Martin Cohen (soccer)

Martin Cohen

Personal information
Full name	Martin Cohen
Date of birth	(1952-02-03) 3 February 1952 (age 72)
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
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

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

• List of select Jewish football (association; soccer) players

Footnotes

1. "! {Exclamation mark)". 14 December 2014 – via PressReader.
2. http://docshare04.docshare.tips/files/7963/79633183.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
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.

External links

• NASL Profile