Beşiktaş’s coach search finally over

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

After 11 years of playing career, Samet Aybaba (L) returns to Beşiktaş as coach. AA photo

Beşiktaş ended its long search for a new coach, naming former player and journeyman manager Samet Aybaba as the new gaffer of its football team on June 16.

“I have never escaped the duty,” Aybaba was quoted in the announcement of the deal on the club’s official website. “Our target will be racing for the top.”

A former defender for the club, Aybaba spent 11 years of his career at Beşiktaş before retiring in 1988. Aybaba started coaching with the assistant coaching job at Ankaragücü in 1990 and went on to be one of the journeymen in Turkish football, working at none less than a dozen clubs.

His career highlights are winning the Turkish Cup with Gençlerbirliği in 2001 and Trabzonspor in 2003.
The club has been without a coach after parting ways with Tayfur Havutçu, who enjoyed just one win in seven games during his second spell as Beşiktaş coach.

The Black Eagles were linked with several coaches in the last month, from Swedish Sven Goran Eriksson to Germany’s Ralf Rangnick, Brazilian Zico, Belgian Eric Gerets, along with former Beşiktaş coaches Mustafa Denizli and Rıza Çalımbay.

Beşiktaş is in a dire financial situation with 581 million Turkish liras of debt and has introduced an austerity regime, including offloading the wage bill through sending some star players and cutting the transfer budget.

The club was last month banned from European qualification due to unpaid debts.