Almog Cohen has only been a head coach for a few months, but he already sounds like a convert. "I didn't know it would be this much fun being a coach — I'm completely into it," he told reporters this week, according to ONE, days before his first Israeli Premier League match in the job.
Cohen made the switch from Beitar Jerusalem's boardroom to its touchline over the summer, stepping down as sporting director to replace Barak Itzhaki as head coach. The change gets its first real examination on Saturday, when Beitar host Maccabi Netanya at Bloomfield Stadium in the opening round of the 2026/27 league season, kicking off at 20:30.
His message to the squad ahead of the opener was blunt. "We need to be dominant against every opponent, on every pitch," Cohen said, pointing to a summer rebuild he believes has left Beitar stronger than the group that finished last season. "We brought in players, we have a deeper squad now. There's satisfaction in that — we live in a results business."
The rebuild is not finished. Cohen confirmed Beitar are still working the market for a central midfielder, saying the club wants "a midfielder who'll give us power and extra aggression" before he considers the squad complete.
Asked about winger Ziv Ben Shimol, who joined from Maccabi Haifa this summer, Cohen said the player "wasn't any less dominant in Europe" and will continue to get opportunities — a nod to Beitar's run through Conference League qualifying, which ended earlier this month when Austria Wien beat them on penalties after a 3-3 aggregate draw across the two legs of their play-off tie.
Captain Yarden Shua, speaking alongside his coach, struck a similarly upbeat tone about the campaign ahead. "This is the real thing, we've been waiting for this," he said. "The players understand the potential we let slip last season, and I'm sure we'll give our best."
Shua also flagged his own fitness after a preseason disrupted by the European run. "I'm not yet able to go a full 90 minutes, but I'll do whatever the team needs," he said — a reminder that Beitar's squad is still working its way back to full sharpness less than three weeks after their continental exit.
There is other business to manage before kickoff. Jordan Cohen is a doubt with a lateral knee ligament strain, and Nevo Shado is expected to deputise if he cannot recover in time; Gil Cohen remains sidelined by injury, while Adi Yona has resumed training without contact but has no fixed return date, Sport1 reported. The club is also negotiating new three-year contracts with Luka Gadjrani and Brian Kravareli, though gaps between the parties remain.
