Fenerbahçe turn to Kartal as coach for second time

ISTANBUL

Fenerbahçe on Jan. 12 turned to its former manager Ismail Kartal to head the Istanbul side for a second time.

The 28-time Turkish champions joined their Istanbul rivals Beşiktaş and Galatasaray - all mired in disappointing seasons - in switching managerial directions in a bid to revive their title runs.

Fenerbahçe parted ways with coach Vitor Pereira in December and now sit fifth in the table, 17 points behind runaway leaders Trabzonspor.

They have also been eliminated from the Europa League, and have won only one of their last five games.

"Our club reached an agreement with Ismail Kartal for the rest of the season," Fenerbahçe said in a statement.

Kartal, 60, was coach for the club in the 2014-15 season, when they finished second and qualified for the Champions League.

He won two national titles with the Istanbul club as player in 1984-85 and 1988-89.