Eli Dasa

Elazar "Eli" Dasa (or Eliezer, Hebrew: אלי דסה; born 3 December 1992) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Russian Premier League club Dynamo Moscow and captains the Israel national team. He is the first captain of Israel to be of Ethiopian-Jewish origin.[4][5]

Eli Dasa
Dasa playing for Dynamo Moscow in 2022
Personal information
Full nameElazar Dasa[1]
Date of birth (1992-12-03) 3 December 1992 (age 31)[2]
Place of birthNetanya, Israel
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s)Right-back
Team information
Current team
Dynamo Moscow
Number2
Youth career
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Beitar Jerusalem
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010–2015Beitar Jerusalem113(3)
2015–2019Maccabi Tel Aviv99(5)
2019–2022Vitesse71(0)
2022–Dynamo Moscow42(0)
International career
2008Israel U162(0)
2008–2009Israel U176(0)
2010Israel U183(0)
2010–2012Israel U1912(0)
2011–2014Israel U2125(0)
2015–Israel62(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 March 2024

Early life

Dasa was born in Netanya, Israel, to an Ethiopian-Jewish family, and is Jewish.[6][7] He is the second Israeli of Ethiopian-Jewish background to play for the Israel national football team.[8] His younger brother Or Dasa is also an Israeli international footballer who plays for Israeli club Hapoel Ramat Gan, who also played for the Israel U-21 national team.

Club career

On 31 July 2010, Dasa made his debut in Beitar Jerusalem F.C. during a Toto Cup match against Hapoel Ashkelon.[9] On 12 September 2012, Dasa scored the first goal in his senior career during a league match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

On 9 July 2015, he made his first international match debut in a 2–1 victory over Kazakh team FC Ordabasy in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League qualification and played 90 minutes.

On 10 August 2015, Dasa signed for four years with Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv.

On 7 September 2022, Dasa signed a contract with Russian Premier League club Dynamo Moscow for the term of two years with an option to extend for one more year.[10]

On 10 June 2024, Dynamo announced that the option for the 2024–25 season in Dasa's contract has been activated.[11]

International career

Dasa at the 2013 UEFA Euros U21, that took place in Israel

Dasa played in the Israel under-21 team since 2010. He was a part of the Israeli team for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

In 2015, he was called up by the national coach Eli Guttman for the senior Israel national team. Dasa made his debut in the senior national team against Andorra in a 4–0 win, on 3 September 2015. Dasa debuted as the Israeli line-up captain on 26 March 2022, in a friendly away match against Germany; thus becoming the first senior captain of Israel to be of African origin.[4][5]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup[a]League cup[b]ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Beitar Jerusalem2010–11Israeli Premier League18010190
2011–12Israeli Premier League18000180
2012–13Israeli Premier League25110261
2013–14Israeli Premier League20000200
2014–15Israeli Premier League32000320
2015–16Israeli Premier League0000200020
Total11312020001171
Maccabi Tel Aviv2015–16Israeli Premier League280403[c]01[d]0360
2016–17Israeli Premier League3105010[e]0460
2017–18Israeli Premier League170104[f]0220
2018–19Israeli Premier League230308[g]0340
Total990130250101380
Vitesse2019–20Eredivisie100100000110
2020–21Eredivisie300300000330
2021–22Eredivisie3102011100441
Total7106011100881
Dynamo Moscow2022–23Russian Premier League22080300
2023–24Russian Premier League20020220
Total420100520
Career total325131000381103952

International

As of match played 21 March 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Israel201530
201630
201730
201860
2019100
202070
2021120
202280
202390
202410
Total620

Honours

Maccabi Tel Aviv

Individual

References