Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe get new coaches

ISTANBUL

Former Olympiakos' coach Vitor Pereira. AP Photo

Beşiktaş, which recently parted ways with Croatian coach Slaven Bilic after two seasons in charge, has signed a contract with Şenol Güneş, one of the most renowned coaches in Turkish football. Its archrival Fenerbahçe, meanwhile, has inked a deal with Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira, who has just departed from Greek giants Olympiacos. 

The coaching reshuffles come after both Istanbul sides failed against league champion Galatasaray last season. 

Pereira has reportedly arrived in Turkey along with Giuliano Terraneo, Fenerbahce’s new sporting director. He has reportedly been at odds with his former club over financial issues. 

The former midfielder began his coaching career with the Portuguese third division side Sanjoanese in 2013, eventually joining Porto in the 2007-2008 season.

In 2013, he signed a two-year deal with Al-Ahli SC of the Saudi Professional League. 

On Jan. 7 he then took the helm at Olympiacos FC. 

Meanwhile, Beşiktaş’s new coach Güneş is one of the most decorated figures in Turkish football, having won the league title with Trabzonspor six times as a goalkeeper. However, the former player was always the bridesmaid as Trabzonspor coach, finishing as runner-up in the league on four occasions. 

His career high came in 2002, when he led the Turkish national football team to an unprecedented third-place in the FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. 

His popularity in the Far East increased with a coaching spell at FC Seoul, leading the Korean side to a runner-up finish in the national league and the Korean cup competition during his two-year stint. 

Güneş found himself out of a job after ending his fourth coaching spell with Trabzonspor in the 2013-2014 season, but last year he was at the helm of Bursaspor, only the second non-Istanbul team to ever clinch the Turkish league title in 2010. 

Güneş is often compared to Turkish national team’s head coach Fatih Terim, who led the Turkish national team to the semi-finals in Euro 2008. However, Güneş is widely seen as being much more humble than the flamboyant and headline-grabbing Terim. 

The announcement of the deal came on the same day that Beşiktaş revealed jerseys for the new season under the motto “No other colors.”

Beşiktaş’s new stadium to replace the historic İnönü Stadium is still under construction at the same site, and Güneş will be hoping that it is ready for the new season. His predecessor Bilic, despite appearing in commercials advertising the new Vodafone-backed stadium, was never lucky enough to enjoy a home game, having to lead the team in matches played in Ankara due to the home stadium being under construction. 

Bilic’s Beşiktaş finished in the third spot two seasons in a row, and he is now set to head back as manager to his old club, West Ham United.