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Charlotte FC Doubles Down on Israeli Talent, Sign Idan Toklomati in August Transfer Window
October 2024
By Steve Goldberg
Here's a fun fact for you: Two out of three Israeli players in Major League Soccer (MLS) compete for Charlotte FC.
The math is simple. There are only three Israeli athletes in MLS and as of late August, two of them represent the Crown. Liel Abada joined the club in March and has had an immediate impact, scoring four goals with two assists in his first 16 games.
Joining him in Charlotte is Idan Toklomati, also known as Idan Gorno, which is his mother's family name.
Turning 20 last Aug. 9, he was born in Netanya where his father, Tony Toklomati, a former national team player for Benin had played briefly for Maccabi Netanya. He learned the game with Beitar Nes Tubruk, a developmental club in his hometown before moving to the youth side of Maccabi Petah-Tikva in 2021.
Here’s another fun fact: All of the Israelis in MLS come from the same club, Maccabi Petah-Tikva. The third is Tai Baribo, a forward for the Philadelphia Union. Baribo has 13 goals in 17 matches across all competitions for the Union this season after barely getting off the bench last year proving that Israeli talent may be an under-optimized resource for MLS teams.
With Abada translating for him, Toklomati told the Charlotte Jewish News (CJN) that this, as well as other players from the club moving to Europe, is a matter of immense pride at Maccabi as proof of their ability to progress players.
“Idan is a player we've been tracking for some time,” said general manager Zoran Krneta when the signing was announced. "He's a versatile forward who possesses a great mix of pace and technical ability. At only 19 years of age, he has already amassed 70 appearances at the senior level and debuted for the Israeli national team in key European qualifiers."
Abada, who will turn 23 on October 3, told the CJN that Toklomati played with his younger brother at Maccabi but that they did not have time together on the first team. By the time that would have happened, Abada was already playing for Glasgow Rangers in Scotland. They were teammates recently in Paris where Abada was a starter on Israel's Olympic soccer team and Toklomati was an alternate. But they also had previous experience playing together on Israel's U21 team. Toklomati joined that squad when he was just 18. By the time they got to Paris, Toklomati's move to Charlotte was already known, which created a stronger bond between the two.
"We spoke a lot about Charlotte, about everything," said Abada. "He asked me questions and I explained about Charlotte and what to expect."
Toklomati said that he wanted to play here "because Charlotte is a big club in MLS, with a really big stadium and good (training) facility, with really good people here." He added that everything Abada had told him about the club on and off the pitch was positive.
“It's not easy for a young player from Israel to move abroad,” so Abada's experience in going abroad, first to Scotland and then to Charlotte, was something he could learn from and was influential in his decision to come here.
On the pitch, Abada says they have similar traits. “We're both wingers. We're fast. We like running behind the defense. I can learn from him; he can learn from me a lot and we can do it on the pitch.”
Toklomati agreed, saying he looks forward to scoring goals and getting assists for the team. His first games in Charlotte will actually be for the Crown Legacy, the club's MLS NEXT Pro development team, which plays home matches at the Matthews SportsPlex. That's because CLTFC has no senior spots open on the first team roster. He will be a U22 initiative player which is designed for attracting and keeping - until the “offer you can't refuse” comes in — emerging young talent from both home and abroad. If no spots open on the first team before Sept. 13, which is the roster freeze date for MLS clubs, his debut for the first team won't come until next season. It didn't take long for Toklomati to establish his intentions with the Legacy. Just 61 minutes to be exact. In his first match away to New York Red Bulls II on Aug. 25, he scored his first goal in the United States, the second in a 4-1 victory.
Abada said it's mutually beneficial to have Toklomati here. “It's good to have another Israeli. It's good for the language. I'm here to help him with everything and hopefully, he will do good things here.”
