Avi Cohen

Avraham "Avi" Cohen (; 14 November 1956 – 29 December 2010) after his death Maccabi Tel Aviv retired the number 5 that he formerly wore.

Career Cohen was born in Cairo, Egypt, and was Jewish. He moved to Israel as a youngster, and began his playing career with Maccabi Tel Aviv, before joining Liverpool for a fee of £200,000 ($450,000) in July 1979, and became the first Israeli to play in England. He struggled to establish himself as a regular at Anfield and was released in November 1981, rejoining Maccabi. He did not play enough matches to receive a winner's medal for either the first division League Championship or the European Cup. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1987, when he had a brief spell under former Liverpool teammate Graeme Souness at Rangers, On 9 October 1984, Cohen scored his first goal against Greece in a 2–2 friendly draw. He was capped 51 times, scoring 3 goals. His son, Tamir, is also a professional footballer who plays for Maccabi Haifa in the Israeli Premier League and the Israel national team.

Personal life Cohen was married to Dorit Cohen and the father of three, including the football player Tamir Cohen. In addition, Cohen was the brother-in-law of former football player Vicky Peretz and the uncle of Peretz sons – Adi and Omer Peretz.

In 2008, he participated in the Israeli reality version of Dancing with the Stars and was the fifth to be eliminated.

Death On 20 December 2010, Cohen was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash. He was taken to Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital, where he was immediately taken into surgery. On 28 December 2010, the hospital declared that Cohen was brain dead. His brain death was confirmed by his son Tamir later the same day.

Liverpool marked the death of Cohen with a period of applause before their Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 29 December 2010. The club also played a friendly game against the local Jewish community in honor of Avi. They competed for the Avi Cohen cup. Liverpool Legends team won 1–0.

On 24 April 2011, his son Tamir, of Bolton Wanderers, paid a tribute to his late father after scoring the winner against Arsenal and celebrating with a printed T-shirt with his father's face on it.

Career statistics Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 9 October 1984 Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece 2–2 Draw Friendly 2. 8 September 1985 Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel 5–0 Win 1986 FIFA World Cup qual. 3. 20 October 1985 Olympic Park, Melbourne, Australia 1–1 Draw 1986 FIFA World Cup qual.Correct as of 21 January 2017

Honours

Player Maccabi Tel Aviv Liga Leumit First Division: 1976–77, 1978–79 State Cup: 1976–77, 1986–87 Israel Super Cup: 1988

Liverpool Charity Shield: 1979, 1980 Champions league 80/81 Premier League 79/80 carabao cup 1981

Rangers League Cup: 1987–88

Individual Israel Player of the Year: 1978–79 Member of the Israeli Football Hall of Fame