Besiktas and Shakhtar Donetsk face each other on Thursday in the first leg of a Europa League second qualifying round in Istanbul.
It is easily the most attractive and difficult fixture of the eight games for what is still an early stage of European competition, with the Ukrainians perennial Uefa Champions League competitors and Besiktas a Turkish giant.
The Europa League doesn’t offer the riches of the Champions League, but it is a respected tournament and European football is important for both clubs.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer enters his first full season as Besiktas manager after taking over in January when the team were seventh. A superb start saw them rise up the table to finish fourth.
Champions Galatasaray and second-placed Fenerbahce were both defeated by Solskjaer’s side, but he was always adamant that joining a club mid-season would always bring challenges. It was similar to his circumstances that saw him installed as Manchester United in December 2018.
Now, however, the Besiktas team and their coaching staff is his own. Substantial changes have been made in the summer transfer window – although nothing like the 22 players who left before the start of last season – with some high-profile departures.
Veteran Italian striker Ciro Immobile, 35, by far the biggest earner at Besiktas, moved to Bologna in Serie A, while former England international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s deal was ripped up and he was paid off with a severance package, his performances deemed not up to scratch.
The incoming players have excited fans. English striker Tammy Abraham, 27, has signed on loan from Roma. Another loan player whose arrival has been welcomed is Turkish international Orkun Kokcu.
The 24-year-old midfield playmaker was born and raised as a Besiktas fan in the Netherlands before excellent form at Feyenoord earned him a €25 million move to Benfica in 2023, a record signing for a Portuguese club. There are also high hopes for those returning from loans, including Demir Ege Tiknaz and Kartal Yilmaz.
This is a younger, leaner Besiktas, and Solskjaer will be expected to continue the improvement and push harder against the Galatasaray/Fenerbahce duopoly. They finished a massive 33 and 22 points ahead of Besiktas last season respectively.
“It’s our team from the start in pre-season and we have worked quite hard and will be ready for the Shakhtar game,” Solskjaer told Turkish media last week.
“We have exciting players coming into the club. We came in and the team was not performing well. It was a difficult period – sixth or seventh position and not looking as a Besiktas team should. The team and fans were low on confidence and belief.
“We managed to turn the ship around and ended up in fourth. We worked hard on the mentality and the fitness.
“The president said he wanted to stabilise the club and we did – the team, energy, training ground and culture. So we have hope for this season. The president has shown ambition in the transfer window."
Besiktas had the second-best defence last season. Goalscoring was an issue, starting games too slow also a problem.
“Technically we were not good enough to break teams down in a low block,” added Solskjaer. “We want to be good in possession, counter attacking and pressing. With Tammy we are a different team with a big centre-forward, With Orkun, the right age, the playmaker, too.”
Solskjaer is enjoying his time in Turkey. “Six months here and I’ve enjoyed every minute,” he said. “I’m a stable guy. I’ve felt the passion here. The atmospheres in the stadium have positively surprised me at home. Incredible.
“The games are so stop start. Players stay down; the ball is in play 45 minutes if you are lucky. For me 60 minutes is normal.”
The Norwegian also offered a view on what happens off the pitch. “I’m very glad I didn’t play football myself in this era because of social media,” he said. “It’s a killer.
“Footballers are trying their best every day but it’s hard to focus on your job when you get criticised or praised a lot. You lose yourself. We work on this to be mentally stable. We want to create a team that the fans will like to watch. We want to create more legends.”
One of Besiktas’ best performances last season under Solskjaer was against Eyupsor, managed by Turkish football legend Arda Turan. Eyupspor finished third in the Turkish Lig last season. Besiktas beat them 3-1 away in February.
Shakhtar have a new coach: Turan. The 38-year-old is a talented and ambitious coach and he takes over a club in unusual circumstances – and not just because they play in a country at war.
Shakhtar’s third-place league finish last season, eight points behind Dynamo Kiev, was their lowest since 1996.
Domestic champions 16 times since, the club which hail from occupied Donetsk have been Champions League regulars and used the ensuing profits to remain the pre-eminent force in Ukrainian football. Not now.
And both sides could have hoped for a more forgiving start to what they hope will be a fruitful European campaign.
