Best had him in his All-Time XI (at least in one of them) – and named him the toughest opponent alongside Reaney if my memory serves me right.
He's got Carlos Alberto and Paul Breitner in the one I saw there. Decent company to be fair.
https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/george-best-perfect-xi
I remember his Reaney quote.
Is that based on Cohen's actual strengths and weaknesses, or more an assumption based on draft status?
I'm asking because I often found old school FBs to be defensive specialists first. For example, watching Armfield footage, I found his defensive ability absolutely impressive, and I'd have him as a top notch defensive option out wide (maybe even a good CB in a back three).
Don't have a picture of Cohen though, hence my question. He should be somewhat known for his 1966 games.
I suppose I've not seen enough to convince me either way. He looked fairly solid for England in 1966, somewhat unremarkable, but a useful cog as part of an effective defence. But earlier in the thread I listed those Scotland v England games from the 1960s where quite often Scotland exploited England's right-back area. For instance in 1963, Baxter tackles Armfield and scores direct. And in 1967 - probably the most famous game in Scotland's history - Macalliog's 1-2 to score the 3rd goal and make it 3-1, it just looks like pretty weak defending.
(See below at 1.50)
So obviously that weighs high on my mind in terms of the limited footage I've seen. Perhaps there is Fulham or England material to strengthen his case.
But yes the status argument could be made. Armfield is commonly regarded as the English standout of his era and, if not for injury at an unfortunate time, would have played the World Cup. And in any all-time English XI it would be fair to say that right-back is the weakest position, yet despite that Cohen rarely makes the cut, whereas Armfield, Neville, Anderson, Neal, and going forward probably Trent populate the vast majority of XIs. Although to be honest I agree that most of the old school full-backs are much more defensive in their games compared to present day. And even the more attacking ones of that time, like Armfield or Nilton, were actually not that amazing going forward yet were robust defenders.
And in the context of this game, if there is a more persuasive route to goal, it's Giggs v Cohen, or Giggs/Maldini v Cohen/Mata.