The end of an era in Israeli football. At the age of 33, after a glorious career that included nine years in Germany during which he was also captain of the Bundesliga, Almog Cohen Announced his retirement from football at a festive and exciting press conference, in the midst of a season during which he suffered injuries and will continue as the club’s new sporting director.
“I am very excited and thank everyone who came,” he began Cohen“It’s a sad and exciting day for me, but one that takes me on a new and challenging path. As a player I came to places I never dreamed of. I could not believe that I would play in the stadiums of Bayern, Dortmund, be the first Jewish captain in the German league and be an Israeli player. “For giving me the right to be a role model and hoping that every day I do my part in the best way possible thanks to the values I received from my parents and the club that served as my home.”
When he decided to retire: “At the beginning of the season I had a conversation with Eyal and Niv and I already had thoughts in my head that many things have to happen for me to continue playing, because after a good season already in training camp my knee hurt and I kept coming up with shots for training. I do not want to play anymore. “
Return to Israel after the successful years in Germany: “I was good at Ingolstadt and also the captain, I did not want to return, but you can make plans and the Holy One laughs from above and knows what he is doing. My mother passed away and then I made a decision to return, Maccabi Netanya is my home and I was always in touch with Eyal. “Good and attractive, but I knew I wanted to play for Maccabi Netanya also to be close to my father and my family. There were really no other options. This is the best decision I made in my career.”
The most exciting moment in his career“Against Leverkusen when I unveiled the shirt with the caption ‘The name is God.’
If he feels there are things he has missed in his career: “Obviously I wanted to take a degree with Maccabi Netanya as an active player, but it is impossible to fulfill all the dreams. I am confident and believe in my way in the new position I am entering, that it is possible to bring a degree to Maccabi Netanya.”
Changes he is planning at Maccabi Netanya as a professional manager: “The most important thing in football is to have a connection with the coach, and I do not know if in other places I can also have a connection like I have with Bnei Lem, this is a friendship of many years, a click from his first second at Maccabi Netanya. “Niv and Eyal and I think I have the whole shell to succeed and feel that they want me to succeed. The most important thing is to persevere, work hard and modestly and that is what we will try to instill in the young people of Maccabi Netanya and the senior team.”
Goals he sets for himself as a professional manager“That the senior team will continue to play as it does today, that the youth team will succeed as it has recently and continue to play football that suits the city of Netanya and the fans. I am never calm and always want to get better, but when I see our young players I think we will be at the top.”
How to deal with the big teams like Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa: “Coach Ralph Haznehotel changed my whole perception of football, he made me realize that money does not play a role when we played against Pep Munich’s Bayern Munich and they barely got through the half.”
If he joins players or team members thanks to his connections abroad: “This is not something I build on. I see the investment in players as a top priority, the most important thing is that the players feel like professionals and that is how they will improve. There are players here who lead Maccabi Netanya and a few years ago no one believed it would be. For the young guys to get better. “
If he has an intention to coach in the future: “I do not see myself as a coach in the coming years, it does not cross my mind. I want to learn, get better and go to ‘Sports Director’ courses and hope to learn as much as possible.”
For not winning the title as an actor: “I won a championship in the second Bundesliga, yes? I’m sure Maccabi Netanya will take a title, with the help of the name. I’m sure.”
The press conference opened with good luck from Yossi Benyon, Dudu Awat, coaches, players and acquaintances of Cohen in Israel and around the world and then the CEO of Maccabi Netanya Niv Goldstein Announced Cohen’s appointment as the club’s professional manager: “This is an unforgettable captain, but also another important day for the club where Almog Cohen is appointed as the professional manager. To be the father of us all. From the smallest problem of a player in boys A to the senior players, Almog helps and helps to find solutions. Almog will be responsible for the training, the method of play and from the academy level to the seniors. In his new way. “
The owner too Eyal Segal Congratulated Cohen in his speech: “Daniel Yamar arrived in 2006 and it was the most exciting summer for Maccabi Netanya fans, because every player in the market joined. In the UEFA Cup match, in Portugal he already started in the squad as a teenager. This was my first encounter with Almog, he had not yet turned 19. We kept in touch in the good and bad years and all the way I consulted with him, probably since I bought the club. Therefore, when he decided to return to Israel, we set up a meeting in which Almog did not talk to us about financial issues, but professional ones. I estimate that already that day Niv and Almog, who met at the meeting, embroidered this day.
“This is a historic moment in Maccabi Netanya and in Israeli football in general,” Segal continued, “because this is the first time that a player from the youth team, who traveled to play in the second or third best league in Europe and spent 9 years there, returned to the country where he started. If you listened to Niv then he will not be the professional manager, but a ‘sports director’ – that’s significant. We very much hope that this will also be the case. “Absolutely and to show that you do not have to have shiny names, but more important is the growth from below. I am convinced that together with you we can reach other places and it is certain that this is a historic moment for Israeli football and certainly for Maccabi Netanya.”
Cohen grew up in Maccabi Netanya and became its link star at a young age. At the beginning of the 2010/11 season he moved to the Nuremberg team from the Bundesliga and played in its ranks for 3 years before returning for a short period to Hapoel Tel Aviv and then signing for Ingolstadt from the second division in Germany, in which he scored 11 goals in 126 appearances. In 2019, Cohen returned to Netanya when he signed for four years, but the last season and a half have been less good for him and he has suffered many injuries. Cohen also has 27 appearances in the Israeli national team uniform.