Steven Cohen ( he, סטיבן כהן; born 27 February 1986) is a French-Israeli professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who is currently without a club.

Biography

Early life

Cohen was born in Marseille to a French father with

Israeli citizenship Israeli citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Israel. The two primary pieces of legislation governing these requirements are the 1950 Law of Return and 1952 Citizenship Law. Every Jew in the world has ...

and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

mother.

From Montpellier to Ferrol

Cohen was brought up through the youth ranks of French club

Montpellier HSC Montpellier Hérault Sport Club (), commonly referred to as Montpellier HSC or simply Montpellier, is a French professional football club based in the city of Montpellier in Occitanie. The original club was founded in 1919, while the current i ...

. After being released by Montpellier, Cohen landed at

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

club Racing Club de Ferrol. The second season for Cohen in Spain proved to be his breakout year and he was courted by

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

who agreed to terms with Cohen on a four-year contract. Due to budget issues at Deportivo, the deal was canceled and Cohen traveled to Israel to visit family and friends. During this visit, he went on a week-long trial at

F.C. Ashdod SC Ashdod ( he, מועדון ספורט אשדוד, ''Moadon Sport Ashdod'', lit. Sport Club Ashdod, mainly known in Israel by the semi-acronym name , ''Mem Samekh Ashdod'', lit. S.C. Ashdod) is an Israeli football club, playing in the port cit ...

. When push came to shove, no final offers had been made and Cohen returned to Spain to play for

UD Salamanca Unión Deportiva Salamanca, S.A.D. () was a historical Spanish football team based in Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 February 1923 and nicknamed ''Los Charros'', the club played in white shirts and black ...

Move to Israel

In August 2009, Cohen spurned offers from clubs in Spain and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and signed a two-year deal starting at

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

80K, with a one-year option, with Israeli club Hapoel Ra'anana. In doing so, Cohen advanced his dream of one day playing for the Israeli national team and became the most expensive signing ever for Hapoel Ra'anana. Cohen's debut in Israel was on 12 September 2009 in a

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

match between Hapoel Ra'anana and

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Afte ...

. In August 2010, Cohen signed for a 1-year contract at

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jeru ...

. After two seasons with Beitar, Cohen moved for

Waasland-Beveren Sportkring Beveren is a professional Belgian association football club located in the municipality of Beveren, East Flanders. They play in the Belgian First Division B. History The club was founded in 1936 as Red Star and registered to an amate ...

but after less than a month with the Belgian club he decided to get back to Israel and played another season with Beitar. In the 2013-14 he played for

Hapoel Acre Hapoel Acre Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל עכו, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Akko'') is an Israeli football club based in Acre, Israel. The club currently plays in Liga Leumit. History Founded in 1946, the club dwelt i ...

. After one season in Acre, Cohen signed a two-year contract with

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

Honours

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

: **Runner-up (1): 2009-10

Statistics

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Steven 1986 births Living people French men's footballers Jewish French sportspeople Jewish Israeli sportspeople Israeli men's footballers Footballers from Marseille Montpellier HSC players Racing de Ferrol footballers UD Salamanca players S.K. Beveren players French emigrants to Israel Hapoel Ra'anana A.F.C. players Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players Hapoel Acre F.C. players Hapoel Haifa F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Spain Men's association football midfielders