Messay Dego

Messay Dego was born in 1986 in Addis Ababa

Dego was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian-Jewish family. He came to Israel with his parents and brothers, and the family lived first in Beersheba and later in Ashdod. His elder brother Baruch Dego played for the Israel national team.

He came up through the youth ranks of Hapoel Tel Aviv and began his professional career with its senior team. He captained Israel's under-17 and under-19 teams and also played for the under-21 team. After a loan to Ashdod, he spent most of his career in the lower leagues and retired after an ankle injury in November 2013.

He began coaching youth teams at Hapoel Tel Aviv and became head coach of Hapoel Kfar Saba in 2017. In 2018 he took over Hapoel Ashkelon and became the first Israeli coach of Ethiopian origin in the Premier League. He later coached Hapoel Petah Tikva, Ironi Kiryat Shmona and Hapoel Acre.

In 2023 he was named coach of Maccabi Haifa, winning the Super Cup and finishing second in the league. He then coached Hapoel Tel Aviv and Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, and in 2025 took charge of Hapoel Ramat Gan, which he led to promotion to the Premier League. He is married to Odelia, has two sons and a daughter, and lives in Rishon LeZion.