Eli Cohen: “I will stay here at Kiryat Shmona”

Eli Cohen has yet to notch his first win as head coach of Ironi Kiryat Shmona this season. The good folks of this northern town can live with that. But to hand Dudu Dahan and last-place Hakoah Ramat Gan their first home victory this season? That’s going too far. And if that’s not humiliating enough, Kiryat Shmona finds itself fending off relegation.

Despite everything, Cohen is convinced that he can work magic in the north after being brought in by owner Izzy Sheratzky. Recent experience at Maccabi Netanya, Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Bnei Yehuda suggests his magical touch doesn’t extend past midseason, but Cohen is confident this time round things will turn out differently.

“No doubt about it - over the past five years, when I’ve joined teams midseason, it went less well,” Cohen admitted in an interview with Haaretz this week. “It’s never easy to take over a team at midseason, with players you didn’t pick. At Kiryat Shmona, the situation allowed me to pick four foreign players and to make a major change in the starting 11.”

In the past you swore you wouldn’t join another team midseason. What happened this time?

Cohen: “Correct, that’s what I told myself after leaving Bnei Yehuda. But you can’t just sit on the fence, waiting for an offer at the beginning of the season. You could end up losing your touch. You don’t always get an offer from clubs like Maccabi Tel Aviv, and at the end of the day it’s how I make a living. Kiryat Shmona is a different matter, because I came only after Izzy asked me as a friend. Despite the difficulty of moving north, I couldn’t turn him down.”

It seems as though you lost the joy of coaching after Bnei Yehuda.

“Even the toughest moments haven’t diminished my desire. I think only Maccabi Tel Aviv made me feel like that. There was always someone there who wanted me out the door. I didn’t enjoy the job at Bnei Yehuda because I didn’t bring results, although I did do a good job. I developed three players who are now very valuable to Bnei Yehuda - Liroi Zeiri, Eliran Atar and Oz Rali. I laid the groundwork for its current success.”

But you haven’t managed to build anything so far at Kiryat Shmona.

“We have a huge problem, which we’re hiding. Every club has its low moments, and that’s where we are. Past experience shows that small clubs like Nazareth Ilit, Sakhnin and even Herzliya did well their first season in the Premier League and then came the disappointment. We lack the confidence we had last season, and that’s because of the sin of arrogance. Because of last year, the players pay more attention to the major clubs, and we really play better against them relative to the small teams.”

That’s exactly what they brought you in for. Why isn’t it working?

“Our problem relates to a lack of coordination among the players, which stems mainly from constraints. We had no time to prepare properly for this season. There are young players alongside experienced, talented foreigners, and I believe we can build something that can produce results for years. When you’re constantly losing, it’s hard to build this up. Once we get on our feet, the chemistry will develop and we’ll be very strong.”

More than once, you have been criticized for not looking players in the eye. Where does that come from?

“I know how to lead my players into battle. I’m attached to them and know how to talk to them while looking them in the eye. That wasn’t the case in Netanya, and after five games I got up and left. The atmosphere here is different, and you can feel the players’ dedication much more than in other places.”

As someone from Tel Aviv, how hard is it to get used to life in the north?

“I don’t have small kids anymore who need to be taken care of. My wife comes here because I never cook or do my own laundry, and I have no intention of starting now. I was never the kind to hang out in Tel Aviv cafes, so I really don’t miss that. I’ve discovered the north. I go out hiking a lot to get to know this jewel.” Do you believe you’ll finish the season here?

“I see myself here in another eight seasons. I’ll harvest the fruit with Kiryat Shmona. It’s been years since I felt this way, and I can’t wait to get to the next practice.”