Israeli footballer

Shmuel Kozokin (Hebrew: שמואל קוזוקין; born 16 November 1987) is a former Israeli footballer. Kozokin was a defender. Today he is a sport teacher in high school.

He was born in the USSR in 1987. When he was four years old his family immigrated to Israel and lives in Beit Shemesh. At the age on nine he joined a football school, and at the age of 14 joined the youth team of Beitar Jerusalem.

He played for the Israel national under-19 football team in 2005–2006, and was part of the Israeli team at the 2005 Maccabiah Games that won the football gold medal.

With the youth team he won the 2005–2006 Israeli youth-teams-cup, and he was brought up to the mature team. He was part of the mature squad, and at the same time played for the youth team, with whom he won the 2006–2007 cup and championship, and was chosen youth player of the year. He was also part of the Israel national under-21 football team that reached the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship (though he did not play in the tournament itself).

In the 2006–2007 season, when the mature team won the state championship, he was mostly a bench player, but at the same time played for the youth team that won the state cup and championship, and was chosen youth player of the year. In the 2007–2008 season when the team won both the state championship and the state cup he played in many games, especially at the end of the season. After that season he received a call to the Israel national football team.

In January 2013, Kozokin transferred to Hapoel Kfar Saba.

References

External links

• About Kozokin from a fan site of Beitar Jerusalem
• An interview with Kozokin after he was chosen youth player of the year 2007
• Shmuel Kozokin at National-Football-Teams.com