sport
magazine
"The Instagram post was a call for help"
To this day, Mickey Cohen has not spoken in the media.
After the signing of his son Jonathan in Pisa, he responds to the choice ("Going to Serie B is disappointing?" Good question "), the media post (" Maybe he was vulgar ") and of course Maccabi Tel Aviv (" We left an open door, maybe he will return ").
Special interview
Tags
Jonathan Cohen
Pisa
Refresh Baranowski
Monday, 16 August 2021, 15:44 Updated: 15:45
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on general
Share on general
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
0 comments
Summary: Bnei Sakhnin - Urbani Kiryat Shmona 3: 2
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser El Khalafi with Lionel Messi
Summary: Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt 2: 5
Summary: Tottenham - Manchester City 0: 1
Conference League Qualifier Summary: Hapoel Beer Sheva -...
Toto Cup Summary: Hapoel Tel Aviv - Hapoel Jerusalem ...
Toto Cup Summary: Betar Jerusalem - Maccabi Netanya 2: 1
Yam Madar Hapoel Tel Aviv player
Summary: PSV Eindhoven - Hercules 0: 2
Camila Giorgi wins the Montreal tournament
Dutch League Summary: Willem II - Feyenoord 4: 0
Paris Saint-Germain announces the signing of Lionel Messi
Yonatan Cohen at Maccabi Tel Aviv's winning celebrations in the State Cup (Photo by surfers)
Mickey Cohen has had a difficult time. The son Yonatan rocked between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Italy, until he signed in Pisa. "There were some very emotional weeks, shaky weeks, with a lot of ups and downs," says Cohen Sr., himself a former player at Maccabi Tel Aviv, in an interview. At the suggestion of the Italians. I always say you have to hit the iron when it's hot, and we felt it was the right time for Jonathan. As his father and as his advisor, I saw a tremendous opportunity here. "We thought Italy was the biggest stage that could be for him to go out and play abroad - the team won the Euros, football is flourishing there so it was a great opportunity, which may not come back."
He defines the signing as a "military operation" and explains: "We had a group WhatsApp, which had Jonathan, me and the agents, Shlomi Ben Ezra and Gilad Katsav and also Ronen Katsav, of course, who was on the standard of the senior adviser. Everything was very secret and we could not tell anyone "It was really nerve-wracking and we knew that at any moment it could just explode."
More on Walla!
NEWS
Parents, you must see what happened to Noam Frost
To the full article
Military operation.
Left: Gilad Katsav, Miki Cohen, Yonatan Cohen, Shlomi Ben Ezra, Guy Cohen (Photo: courtesy of the photographers)
In fact, the turning point happened about ten days ago, at the weekend after the home game against Sotiska.
"There were a few days when we felt things were moving. On Saturday night the talks moved between the owners themselves, Mitch Goldhaar and Alexander Naster, and we knew that only the two could end the story between them. "My son is going to make his dream come true. The thoughts that went through my mind were that Jonathan is going to show himself at the highest levels in Europe."
A tip or advice you gave him?
"I talked to him about the whole issue of the move, about him going to live in a foreign country, far from home, albeit with his fiancée, who will soon become his wife in October, but he is still facing a very, very significant change in life. I told Jonathan he must make a switch in mind "I told him he had to change his attitude from now on, in order to adapt to the demands of him in Pisa. It all happened very badly. I had to take my wife out of swearing at her father, we apologized to everyone who came to comfort him."
"If your son has dreams, do everything to make it happen"
What does Jonathan say about his first days there?
"He is very impressed with the training facility, he is currently alone there. There is a representative from the club, who is close to him and takes care of everything he needs. Jonathan trains very hard and talks about a murderous pace in training. He returns to the hotel drained."
Jonathan got the number 11, just like the number that was on your shirt. Feel like closing a circle?
"This number passes in our family, it is indeed closing a circle for me. In Maccabi he did not have that number, he was with 11 in Betar Tel Aviv-Ramla and also later in Bnei Yehuda, but in Maccabi he played with 24. And it is funny that When he arrived in Italy, they kept the number for him and he got what he asked for. "The
two weeks before the deal closed, were very uneasy, to say the least. The highlight was with the post that surfaced on Instagram. Did you feel it too?
"I knew, of course, about the post even before he uploaded it. The goal was to show Maccabi the thoughts of Jonathan and his family. As a father, as soon as an offer came from abroad, I decided I would do anything to get Jonathan out and fulfill his dream. I also say this to other parents, and this is an important point for me - if your son has ambitions and dreams to go abroad and such a big offer comes, do everything to make it happen. "
After the post came up did you realize that there is really no way back?
"No, not necessarily. For me it was to do something, to convey our feelings to the people at Maccabi. It was not a part of 'Jonathan hates Maccabi' or does not want to play in it. We love Maccabi very much, we are real Maccabees, but he wanted to come To a higher professional level, and of course a completely different financial level. Jonathan is 25, this is an excellent age for progress and for him he is thinking of getting to Serie A, of course. "Maybe he was even vulgar in a sense, but it was a call for help for him. We left an open door at Maccabi and the relationship was good in the end. Who knows? Maybe he will return to Maccabi."
More on Walla!
Yonatan Cohen signed in Pisa: "I apologize if I hurt anyone at Maccabi Tel Aviv"
Maccabi Tel Aviv optimistic after signing Stifa Fritza: "He will not come up with his nose"
Do you deserve a disabled parking ticket?
That's how you get it without bureaucracy
The goal was to show the thoughts of Jonathan and the family. Yonatan, Miki and Ronit Cohen (Photo: courtesy of the photographers)
Cohen talks about an offer he received from his son last year, from the Turkish champion in Shakhtar. "It was a very flattering offer, but Maccabi said no and we respected their wish. There was another offer and it was also economically upgraded for us, from Italian Genoa, but Maccabi vetoed it so we gave up and always preferred to keep the relationship normal and good."
Isn't Jonathan's walk to Serie B a bit disappointing? A less prestigious league, less covered, it will not be the same exposure as the really big leagues.
"It's definitely a good question. Today because of Corona's situation, teams in Europe spend almost no money on players. We knew the situation in the market, and because Pisa is a club in Italy, the biggest stage, it was also part of the consideration to respond in the affirmative. "Their, it says a lot. He really wanted him in the team. I hope he will play a lot and if Jonathan sees his abilities here, they will be able to see him and with the help of the name another jump will come."
Come to think of it, you've never been interviewed in the media, probably in the last decade since your son became a professional actor.
"That's right, I chose not to be interviewed for several reasons. First of all, I wanted the focus and attention to go to Jonathan and not to me. In addition, the media in the country is full of interests and there are things I really do not like. , It's something I can not stand. Maybe one day he will get to it, he's Jonathan Cohen and he's on his own and there's no need to make comparisons to anyone else. Everyone with his level, with his personality so there were a lot of hypocritical things in the media. I preferred to stay away from it. "
". One day Jonathan is compared to Eran Zehavi and a little later, because of one game or another, the same commentators dismantle Yonatan and say, 'What Zehavi? He will never be Eran Zehavi'" (Photo: GettyImages, ANP Sport)
How do you even see the path of progress in Jonathan's career?
"I see it on the one hand as something good, on the other hand there is also something less good. If there is a player who is talented in youth he should be allowed to play in the seniors. As in my times, a player who was good and talented in youth 18, without getting in the way of any daughter team. If the professional team has a good eye impression and he sees that it is a player who can contribute and advance in the seniors, then skip this issue of Betar Tel Aviv Bat Yam.
"On the other hand, at the time Jordi Cruyff initiated this project of a daughter team and in retrospect it was very successful and maybe even saved players like Yonatan, or Matan Hozaz, Shachar Phiben, Dan Glazer and others who did not have a place at Maccabi at the time. Once they worked in the team One, it helped the club leaders to follow them closely and form a team that later came and marched Maccabi to the championship. But it should also be remembered that this whole team went through another station after Betar Tel Aviv. Jonathan, for example, continued to borrow from Bnei Yehuda, where he received the stage and all the credit, and I believe it improved him and helped him return to Maccabi more prepared and more mature. It is important for me to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Judea and Nissan Yehezkel coach Itzhak Shum, who gave him freedom of action and believe in him. "
Jonathan has been replayed some of your goals, one of you a better player?
" What a question at all? Jonathan is better than me, at least in two ranks, that much is clear. "Jonathan is a killer in front of goal, he is a very diverse player."
What do you think about the fathers of actors who intervene and those who are constantly heard in the media?
"I think this is a very negative phenomenon. The stage should be given to the children, so that they have a quiet mind to work and succeed. Parents are very important in the process, I too as a parent was very involved, but outside and behind the scenes. I was very objective and did not make assumptions, without sweeping "Nothing under the rug. Obviously every parent should do what he thinks is right. Personally, I think you can advise and help maybe, but give the children the stage, that they will deal alone. As a father there should be less in the media and headlines, because in the end it does no good to the child."
What will they look like now?
Maccabi Tel Aviv without Yonatan Cohen (Photo: Berni Ardov)
And finally, as a Maccabist, how do you see the team that has been built so far?
Can the current Maccabi, without Yonatan Cohen and Dor Peretz and a number of other players who have left, compete for the championship?
"I leave it entirely to the professional team and the heads of the club. The management is very oiled and knows exactly what needs to be done. This is a period of changing shifts at Maccabi, after quite a few players have left.
Share on Facebook
Share on WhatsApp
Share on general
Share on general
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
0 comments
