destroy Ethiopia Ethiopians and everyone and everything that loves Ethiopia.

  43. I don’t mean to divert the limelight from Italo here. It is worth mentioning though that Italo got help from his great teammates, most of whom were Eritreans. In fact, there were eight more Eritreans, besides Italo, who helped win Ethiopia’s first African Cup in 1962. There are so many exemplary contributions of Eritreans to Ethiopia, in various other fields. The contribution of Eritreans ceased when successive Ethiopian regimes failed the people of Eritrea.

  45. This is for those of you who have commented negatively about ESFNA Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America). Much can be said about your uninformed and unsubstantial comments and labeling of ESFNA and the stellar contribution of this unique organization. However, here is what I will say now: THE 1992 Toronto, Canada ESFNA tournament guests of honor were the Vassalo brothers! Lucciano was able to make it. Italo couldn’t. As a first time participant, I had the previllage of shaking his hand. Do a little research before you find your hand caught in a cookie jar!
    http://esfna.net/esfna/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=115

  46. #45
    Well, 1992 was 18 years ago. Back then your cousins, the Woyane and uncle Al Amudin had no control of of ESFNA. This group was independent and pro Ethiopia. Now, it is totally under control of your relatives. The current Al Amoudin slaves at ESFNA would not dare to invite any individual that is persived to be anti-Woyane.

  48. በጣም ደስ የሚል ቃለ ምልልስ እግዚአብሔር ያክብርህ:: ረጅም እድሜ ላንተ
    ውድቀት በቅርቡ ለገዢውና ሰው በላው::

  49. This man is an absolute legend. Italo himself scored the winning goal in the 101st minute of the final in the 1962 African Cup, the only cup we have ever won. He speaks with so much wisdom. It is an absolute disgrace to see what this regime has done to greats like him and his brother.

  50. We will never have such a legend man in the future, never forget your skill and talent especially your love for your country Ethiopia that the love born with you. Wish you all the best and God blessed you. We have seen a lot and we shall see in near future. Thank you.

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