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{{Short description|Haitian footballer and manager (1924–1991)}}
{{Infobox football biography
|name=Antoine Tassy
|image=
|image_size=
|caption=
|fullname=Antoine Tassy
|birth_date={{birth date|df=yes|1924|3|26}}
|birth_place=[[Haiti]]
|death_date={{death date and age|df=yes|1991|3|3|1924|3|26}}
|death_place=[[Haiti]]
|height=
|position=
|years1=|clubs1=|caps1=|goals1=
|totalcaps=|totalgoals=
|nationalyears1=|nationalteam1=[[Haiti national football team|Haiti]]|nationalcaps1=|nationalgoals1=
|manageryears1=1961|managerclubs1=[[Haiti national football team|Haiti]]
|manageryears2=1963|managerclubs2=[[Racing Club Haïtien]]
|manageryears3=1963|managerclubs3=[[Jamaica national football team|Jamaica]]
|manageryears4=1965–1976|managerclubs4=[[Haiti national football team|Haiti]]
|manageryears5=1977|managerclubs5=[[Violette AC]]
|manageryears6=1980–1981|managerclubs6=[[Haiti national football team|Haiti]]
}}
'''Antoine Tassy''' (26 March 1924 – 3 March 1991) was a [[Haiti]]an [[football (soccer)]] player and manager. He was the manager of the [[Haiti national football team]] in the [[1974 FIFA World Cup]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070921122807/http://fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=39/teams/team=43908.html FIFA.com]</ref> their only World Cup appearance to date. In 1963, he was the manager of [[Jamaica national football team|Jamaica]].<ref>"Coach Tassy Withdraws Resignation", the Daily Gleaner, 2 October 1963 p.12</ref> Earlier in 1963, he was the manager of [[Racing Club Haïtien]], who were eventually declared winners of the [[1963 CONCACAF Champions' Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|title=92 bougies pour le Vieux Lion|url=http://ashaps.com/sports/football/3291--92-bougies-pour-le-vieux-lion|publisher=www.ashaps.com|accessdate=16 July 2018|author=Raymond Jean-Louis|date=23 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723132300/http://ashaps.com/sports/football/3291--92-bougies-pour-le-vieux-lion|archive-date=23 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As a player, he represented Haiti in [[1954 FIFA World Cup qualification|1954 World Cup qualification]],<ref>{{FIFA player|23874}}</ref> at the [[1957 CCCF Championship]]<ref>{{cite web|title=CCCF Championship 1957 (Willemstad, Curaçao, Aug 11-25)|website=[[RSSSF]]|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesc/cccf57.html|accessdate=11 June 2018}}</ref> and at the [[Football at the 1959 Pan American Games|1959 Pan American Games]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Panamerican Games 1959 (Chicago)|website=[[RSSSF]]|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/panam59.html|accessdate=11 June 2018}}</ref>

During Tassy's time as manager of Haiti, the national team was used as an instrument of propaganda by the [[Duvalier dynasty|Duvaliers]]. A friendly held at [[Downing Stadium]], [[New York City]] in July 1973 between Haiti and [[Millonarios F.C.|Millonarios]] of [[Colombia]] was delayed for more than two hours and forty five minutes by Haitian exiles protesting against the regime. At one point, Tassy took his team to the dressing room and said that they were going home. He later made a call to [[Haitian Football Federation]] president Claude Raymond who told him to resume the match, if possible. Then, Serge Charles, a high ranking member of the Haitian delegation to the [[United Nations]], arrived and made another call to Raymond, and the Haitians agreed to go back on the field. Police arrived and cordoned off the field.<ref>"Haitian protesters rush field", Daily News (New York, New York), 30 July 1973 p.18</ref>

Tassy was described in a February 1974 [[The Observer|''Observer'']] article by [[Hugh McIlvanney]] as a "short, thickly built man" and as a "48 year-old Negro who is director of sport in Haiti and coach of the national team". The article stated that Tassy had both a year's study of the sport of football in [[Paris]] and "twenty years" as an inside left with [[Racing CH|Racing]], "one of the most popular of the eight [[Port-au-Prince]] teams that form the highest level of the game in Haiti".<ref name="Haiti">McIlvanney, Hugh (February 10, 1974). "Tassy, voodoo 'Doc' of Haiti". The Observer. p.22</ref>

Looking forward to the World Cup first round match versus [[Italy national football team|Italy]] later that year, Tassy was quoted as saying in the Observer piece that "we know the Italians will not play their usual game against us...they will not be as cautious as they normally are. They will come out to overwhelm us, regarding us as much the weakest of their opponents. We will try to defend carefully and hit them with counter-attacks".<ref name="Haiti"/>

Haiti shocked Italy in their opening match of the tournament by taking a lead in the 46th minute through [[Emmanuel Sanon]] from a quick counter attacking pass by [[Philippe Vorbe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5OLw0GiaeE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/i5OLw0GiaeE |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Haiti 1 Italie 0 Emmanuel Sanon Coupe du Monde 1974|date=|work=Youtube.com|accessdate=June 15, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, Italy eventually won 3–1.

Tassy was also co-manager of the [[Brazil Independence Cup squads|CONCACAF]] side at the [[1972 Brazil Independence Cup]] with [[Carlos Padilla Velásquez|Carlos Padilla]] of [[Honduras]].

He died on 3 March 1991.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Navboxes
|title= Antoine Tassy managerial positions
|list1=
{{Jamaica national football team managers}}
{{Haiti national football team managers}}
{{Jamaica squad 1963 CONCACAF Championship}}
{{Haiti squad 1965 CONCACAF Championship}}
{{Haiti Squad 1974 World Cup}}
{{CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup winning managers}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tassy, Antoine}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Racing CH players]]
[[Category:Haitian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Haiti men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Haitian football managers]]
[[Category:Haiti national football team managers]]
[[Category:1974 FIFA World Cup managers]]
[[Category:Pan American Games competitors for Haiti]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1959 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Haitian expatriate football managers]]
[[Category:Expatriate football managers in Jamaica]]
[[Category:Jamaica national football team managers]]
[[Category:Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Jamaica]]
[[Category:Victory SC players]]