Avraham"Avi"Cohen(Hebrew:אבי כהן;14 November 1956 – 29 December 2010)[2]was an Israelifootballerwho played as adefender,and a manager. He was best known for his spells playing for two British clubs:Liverpoolin England andRangersin Scotland.[1]After retirement from active football and management, he was the chairman of the Israel Professional Footballers Association for over five years until he was killed in a motorcycle crash.[4][5]after his deathMaccabi Tel Avivretired the number 5 that he formerly wore.
 Cohen in 1990 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Avraham Cohen | ||
| Date of birth | 14 November 1956[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Cairo,Egypt | ||
| Date of death | 29 December 2010(aged 54)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Tel Aviv,Israel | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1966–1974 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1979 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 134 | (10) |
| 1979–1981 | Liverpool | 18 | (1) |
| 1981–1987 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 158 | (4) |
| 1987–1988 | Rangers | 7 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 40 | (1) |
| 1991 | Maccabi Netanya | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 360 | (16) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976–1988 | Israel | 51 | (3[3]) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1990–1992 | Maccabi Netanya | ||
| 1992–1993 | Beitar Tel Aviv | ||
| 1993–1994 | Maccabi Yavne | ||
| 1994–1995 | Ironi Ashdod | ||
| 1995–1998 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | ||
| 1998–1999 | Hapoel Ashkelon | ||
| 1999–2000 | Hapoel Kfar Saba | ||
| 2001 | Maccabi Herzliya | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editCohen was born inCairo, Egypt,and was Jewish.[6]He moved to Israel as a youngster,[7]and began his playing career withMaccabi Tel Aviv,before joining Liverpool for a fee of£200,000 ($450,000) in July 1979, and became the firstIsraelito play in England.[1][4]He struggled to establish himself as a regular atAnfieldand was released in November 1981, rejoining Maccabi.[1]On 20 September 1980, Cohen stirred up controversy when he decided to play in Liverpool's away fixture versusSouthampton,which fell on theJewishholiday ofYom Kippur.Liverpool drew with Southampton 2–2 in front of 24,085 spectators and Cohen was lambasted by the Israeli media for playing.[8]He returned to the United Kingdom in 1987, when he had a brief spell under former Liverpool teammateGraeme SounessatRangers,[1]before ending his career withMaccabi Netanya.
He also played for theIsrael national team,making his debut on 19 July 1976 during the1976 Summer Olympicsin a 0–0 draw againstGuatemala.[9][10]On 9 October 1984, Cohen scored his first goal againstGreecein a 2–2 friendly draw.[11]He was capped 51 times, scoring 3 goals.[3][12]His son,Tamir,is also a professional footballer who plays forMaccabi Haifain theIsraeli Premier Leagueand theIsrael national team.[13]
Personal life
editCohen was married to Dorit Cohen and the father of three, including thefootballplayerTamir Cohen.[14]In addition, Cohen was thebrother-in-lawof former football playerVicky Peretzand theuncleof Peretz sons –AdiandOmer Peretz.[15]
In 2008, he participated in the Israeli reality version ofDancing with the Starsand was the fifth to be eliminated.
Death
editOn 20 December 2010, Cohen was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash. He was taken to Tel Aviv'sIchilov Hospital,where he was immediately taken into surgery. On 28 December 2010, the hospital declared that Cohen wasbrain dead.[16]His brain death was confirmed by his son Tamir later the same day.[5]Paying tribute to Cohen,Kenny Dalglishsaid "Avi was a lovely man who will be remembered fondly by everyone at Liverpool who knew him. He quickly integrated himself into the football club when he joined us and spent a lot of time learning English which really made him popular. He was well liked by all the lads and although he didn't spend a long time at the club, he certainly left his mark and no-one will forget how he helped us win the league against Aston Villa. My thoughts and those of everyone connected to the club are with Avi's family."Ally McCoistsaid "we knew his situation was bad but never for a second did we think it would come to this" before going on to say it was "so sad to hear that he has passed away."[17]
Liverpoolmarked the death of Cohen with a period of applause before theirPremier Leaguematch againstWolverhampton Wandererson 29 December 2010.[18]The club also played a friendly game against the local Jewish community in honor of Avi. They competed for the Avi Cohen cup. Liverpool Legends team won 1–0.
On 24 April 2011, his son Tamir, ofBolton Wanderers,paid a tribute to his late father after scoring the winner againstArsenaland celebrating with a printed T-shirt with his father's face on it.[19]
Career statistics
editInternational goals
edit| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 October 1984 | Olympic Stadium,Athens,Greece |  Greece |
2–2 | Draw | Friendly | ||||||||
| 2. | 8 September 1985 | Ramat Gan Stadium,Ramat Gan,Israel |  Chinese Taipei |
5–0 | Win | 1986 FIFA World Cup qual. | ||||||||
| 3. | 20 October 1985 | Olympic Park,Melbourne,Australia |  Australia |
1–1 | Draw | 1986 FIFA World Cup qual. | ||||||||
| Correct as of 21 January 2017[20] | ||||||||||||||
Honours
editPlayer
edit- Club
- Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Liga Leumit First Division(2):1976–77,1978–79
- State Cup(2): 1976–77, 1986–87
- Israel Super Cup(1):1988
Individual
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^abcde"Player Profile: Avi Cohen".LFCHistory.net. Archived fromthe originalon 17 June 2010.Retrieved26 December2010.
- ^ab"Israeli soccer giant Avi Cohen dies of injuries after motorcycle crash".Haaretz.28 December 2010.Retrieved29 December2010.
- ^abHe played another 12 games against International Olympic teams and 1 against Amateurs team.
- ^ab"Avi Cohen, first Israeli to play in England, critically hurt in crash".Haaretz.21 December 2010.Retrieved28 December2010.
- ^ab"Ex-Rangers star Avi Cohen dies following motorbike crash".STV.28 December 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 14 March 2012.Retrieved28 December2010.
- ^"Avi Cohen obituary".The Guardian.30 December 2010.
- ^"Israeli soccer icon Avi Cohen declared brain dead".sg.news.yahoo.com.28 December 2010.
- ^"Sport on Yom Kippur? Is there such a thing".Yedioth Ahronoth(in Hebrew). 8 October 2008.Retrieved11 April2009.
- ^"Cohen Avi".Israel Football Association.Archived fromthe originalon 22 October 2011.Retrieved30 December2010.
- ^"Israel – Guatemala".Israel Football Association.Archived fromthe originalon 1 June 2012.Retrieved30 December2010.
- ^"Greece – Israel".Israel Football Association. Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2012.Retrieved30 December2010.
- ^"Avi Cohen International Games and Goals".RSSSF.Archivedfrom the original on 5 February 2010.Retrieved26 December2010.
- ^"תמיר כהן חתם ל-4 שנים".ONE. 8 August 2011.Retrieved8 August2011.
- ^"Soccer's Avi Cohen remains in critical condition".Haaretz.23 December 2010.Retrieved28 December2010.
- ^"Vicky Peretz: Praying for a miracle, everything is in the hand of God".Haaretz(in Hebrew). 23 December 2010.Retrieved28 December2010.
- ^"The hospital: Cohen is now in brain death state"(in Hebrew). One. 28 December 2010.Retrieved28 December2010.
- ^"Liverpool great Kenny Dalglish leads tributes to former team-mate Avi Cohen".The Daily Telegraph.London. 28 December 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 23 January 2011.Retrieved28 December2010.
- ^"Liverpool FC to mark death of former player Avi Cohen".BBC News.29 December 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 30 December 2010.Retrieved5 January2011.
- ^"Bolton 2 - 1 Arsenal".BBC.24 April 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 25 April 2011.Retrieved24 April2011.
- ^"Avi Cohen, footballer".eu-football.info.
- ^"Israel – Player of the Year".RSSSF.Archivedfrom the original on 8 February 2011.Retrieved30 December2010.