This is it. The real thing is about to begin as Almog Cohen will be on the sidelines for Beitar Jerusalem as their Israel league season kicks off Saturday night against Maccabi Netanya (20:30) at their temporary home, Bloomfield Stadium. Cohen who served as the club’s Sports Director the past couple of seasons now comes down from the front office to take over the reins from Barak Itzhaki and the expectations have only grown since the club’s second place finish last year.

There’s a lot to unpack when looking at Beitar Jerusalem, version 2026-27. The expanded squad, a new coach and the marathon that awaits consisting of 36 matches that will crown a champion next May, 2027.

Cohen comes into the job, his first as a head coach, after having been the sports director both for the yellow-and-blue and Maccabi Netanya as well as a defensive midfielder who starred in the Bundesliga for Ingolstadt and Nurnberg. At only 37-years old, Cohen is young, but in today’s football that’s an asset and one that can be advantageous in playing a modern game, a style that is forward thinking.

That’s of course not to say that Itzhaki wasn’t all of that and more. He was. And that is why Cohen was crystal clear that there won’t be too much of a change, if any, to what was seen from Beitar in the recent past.

“I don’t think there has been any major change from the last two and a half years,” Cohen said at the prematch press conference at the Bayit Vegan Training Center. “The style and the football we want to play is exactly the same style we’ve played over the past two and a half years. We want to be dominant on every pitch and beat every team at every stadium. I don’t see anything different.”

That style begins with starting the attack from the back and creating a buildup that can produce quality chances at the opposition goal, however, there are risks with such a style and can create a bit of chaos for the goalkeeper, the defenders and anyone else in the vicinity of the net.

But that’s the game of football circa 2026-2027 and that’s how it’s going to be for Cohen and his charges because the bench boss has one goal and one goal in mind, “I believe in one thing. Do you know what it is? Winning. I don’t believe in anything else.”

Cohen is looking to do what he believes in and what he believes will win the game, nothing more and nothing less. However he feels this gives Beitar the best chance to win is how he is going to play and if it’s building up from the back, then it’s building up from the back.

“We are a team that wants to win all the time. We’ll make our adjustments. Nobody guarantees that if you play long balls during the critical minutes, you won’t concede a goal. You can look at Beer Sheva, for example. In the final minutes they didn’t take risks and played long balls and they still conceded a goal in the 95th minute from a corner. There are no guarantees. Everything is judged in hindsight.”

“I don’t remember seeing Beitar Jerusalem be this dominant against a European opponent. I don’t remember seeing Israeli teams be this dominant against European teams. Part of that comes from our build-up play and ball movement, as well as the confidence among the players. Ultimately, whether I’m acting as a sporting director or as a coach, I want to get the maximum out of the players. I believe in them 100 percent. I know what they’re capable of, and I believe their potential is much greater.”

While Beitar added a number of important players over the summer including Shon Weissman and Tomer Yosefi, there is still the need to make another addition or two, specifically in the midfield as it’s clear that there is something missing, a #6. The hard nosed defensive player that leaves nothing on the table and cleans up the crumbs. The player who can cut down an opponent’s attack and stymie any thoughts of trying to advance.

The likes of Xavier Dirceu, Jhon Culma, John Ogu, Ovidiu Hoban, Gal Alberman and Neta Lavi all come to mind. That is the type of player that Beitar is missing and may be the piece that will take them over the top.

“First of all, in football, a coach always wants more players and always wants to improve. It’s not only about the midfield,” Cohen commented. “Any team that wants to be the best always has to know where it can improve and how it can play better and at a higher level. At the moment, the position we’re looking for is a central midfielder who can give us physical strength and add that extra aggression and physicality in the middle of the pitch.”

Ultimately, Beitar and Cohen know that there are expectations and expectations to win the championship. Just ask the more than 20K fans that bought season tickets. They are all aware that this season’s version is on the verge of doing something special.

“There were already very high expectations from the team last season,” Cohen exclaimed. “Maybe we tried to create the feeling that we wanted to take another step forward, but we started last season with expectations that we would have a better season than the previous one. We proved that we could meet those expectations and take another step forward. We can take another step forward now, while understanding exactly how high the expectations are.”

With Netanya being Beitar’s first test of the season, Cohen has already had a chance to see how dominant they were on the attack with 16 corner kicks to Bnei Sakhnin’s none, but that game ended in a goalless draw. That means Roni Levy’s troops will be chomping at the bit to score and that includes 16-year old sensation Yarin Abuhatzira as the diamond city side will want to show that they can take 3-points from a top team like Beitar.

“We watched Netanya’s game against Bnei Sakhnin. Netanya played very well and were the better team. They have fast and dangerous attacking players and a quality midfield. But we shouldn’t forget about our own abilities. We can win this game, God willing. We’re focused on ourselves. As for Yarin, I know him very well as I’m from Netanya and I think his development has been incredible. He was identified as a talented player from a very young age. He’s an excellent player and we wish him success after this game.”

The bottom line is, Cohen will be put under the microscope and questioned up and down and all around. He understands full well that there are great expectations and that every move will be analyzed, picked apart and put through the second guess machine.

But that’s part of the job and he knows it. However, for right now, he can sit back and take a deep breath before the players step onto the Bloomfield Stadium pitch and take a good look around him, soaking it all in. He may be excited and happy right now, but when that first defeat, that first losing streak or that first crisis comes about, well, it isn’t going to be that much fun.

“I didn’t know I would enjoy being a coach this much,” Cohen said. “That’s not what I expected before, I’m really enjoying it. I see myself as a coach and at the moment I’m not thinking about anything beyond that professionally. I’m fully invested in every training session and I enjoy it tremendously. Ultimately, every professional and every player needs to do something that gives them satisfaction and I feel very much fulfilled by this.”

However, the question is, will Cohen feel the same way at about 10:30pm Saturday night?