Team Focus: Slaven Bilic and the Besiktas Revolution

“Nobody else wanted to run this club, we were on the verge of collapse,” Fikret Orman stated after his election as Beşiktaş president in 2012.

Beşiktaş were in a real mess. The club was in debt to the tune of $325 million, facing 142 lawsuits and suspension from UEFA competitions for being in a financial black hole – followed by another ban the following season for the previous board’s alleged involvement in match fixing.

Orman took radical steps to restructure the club. The Black Eagles administrative director Semih Usta underlined the “new” Beşiktaş in an interview with UEFA, “We made our short-to-long-term plans and will do our best to transform Beşiktaş into a club that pays particular attention to youth infrastructure, facilities and scouting.”

The president needed a general, a revolutionary who would bring in much needed change and take on the tricky task of leading the team through transition. Orman found his man in Russia. Slaven Bilic left Lokomotiv Moscow to head south to Turkey. Bilic is now into his second season at Beşiktaş and fast becoming a cult figure among the Black Eagles faithful. 

Croatia were renowned for playing attractive, attacking football under Bilic but he always underlined the importance of defending as a team. “You know, for a long time the people have been saying that strikers are the first line of defence, but that was just a phrase intended to motivate the team. However, today the strikers have the obligation to fulfil their defensive assignments, and that especially goes to my boys,” Bilic said whilst in charge of the Vatreni.

The same ethos resonates in his Beşiktaş side. Creative midfielder Oğuzhan Özyakup averaged 0.3 tackles per game last season. This season that figure has increased to 1.2 per match. Bilic demands his players to defend collectively, press the opposition and force mistakes. No other Süper Lig side have attempted as many tackles per game – 25.1 – as Beşiktaş. Holding midfielders Atiba Hutchinson and Veli Kavlak are usually accompanied by the likes of Özyakup as well as wingers Olcay Şahan and Gökhan Töre trying to win back the ball after losing possession.

Bilic tends to prefer a 4-2-3-1 setup with Kavlak and Hutchinson as his holding midfielders providing cover in front of the back four. However, he also demands his defensive players to provide options going forwards and contribute towards the team’s build up play. Hutchinson has averaged 75 passes per game with 90% accuracy in the Europa League while left-back Ramon Motta and Veli Kavlak also average over 60 passes a game.

The Black Eagles recent performances in Europe against English opposition perhaps best illustrated the progress that has been made under Bilic. The Croatian manager was lauded for the Black Eagles’ valiant display against Arsenal in the Champions League playoff round back in August.

Beşiktaş dominated possession and out-passed Arsenal home and away – the same Arsenal side that beat Galatasaray 4-1 in the Champions League a month later. Beşiktaş were also the dominant side in their 1-1 draw with Tottenham at White Hart Lane in the Europa League.

The 46-year-old coach has more options in the final third this season. The addition of attacking midfielder Jose Sosa has given an alternative to Özyakup. It has also allowed Bilic to experiment with playing the midfield duo side by side in a 4-1-4-1 formation when he wants to take the breaks off and take a more gung-ho approach. The additions of Turkish international striker Cenk Tosun and the recovery of Mustafa Pektemek have added depth upfront but the transfer of the season so far has been Demba Ba.

The Eagles only scored 53 goals in the Süper Lig last season, which along with Trabzonspor was the joint lowest record in the top six. Ba was brought in to change all that. The Senegalese international already has seven goals, two assists and is averaging 2.6 shots per goal in the league. Bilic will also be pleased that his side are not entirely reliant on Ba for goals. Both his other strikers and all his attacking-based midfielders and wingers have scored this season.

Beşiktaş are still in transition but unlike their cross-city rivals they have a clear vision for the future. For years successful clubs in Turkey have been plagued by myopia. Clubs hold presidential elections once every two-three years and the candidates give the same old promises of bringing in – once – big names (on astronomical wages) and other delusions of grandeur.

The financial disaster that rocked Beşiktaş to the core has in some regards proved to be a blessing in disguise. The club were forced to accept mistakes, reflect and implement clear long-term plans to develop their youth infrastructure, facilities and scouting. Beşiktaş academy product Necip Uysal regularly plays first team football. The Black Eagles scouting department picked up bargain deals for former Chelsea academy winger Gökhan Töre, ex-Arsenal player Oğuzhan Özyakup and former Fulham youth Kerim Frei Koyunlu. All this as the club also managed to significantly reduce the wage bill.

The Eagles demonstrated that they can go-toe-to toe with the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham in Europe but their biggest test domestically comes on Sunday when they face rivals Fenerbahçe. All eyes will be on Bilic and how his side respond to the pressure of the İstanbul derby.

Who will come out on top when Besiktas host Fenerbahce this weekend? Let us know in the comments below