Steven Cohen (footballer)

Cohen was born in Marseille to a French father with Israeli citizenship and Jewish mother.[2]

Cohen was brought up through the youth ranks of French club Montpellier HSC. After being released by Montpellier, Cohen landed at Spanish club Racing Club de Ferrol. The second season for Cohen in Spain proved to be his breakout year and he was courted by Deportivo de La Coruña who agreed to terms with Cohen on a four-year contract. Due to budget issues at Deportivo, the deal was canceled and Cohen traveled to Israel to visit family and friends.[2] During this visit, he went on a week-long trial at F.C. Ashdod. When push came to shove, no final offers had been made and Cohen returned to Spain to play for UD Salamanca.[2]

In August 2009, Cohen spurned offers from clubs in Spain and Turkey and signed a two-year deal starting at €80K, with a one-year option, with Israeli club Hapoel Ra'anana. In doing so, Cohen advanced his dream of one day playing for the Israeli national team and became the most expensive signing ever for Hapoel Ra'anana.[3]

Cohen's debut in Israel was on 12 September 2009 in a Premier League match between Hapoel Ra'anana and Maccabi Netanya. In August 2010, Cohen signed for a 1-year contract at Beitar Jerusalem. After two seasons with Beitar, Cohen moved for Waasland-Beveren but after less than a month with the Belgian club he decided to get back to Israel and played another season with Beitar. In the 2013-14 he played for Hapoel Acre. After one season in Acre, Cohen signed a two-year contract with Hapoel Haifa.