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Former Manchester United player and manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set to take over Turkish giants Besiktas, with confirmation believed to be imminent.
The affable Norwegian coach has not been in charge of any club side since he was sacked by United in November 2021. Solskjaer held the role of match analyst for UEFA and was seen watching various games. Premier League Fixer, but now the manager is on the verge of ending his spell in the wilderness.
In a statement on Official website of the club This Friday, Besiktas announced: “Norwegian technical director Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with whom we have started negotiations for the technical directorship of our football A team, has arrived in Istanbul.
“Solskjaer was welcomed at Istanbul Atatürk Airport by our Vice President Hakan Daltaban, Vice President Kan Kasachi and Board Member Merve Oztopaloglu.”
“I’m very happy to be here,” Solskjaer told the assembled reporters. “It’s great that so many people are here for this great club. We’ve had our first meeting. I’m looking forward to starting my job. It’s great to come to this great city.”
The former Rangers And Feyenoord boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst was just appointed by the Istanbul outfit in the summer. However, after a bright start to the campaign – Besiktas beat Galatasaray 5-0 to win the Turkish Supercup in August and finish second in the table at the end of October – the Dutch coach was sacked in late November.
Be, be, be. 🦅#Eagle of the North pic.twitter.com/3yPiY2yZbg
— Beşiktaş JK (@Besiktas) January 17, 2025
Ex-Besiktas forward Serdar Topraktepe resumes his familiar role as interim manager, but has yet to turn the club’s nose out of their form. They currently sit sixth in the top flight, although just one point off the European qualification spots.
The personnel churn has not been limited to the dugout. Besiktas have already had three different people fill the role of club president this season, with Serdal Adali holding the current position since late December.
Solskjaer’s impending arrival offers an opportunity to renew his rivalry with Jose Mourinho. Was the current Fenerbahce boss combined Manager Solskjaer was initially relegated to a caretaker role back in March 2019, fostering ill-feeling that spilled over into their subsequent head-to-head clashes.
Mourinho Tottenham Hotspur The team was beaten twice by Solskjaer’s United, however, with the Portuguese coach beating his former employers 6-1 at Old Trafford in October 2020.
