Martin Cohen (soccer)

Martin Cohen (born 3 February 1952) is a South African former professional association footballer who played for the Los Angeles Aztecs.

Martin Cohen
Personal information
Full name Martin Cohen
Date of birth (1952-02-03) 3 February 1952
Place of birth Johannesburg, South Africa
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1977 Highlands Park
1977 Los Angeles Aztecs 21 (0)
1978–1979 Highlands Park
1979 California Surf 23 (0)
1980–1982 Highlands Park
1983–1984 Wits University
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Cohen was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is Jewish.[1][2][3] He was a starter for Highlands Park during the apartheid era of soccer in South Africa. He had trained with this club since the age of 10.[4] On 20 April 1974, Cohen was part of the White XI that played their black counterparts in a racially charged match at Rand Stadium. After initially going down 1-0 to the black side (the goal was called off-side by referee Wally Turner), Cohen scored a crucial goal before Neil Roberts put the game away.[5]

In 1975, Cohen won the South Africa's player of the year.[6]

In December 1976 he signed with the Los Angeles Aztecs.[4] He scored his first two goals in the first leg of the second round of the NASL playoffs against the Dallas Tornado as the Aztecs won 3-1.[7] He played with the California Surf in 1979.[8]

His son, Larry Cohen, is also a footballer.

See also

Footnotes
  1. "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com.
  3. "Where have South African Jewish sporting heroes gone?". South African Jewish Report.
  4. "Aztecs sign Martin Cohen". Tampa Tribune. 25 December 1976.
  5. Cress, Doug (3 July 2000). "Color Bind". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  6. Glick, Shav (21 August 1977). "Aztecs Face Seattle Test Today". Los Angeles Times. p. III.11.
  7. "...while Los Angeles battles". Fort Myers News-Press. 16 August 1977.
  8. "Surf plays Moscow team tonight in Anaheim". Los Angeles Times. 23 February 1979.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.