Del Bosque is Besiktas-bound
Monday, June 7, 2004
Article summary
Former Real Madrid CF coach Vicente del Bosque has been named the new coach of Besiktas JK.
Article body
Several titles
The Turkish side, who will compete in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup, have agreed a two-year contract with Del Bosque. The 53-year-old has been out of work since parting company with Madrid in summer 2002 despite a hugely successful spell. In his four years as coach at the Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid won two league titles and the UEFA Champions League twice, in addition to the UEFA Super Cup and European/South American Cup.
Club happy
Besiktas vice-president Kivanç Oktay, who travelled to Madrid with club president Yildirim Demirören to conduct negotiations with Del Bosque, said talks had been taking place for the past week. "He is a very successful coach who led Real Madrid to big achievements," said Oktay. "We put all our effort into getting him in charge of our team."
Matthäus linked
The appointment ends speculation that Lothar Matthäus would be taking charge of Besiktas with the German pledging his future to Hungary after he guided them to a 2-0 friendly win against Germany yesterday. Oktay said: "We appointed Del Bosque because we wanted him as our coach, this is not related to Lothar Matthäus's decision."
Third place
Lucescu left Besiktas last month to sign a three-year contract with Ukrainian side FC Shakhtar Donetsk. The 58-year-old Romanian guided Besiktas to the 2003 Turkish title, but could only manage a third-placed finish this season.
