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Birthright Project: The Season Game of Daniel Tenenbaum and Josh Cohen | Israel today

2020-01-06T13:20:11.551Z


Israeli soccer


Expectations were not high • Pressure does not affect them at all • The Premier League has upgraded their career • And both have been given the opportunity by chance and due to their Jewishness • Daniel Tenenbaum and Josh Cohen will meet for the game this season - and they will dream of a place on the Israeli national team

  • Daniel Tannenbaum. the dream? To reach the Israeli national team

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In October, Daniel Tenenbaum fulfilled a dream he never imagined would come true. No, we're not talking about his record-breaking 7th all-time record, but that evening in the peace game where he shared the locker room with Brazilian legends like Ronaldinho, Kaka and Roberto Carlos.

Tenenbaum's next dream is to reach the Israeli national team, and legally (a citizen should live in Israel for five years) it will only be possible in a year.

What is the secret of Brazilian Jewish success? How did he succeed where many citizens before him failed? Well, the answer is a bit complex. In the era of Jordi Cruyff as a professional manager, he tried to locate Jewish players around the world so they could play in his team without catching a stranger's slot. Thus, in Kiryat Shalom, names like Ignacio Fidelef, Igor Filipanka and Nick Blackman landed, but none of them succeeded too much in Maccabi.

Contrary to those citizens whose expectations were high, Tannenbaum reached a long-term investment standard, not knowing if he would succeed or not. Even this summer, he was scheduled to be the secondary goalkeeper for Anders Ianniotis, who, without the injury and bad ability of the Greek in European games, these words would not have been written.

Tannenbaum. Learn from Fredrag Raikovich // Illum: Ginny Agency

Maccabi believes that the fact that Tannenbaum had no pressure to prove himself or enter the lineup immediately, like the other citizens who received a much higher salary, allowed him to develop and mainly learn from Frederick Raikovich. Along with the connection to Israel and the desire to stay there (serving in the Air Force), and of course his great work ethic, he became the least-absorbed goalkeeper in recent years - a lone scorer in 16 games. Of course, he shares the credit with Maccabi's iron defense.

Tenenbaum's success, which has become a kind of ambassador of the State of Israel and the League, and in all his interviews in Brazil how much he enjoys here and that life in the country is the opposite of what they are trying to paint in the world, opens to previously closed-door Maccabi. "There are not too many good Jews in the world. Those who are really good would prefer to be in other leagues, but maybe because of Daniel more young Jews with potential will want to come here," concludes Alufa.

Engineer with gloves

Just before Round (Round 4) Josh Cohen was called the flag for the first time. Guy Haimov was injured during the game against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Bloomfield, and his replacement, whom no one knew what to expect (until three years ago he played in the second league in the US), has set himself a leisurely task, despite the 29,000 spectator backdrop.

Cohen. Arrived in Haifa quite by accident // Photo: Maor Alexa

He looked confident and did the job. There's something about the 26-year-old's mental ability that you won't see with a headset before a game. He will not hear trances or a song by Omar Adam. What soothes him before games is crossword puzzles. "He sits in the locker room with a thick book, pen, and just solves crosswords for hours," his teammates said. "He has crazy general knowledge. He's not a typical football player."

Cohen arrived in Haifa quite by accident. Omri Glazer left for the Ness Ziona section, and Haifa needed a goalkeeper immediately. The meager Israeli market led to searches for a Jewish doorman. Palm Keenan, who is still in contact with the club, recommended Cohen, with whom he played for Sacramento Republic of the Second League in the US. Coach Marco Confusion checked and it seemed that for a second goalkeeper did not need much. "No one thought he was coming as the first goalkeeper," the club explained Just after landing, Carmel revealed quite a few details about him - Josh Cohen is a character primarily reminiscent of an American college boy, an engineer by profession who was not convinced he could develop a career as a footballer.

Josh Cohen. Relaxed Guy // Ginny Agency

In the US, he was paid only $ 45,000 a season, and when he received a bid from Maccabi Haifa at double the amount he was in the clouds. "His arrival at a big club in Israel was a success for him," his associates said. He is calm, can also play in front of 100,000 viewers and not get excited, which is something that is especially rare for someone who has not played at these levels before. "

Since Cohen landed in Israel, Haifa began trying to civilize him (his father a Jew). He recently received an ID card, but he has long been feeling at home. After a brief stint in Israel, Humi Keenan, Dekel's father, invited him to visit and gather at Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra. "Josh is really happy and loves the country," they said in Haifa. He has since been in contact with the Keenan family, talks to Palm every week and tells him about the experiences in Israel.

His parents recently arrived in Israel and will also be in the game tonight with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Cohen is awaiting his girlfriend's return to Israel, who underwent a car accident a few months ago and returned to the US to recover. "He manages to deal with everything, he has a strong personality," they said in Haifa. "Maybe the coach of the team also sees it. It's not that there are many good Israeli goalkeepers."

Source: israelhayom

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