Beitar Jerusalem is preparing for the new season in earnest as they held a festive evening to unveil their new kits for the 2026/27 season, which will begin mid-July when they will face AEK Larnaca in UEFA Conference League play in a two-legged second round qualifying tie. In order to ensure that brand new Head Coach Almog Cohen and his charges will be in tip-top shape for the campaign ahead, the yellow-and-black is heading to Pravets, Bulgaria for an intense training camp that will run between July 1-10.

Just before Beitar heads abroad a number of players including captain Yarden Shua, Timoti Muzie and Yarden Cohen spoke about the season ahead after having finished in second place last campaign but also replaced Barak Itzhaki on the sidelines with their sports director.

“It’s exciting and it’s always great to start a new season, especially after what we accomplished last year,” Shua began. “It’s nice that people look at us a little differently now and I think Beitar will come back this season and show even more of what we’re capable of. But it’s a long season. You never know exactly how it’s going to unfold, but we always aim to finish first in everything we compete in. Personally, I always want to improve my numbers and increase what I can contribute to the team and I believe I’ll do that.”

Yarden Cohen is also looking forward to the new season and wants to take the next step forward, “There’s definitely a lot of excitement. I think we had a fantastic season last year, but we were still missing something. This season, I want us to achieve what we fell short of last year.”

The fact that Beitar decided to bring their kit manufacturing in-house and host an event to unveil the new BJR clothing line shows how the club is taking the next step as it evolves into a top flight franchise in Israeli sports explained Timoti Muzie, “We’ll understand the full significance over time, but of course we’re very happy about it. Beitar wanted to take this independent path, and that’s part of the process the club is going through. But it’s really amazing. It’s really exciting to see how the club is developing, from the small things to the big things, like now, launching its own brand. It’s something special and it’s great to be part of this process.”

With a new head coach on the sidelines, there are also greater expectations which the players are fully aware of and while it may be a bit upsetting after a terrific season, changing coaches in today’s day and age is normal Shua said, “Look, it’s disappointing. When a coach leaves after we’ve achieved so many good things together in one season, it’s never easy. But that’s football. Coaches come and go, players come and go. I wish Barak the best of luck going forward, and I also wish Almog the best. It’s his first season as a head coach and I’m sure he’ll do an excellent job.”

Muzie, was a player that primarily came off of the bench and was a game changer, with a new coach, perhaps his role may change a bit but it’s still early on to really know what will be in a few weeks and in a few months.

“I don’t know if my role has changed, but I’m definitely improving from one training session to the next and from one game to the next. My job is to bring the best of my abilities to the team. In the end, that shows itself in goals, assists and everything else I can do on the pitch to help the team. Ultimately I want to take another step forward in my career.”

Cohen had a fantastic season last year as he became the starting left back for Beitar and also was selected to be a part of the Israel National Team. Much of that was due to former head coach Barak Itzhaki believing in him and his abilities.

“Barak and I had a wonderful season together. He’s an outstanding coach. It was a bit of a surprise, but now we’re with Almog, we’re looking ahead and we’re moving forward. Just like every player is different, every coach is different too. Each one brings his own philosophy. Little by little, we’ll get to know him better as a coach and see what he’s all about. As for my continuing improvement, like I always say, what happened in the past is never enough. I always want to keep learning, improving and doing even better than I did the previous season. That’s all part of the process of developing as a player.”

Of course the big question that is on everyone’s minds is what are Beitar’s goals and can they finish at the top of the league table at the end of the season, “We don’t want to put labels on ourselves or set distant goals right now,” Muzie said. “We want to focus first on the Toto Cup match against Hapoel Tel Aviv and start the season well. After that we’ll turn our attention to Europe and from there we’ll keep aiming higher.”

“We’ve brought in new players and we have a new coach as well,” Cohen added. “We’re all getting to know each other and I believe everything will come together gradually, during training camp and through the matches. It’ll be fine. Can this team win championships this season? Absolutely.”