Italo Vassalo

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Italo Vassalo is a former Eritrean born, Italo-Ethiopian footballer, who came to prominence in the sixties.

He played with Ethiopia internationally as a winger or an attacking midfielder. He showed promise from early on , like his older brother Luciano that he could become one of the best Ethiopian footballers. However a lagging leg injury kept him sidelined for long periods of his career. In African cup of nation competitions he has only one goal, however it was the crucial winning goal over Egypt that won Ethiopia its only triumph in major tournaments in 1962 on home soil.He also spent the majority of his career at St. George and played alongside his brother for a long period of his career, although his injuries marred his performance. The Emperor Haile Selassie, liked very much the Vassalo brothers and was frequently paying for Italo to get treatment in Italy. Although he never really played to his maximum ability, he is one of the best ever Ethiopian footballers, after his old teamate Mengistu, his older brother and his former coach and CAF president Ydnekatchew Tessema.

He currently resides in Italy.