German coach Daum on comeback trail to Turkey with Bursaspor

BURSA

Daum is one of the most successful foreign managers to work in Turkey, having won three league titles, two with Fenerbahçe (2004 and 2005) and one with Beşiktaş (1995). Hürriyet Photo

Bursaspor has agreed with German coach Christoph Daum on a two-year deal, the Turkish football club announced late Aug. 11.

The Crocs said they had agreed on terms with the 59-year-old and the coach would arrive in Bursa on Aug. 13 to sign an official contract.

Bursaspor started searching for a coach Aug. 9, when it parted ways with Hikmet Karaman hours after a shock Europa League third qualifying round exit at the hands of Serbia’s Vojvodina.

Daum is one of the most successful foreign managers to work in Turkey, having won three league titles, two with Fenerbahçe (2004 and 2005) and one with Beşiktaş (1995), to earn him a tie with Englishman Brian Birch (three titles with Galatasaray from 1971 to 1973) and Gordon Milne (three titles with Beşiktaş between 1990 and 1992).

The German’s last gasp at Turkish football ended, however, abruptly, during his second spell at Fenerbahçe, since his side failed to beat Trabzonspor on the last day of the Super League’s 2009-2010 campaign, handing the title over to Bursaspor. That was Bursaspor’s first-ever league title and a historic moment that made the Crocs the fifth team to win the championship and the first one out of Istanbul to do it in 26 years.

Bursaspor failed to repeat its feat in the following years, finishing the championship third, eighth and fourth in respective seasons. During the last campaign, Ertuğrul Sağlam led the team to its historic title and stepped down after a string of poor results, leaving the post to Karaman.

Apart from Turkey, Daum’s career highlights came during his spells at Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen. He led Stuttgart to the Bundesliga title and German Super Cup in 1992.

After Beşiktaş, he took over Bayer Leverkusen in 1996, and led the Lions to three runner-up finishes in four seasons. However, while he was being tipped to become the manager of the German national team in 2000, he admitted to using cocaine after press reports. His agreement with the national team was canceled and Rudi Völler took the job.

Apart from two different spells at Fenerbahçe, he has coached Austria Wien, FC Köln, Eintracht Frankfurt and Club Brugge since the drug scandal.