GettyGiovanni van Bronckhorst
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 06:56
He has been Besiktas’ coach for three months and sits calmly. An achievement in itself at the heated Turkish football club. Besiktas’ squad was strengthened in the summer. The results are good. And so Giovanni van Bronckhorst is completely satisfied and sits firmly in his chair.
“We have started the season well,” he says in the run-up to the Europa League meeting with Ajax tonight (9 p.m.) in Amsterdam. “With the Super Cup won, a big victory over Galatasaray, and of course qualification for the main tournament of the Europa League.”
He can just suppress a smile as he sums up the start of the season. Van Bronckhorst brings peace and reaps praise, but in his own words he is not a miracle doctor: “I don’t think so. But last season was very turbulent…”
Good start Besiktas offers Van Bronckhorst no guarantee: ‘Bag not yet unpacked’
Very restless is putting it mildly. The club from the district of the same name in Istanbul had five different trainers for the group last season. From club icon Senol Günes to the much-discussed former Fortuna Sittard striker Burak Yilmaz. And Fernando Santos, the successful Portuguese who was appointed in January when Besiktas also had Van Bronckhorst in mind.
None of those trainers lasted more than three months at the grassroots club, which finished a disappointing sixth in the Turkish Süper Lig, just behind city rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. The difference with champion Galatasaray was no less than forty points.
Van Bronckhorst sixth Besiktas coach in one year
Senol Günes 343 days oktober 2022 – oktober 2023 Burak Yilmaz 31 days old oktober – november 2023 Riza Calimbay 41 days old november – december 2023 Serdar Topraktepe 17 days old december 2023 – januari 2024 Fernando Santos 97 days old januari – april 2024 Serdar Topraktepe 78 days april – juni 2024 Giovanni van Bronckhorst 87 dagen juli 2024 – heden
With that recent history, Van Bronckhorst must have also thought: should I start doing that?
“Of course that is a question I have thought about for a long time. Ultimately I decided to do it because the top clubs in Turkey are great clubs. I played there with Rangers against Galatasaray. With Feyenoord against Besiktas in 2014. I enjoy working at clubs where there is passion, where people really live for the club. I now get that feeling at Besiktas.”
The Europa League on NOS
The matches in the Europa League can be followed via a live blog on NOS.nl and in the NOS app and via scores on Teletekst. The matches with Dutch teams are in the radio program Along the Line and Surrounding Areas can be followed on NPO Radio 1 with on-the-spot commentary.
In de late NOS News a summary of the matches of the Dutch clubs will be shown. Ajax comes into action on Thursday evening at 9 p.m. at home against Besiktas.
Big advantage for the Dutch trainer: there was something possible on the transfer market this summer. Besiktas spent almost twenty million euros on new players. Midfielder Moatasem Al-Musrati (eleven million) from Braga was the most expensive, striker Ciro Immobile the largest by name.
The 34-year-old Italian has already scored as many goals in the first eight official matches of this season. “The selection has been refreshed. I believe 28 players have left, been rented out or sold, and there are nine new players. A lot of changes,” says Van Bronckhorst.
NOSEL Thursday
“The step we have taken in this transfer window is also a very big one for the coming years. Now we have a selection with a lot of experience, but also one that forms a real group. That is very important. The stability and tranquility that is returned, provides clarity for the players.”
Besiktas won four of the first five league matches. There was one draw. The coach does not pat himself on the back for the change that has been initiated; he also points to the good work of the board and technical management within the club.
“Every club benefits from rest. I feel like that rest is there now. That can of course change quickly for a coach. So I haven’t unpacked my bag yet. It is still packed in Istanbul. But I hope to last longer.” this season.”
Van Bronckhorst about Besiktas revival: ‘I’m not a miracle doctor, I have to keep working hard’
