Jonathan Assous

Infobox Football biography
playername = Jonathan Assous


fullname =
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1983|09|2
cityofbirth = Sarcelles
countryofbirth = France
height = Height|m=1.77
position = Defensive Midfielder
currentclub = Flagicon|ISR Maccabi Tel Aviv
clubnumber = 29
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 2001-2003
2003-2004
2004-2006
2006-2007
2007
2007-2008
2008-present
clubs = AS Nancy
Nîmes
Angers SCO
AS Cannes
Créteil
Stade Reims
Maccabi Tel Aviv
caps(goals) = 06 (0)
21 (0)
22 (0)
06 (0)
15 (1)
16 (1)
016 (1)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate = 14:53, 16 February 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate =

Jonathan Assous (born September 2, 1983 in Sarcelles) is a French football (soccer) player who currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. [cite news |first=Shirley |last=Bar-Dayan |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=מכבי ת"א רכשה את אסוס, גם דגאנו מסושו מועמד להצטרף |url=http://www.sport5.co.il/HTML/Articles/Article.64.31761.html |format= |work= |publisher=Sport 5 |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=2008-01-28 |accessdate=2008-01-28 |language=Hebrew |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ] In France, Assous was widely known for his temper and rough play.cite news |first=David |last=Maruani |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=Mac. Tel Aviv's new French signing: 'I'm not a mad dog' |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/949358.html |format= |work= |publisher=Ha'aretz |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date= |accessdate=2008-02-16 |language= |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ] He is Jewish.cite news |first=Or |last=Spunder |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=הקשר ג'ונתן אסוס מועמד למכבי ת"א |url=http://www.one.co.il/Article/109149.html |format= |work= |publisher=One.co.il |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2008-01-28 |language=Hebrew |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ]

Playing career

Assous began his professional career in the Ligue 2 with club AS Nancy. Sparingly making a league appearance, he moved down to the Championnat National to play with Nîmes. Fine performances in the Championnat earned him a contract with Angers SCO. There he grabbed headlines for his rough play which got him sent off on numerous occasions. During his stint with Créteil, he trialed with Nice and impressed then-manager Frédéric Antonetti. Unfortunately, contractual problems with Créteil ended his chance of making it to Ligue 1 for the first time in his career. Instead, Assous joined Stade Reims where he was able to carve out a spot in the starting eleven, and earned praise for his maturity from press.

After the successful acclimation of French midfielder Rudy Haddad to life in Israel, Maccabi decided to look for more Jewish footballers who would not count against the foreign player cap. Frenchman Kevin Pariente and Americans Benny Feilhaber and Jonathan Bornstein were originally scouted for the club. After Maccabi could not come to terms with their respective clubs, they turned to Assous who was having a good season in France. Some fans were vocally opposed to signing Assous because of his previously unsuccessful trial with Hapoel Kfar Saba and lack of "star quality". [cite news |first=Barak |last=Kessler |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=אבי נמני מציג: כדור הרגעה לאוהדים |url=http://www.one.co.il/Oppinion/154/109400.html |format= |work= |publisher=One.co.il |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=2008-01-28 |accessdate=2008-01-28 |language=Hebrew |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ]

Immediately after being bought, Assous went to the Jewish Agency offices in Paris to fill out all necessary forms for receiving Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. [cite news |first=Lee |last=Botz |authorlink= |author= |coauthors= |title=מכבי ת"א רכשה את אסוס, בני פילהאבר לא יגיע |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3499771,00.html |format= |work= |publisher=Yedioth Ahronoth |location= |id= |pages= |page= |date=2008-01-28 |accessdate=2008-01-28 |language=Hebrew |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= ]

Footnotes