Retired Soccer Player Assi Tubi: "The Torah is My Greatest Satisfaction"

Soccer player Assi Tubi is not just another athlete. In addition to his status as a seasoned forward who scored 109 goals in the Premier League and was twice crowned top scorer, he holds the equally remarkable distinction of being the only Israeli player to break a world record by scoring four goals in just 13 minutes. Given this, it goes without saying what a bright future many foresaw for him. Yet one clear day, the “top scorer” chose to leave it all behind and retire from professional soccer, declaring, “Shabbat is more important to me today than soccer.”

Those who know Tubi (42), married and a father from Ra’anana, know that spirituality has always played a significant role in his life. Raised in a traditional family, he always possessed a strong and deeply rooted faith in Hashem, although it was not always expressed in practice. Already during his army service, Tubi began observing Shabbat and putting Tefillin, and he emphasizes that this decision was taken “purely out of love for Hashem.”
“I was never anti-religion,” Tubi explains. “Religion always interested me, and I saw beautiful things in it. Although I wasn’t deeply familiar with it, I instinctively knew that when the time came to choose this path, I would know what to do.”

And indeed, he did. Over the years, Tubi strengthened his faith to the point of making the clear decision to retire. In the final two years before leaving the sport, he wrestled with intense inner conflict, feeling torn between heaven, spirituality, upon which he sought to base his life, and earth, namely the materialism and demands of professional soccer that pulled him in the opposite direction.
“It reached the point where I would pray on the field or ask to play games on Friday instead of Shabbat. I slept in hotels and stayed in my room throughout Shabbat, keeping my yarmulke in my pocket most of the time out of fear of people’s reactions. The team itself didn’t oppose this; on the contrary, the guys were considerate and would ask, ‘When is your Kiddush? When is your prayer?’ Still, by any measure, it simply wasn’t possible.”

Despite repeated attempts to combine spiritual growth with a soccer career, his efforts ultimately proved futile. “The straw that broke the camel’s back was when a new owner came to the team and demanded that I work on Shabbat,” Tubi recalls.

How did you react?

“My first instinct was to refuse, but I decided not to make the decision on my own. I traveled to Baba Elazar Abuhatzeira of blessed memory, to whom I had been close for twelve years, and consulted him about my future. His response surprised me greatly. Throughout all the years he knew me, he had never told me to retire. By the time I visited him, the decision had already been brewing within me for a long while—I simply needed his approval to carry it out.
‘אני סומך עליך—I trust you,’ the rabbi told me, without elaborating. At first, I was confused, but as I reflected on his words, I realized he was hinting that I should end this chapter once and for all. And that’s exactly what I did.”

Past: Passing a Soccer Ball on Shabbat

Today: Passing Torah Lessons on Shabbat

The day after Tubi announced his retirement from the soccer world, his statement—“Shabbat is more important to me today than soccer”—made headlines across the print media. Journalists crowded outside his home, hoping to hear something dramatic. Yet Tubi told them all the same thing: “The Torah is my joy.”

Even today, eleven years later, he feels no regret over the definitive step he took. “I feel great satisfaction with my life as it is today, and I know that Hashem guided me in the best possible way. I used to miss the atmosphere of soccer, but today—not at all. What occupies me more than anything now is sitting and learning Torah. Understanding a page of Gemara, knowing another halacha—that is my greatest satisfaction and my most meaningful goal.”

Still, if you had the chance to combine a soccer career with faith, would you do it?

“No,” he answers without hesitation. “It doesn’t interest me anymore. I’m in a different place. At the beginning of my return to faith, I tried to combine the two and discovered that it was impossible. The sentence the rabbi told me then still echoes in my mind: ‘You cannot hold on to this world with one hand and the next world with the other.’ He was right.”

To anyone who assumes that life without soccer must be dull, Tubi strongly disagrees. The former record holder’s daily routine, which begins with the sunrise prayer at five in the morning and continues with Torah study at Kollel Brachot Yitzhak in Ra’anana and teaching Torah in various settings, is filled with peaks no less fulfilling or joyful.
“In my youth, I played the piano for seven years and performed in many venues, including alongside Assaf Amdursky. Today, I combine my love for Torah with my old love—singing, playing, and bringing joy to people,” he says. This mainly takes place at weddings, and you might be surprised to hear just how many.
“Music brings joy to the heart, and honestly—what do we have in life besides happiness? People need to understand that the life of the body depends on the joy of the heart. Without joy, nothing truly works, no matter how hard one tries to prove otherwise.”

Over the years, Tubi’s connections with most of his former soccer friends have faded, with one notable exception: his friendship with soccer player Eyal Berkovic. “We were always very good friends,” Tubi notes. In their place, a deeper and more central connection has taken root—his bond with Hashem.
“All I care about today is advancing in Torah and acquiring greater fear of Heaven. To be in a good relationship with Hashem and with people—that is the true achievement I strive for now.”

Assi Tubi with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef of Blessed Memory