Some highlights: I know most people don't track the Israeli Premier League but American gk Josh Cohen has been having a pretty good season with Maccabi Haifa. pic.twitter.com/zqa5lckJIU— Everybody Soccer (@letsallsoccer) February 25, 2022
Interest from Atlanta, who suddenly need a GK: Atlanta United have held numerous talks about signing American GK Josh Cohen, I'm told. He's currently with Maccabi Haifa though can be signed as a free agent this summer. Interest/talks predate Guzan injury.Cohen, 29, named Footballer of the Year in Israeli league last year. pic.twitter.com/OG3FBdujFM— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) April 18, 2022
I was gutted to see Guzan go down with his an Achilles tear. The video was of the injury and his reaction were hard to watch. I felt so bad for him. Sadly, his career could be over. Harsh but true. With that hat said, Cohen would be an instant upgrade over Guzan. This would be a fantastic signing. I’ve been on record saying Cohen has played well enough for a USMNT look. Maybe a move to MLS can pave the way.
I'm gonna answer twice since you put this in 2 threads. He is an Israeli citizen (very easy for Jews to become citizens & why he was a hot commodity in Israel). But he's still very eligible for the USMNT (and isn't eligible for Israel because he didn't live there 5 years).
He's considered the best keeper in the league, it seems, but it's the Israeli league. A very, very weak league. As in, their Champions (Cohen's team) didn't get past the First Qualifying Round of the Champions and was taken out by a club from Kazakhstan. I'm not sure he's higher level than a decent MLS keeper.
The Israeli league isn't very strong, about 3 Liga or League 1/Championship bottom financially, but it does produce a sprinkling of decent players for Top 5 bottom feeders and the better teams in Tier 2 leagues (Liege, Celtic, etc.). As for Cohen, he's out of contract in June and is likely to be a back-to-back league champion, having been kept on by a coach with 5 league titles and a reputation for clearing out squads when he takes over. If, as seems likely, he decides to leave Israel he will have offers from Europe's Top 5 second divisions and UEFA ball sides from the second tier, so he's surely good enough for even a better MLS side.
I've had an eye on Cohen since his Sacramento Republic days and have tried the best I could to follow his progress at Maccabi Haifa. The dude can play regardless of the quality of the Israeli Premier League. Freakishly athletic. good command of his backline, quick off his line, solid distribution with his feet, and isn't shy about coming for crosses despite average height at 6'1". He is well above the average MLS GK. Is he a Andre Blake, Matt Turner, or Perdo Gallese probably not. But he's in the class of a present-day Stefan Frei, Ely Room, Sean Johnson and a William Yarbrough - who I watch every week and IMO is very underrated. Cohen reminds me is of a Luis Robles. That's the comparison I'd make.
MLS is not known for great goalkeeping. When I say 'decent MLS goalkeeper' I mean the best of the lot.
He's going to stay in Israel: Josh Cohen, 29, won another league title with Maccabi Haifa this season. He was named Israeli league Player of the Year after the 2020-21 season. He's made 121 apps with Haifa.If they don't qualify for Champions League, they'll likely end up in UEFA Conference League again.— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) June 15, 2022
Rare chance to see Cohen on American TV. Cohen and Maccabi Haifa taken on Olympiakos in 1st Leg of the CL 2nd Round of Qualifying. Match is on Paramount+ 12:50 EST.
What's the Israeli ranking by UEFA? Is it on par with many Eastern European leagues or leagues from the Balkans?
Maccabi down 1-0 in the 7th. Olympiakos player hit a rock shot off the inside bottom of Cohen's left hand post and it rebounded to an Olympiakos player to finish. On the replay Josh got his finger tips on the original shot pushing it off the post. Nothing Josh could do about either shot.
Decent guess. Officially, it's ranked 22nd in Europe, but with Russia excluded for the foreseeable future (hopefully indefinitely) that bumps them up to 21st. Either way, the IPL is slightly above Sweden (yes, you read that correctly), then Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania, and just below Czechia and Croatia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficient#Men's_Association_coefficient
HT 1-0 Olympiakos Maccabi unlucky to be down at HT. They had two sweet goals disallowed - rightfully so - due to offsides. Close margins but the right calls. Game has been played a frenetic pace with lots of physicality. 5 yellows between the team. Tense match, for sure.
fellow YA and Haitian international, Frantzdy Pierrot gets on the pich in the 60th minute for his debut for Maccabi Haifa. He promptly blows a great opportunity in by himself on goal. Oof. Not an easy finish but one you should finish.
Ft 1-1 Maccabi earned a draw deep into stoppage time on a mishit cross that somehow magically found its way into the net. Maccabi definitely had the better of the play and deservedly got an equalizer. Two goals ruled out due to offside and several near misses. Olympaikos really unlucky not be going back to Athens down in the aggregate. Cohen played well when called upon but he was by far the less busy of the GK's. He's a solid GK that I wished got the recognition.
I don't know why he hasn't started under Beerholder TBH. The guy is actually, you know, playing, every weekend in fact, plus in UEFA midweek games as well. That's a level that's a bit above MLS or the Championship, to put it mildly, and no less than warming the bench in the Prem. @MHaifa1913 would be better informed, but I haven't seen anything that says he's been responsible for Haifa losing any of their UEFA games. He's also won a championship medal or two in a very tight league, so he understands the pressure end of things. Call him up and give him a few starts. It's a no-brainer to me.
You’re preaching to the crowd. I know. I might be a crowd of one though I’ve posted a lot in this thread and have pounded the pavement for a look and see with the USMNT. I glad Cohen is continuing to get that CL experience but I was also a little bummer Atlanta couldn’t snag him. Easily accessible seeing him in MLS. The dude can play. There’s no question about it.
The top teams in Israel would be playoff teams in MLS. The rest of the league is bottom of MLS/USL quality. It’s easy to assume that with pro/rel, and random European competition that anyone playing well deserves a call up. But I personally believe that leagues such as Israel, Turkey, Scotland, Greece, Switzerland, and the Nordics are no better than MLS. So we shouldn’t be taking the Gyasi Zardes’s of Europe just because they play in Europe. They don’t improve the squad…just like Gyasi Zardes.
So, by this logic Cohen would be the equal of Johnson (and have Turner and Steffen really proven they are above the level of MLS playoff team?) I don't buy the "efficient market" theory that states the players always find their level in a defined hierarchy of leagues. Sure if this guy were a world beater he would be on a famous team, but plenty of good goalkeepers play for less fancied sides. (Ortega, Steffen's replacement at Man City, spent most of his career in the lower divisions before leading Arminia Bielefeld to Bundesliga promotion.) And right now, a good goalkeeper in form playing every match would be an upgrade for the USA.