Had it not been for the 4-point deduction penalty, Beitar Jerusalem would have opened the fifth round in fourth place in the Premier League table. The points deducted in legal battles can no longer be saved, but other points, in pure football battles as we all love, are just waiting to be taken.
The person leading this effort is the team's coach Yossi Abukasis, who manages to get water out of the rock. He started the current season without the two scorers who scored a combined 38 goals for him last season, Ion Nicolaescu and Danilo Esperia. He is also missing players at several positions, yet he knew how to stabilize the ranks and make the necessary adjustments, with one of the players who helps him realize those adjustments the most. Just a few weeks ago there was concern that he too would leave the club due to a complicated contract renewal issue, but in the end the winger was allowed and the number 7 signed for another three years.
Shua came to Beitar as a striker, but over time he turned out to be the ideal playmaker for the method of play that Abukasis instilled in the team - he receives balls in different places and situations, and excels at fattening his attacking teammates with key passes that lead to positive developments.
Avoxis. Knows how to touch actors, photo: Alan Shaver
The 24-year-old striker has been marking four seasons at Bayit Gan as he diversifies and improves from season to season, and his numbers prove it: in his first season at Beitar he scored 7 league goals and cooked 6, compared to his last season in which although he dropped the number of goals to only 3 league goals, he almost tripled his assists to 16 - which explains why Beitar has two dominant strikers in front of him this season who feed off his dedication (Myron George and Freddie Friday), And especially explains why Shua was perceived as one of the best creators in the league and one of the yellow-and-black crowd favorites since last season.
However, in Beitar as in Beitar - not everything is rosy. Although Abukasis and Shua won the national cup last season, both have yet to secure a place in the top playoffs with the team, and fans certainly want to see that happen this season for the first time since the 2019/2020 season. "This is a team with a good coach and a squad that matches the qualities of Yarden Shua, and I believe Beitar Jerusalem will be in the top playoffs. It can even tickle third place," believes Israel Hayom commentator Ori Uzan, who covers Beitar and the Israeli national team, among other things.
Shua celebrates. "He deserves a place on the Israeli national team", Photo: Alan Shaver
In the background, as part of his desire to improve in every possible aspect, Shua tries to promote the performance of national service, in order to cover up the fact that he did not do military service, and thus he knows that if he maintains his high ability he may pave his way to the national team. "Shua deserves to be in the national team, and I very much hope that this will happen in the near future," Ozan adds.
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This evening Shua and Beitar Jerusalem will meet Hapoel Tel Aviv at Teddy. The last time the Reds hosted the capital, Beitar won, but without its top scorer, who was absent from the game. However, in six of the last ten meetings, Jerusalemites have lost to Hapoel, and this is one of several little monkeys that Shua wants to take off his back this season. In fact, this is the first monkey he can eliminate, after which he will of course want to take the team to the top playoffs, and finally, as mentioned, he will want to make the national team for the first time. Given his high ability, if he only kept her, the three monkeys would already descend on their own.
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