Besiktas hire former Portugal head coach Fernando Santos as new boss

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – Besiktas on Sunday appointed former Portugal boss Fernando Santos as the new head coach of the Istanbul football club.

In a statement, Besiktas welcomed Santos and said he will be assisted by Joao Carlos Viana Cunha Costa, Paulo Jose Ramos Mendes, Justino Fernando, Ricardo Miguel Candido de Sousa Santos, and Jorge Manuel Caetano do Rosario.

Portuguese national Santos, 69, led Portugal to UEFA EURO 2016 title, the country's first major trophy.

During his more-than-eight-year spell, Santos also guided Portugal to the 2019 UEFA Nations League championship.

Santos previously coached Poland, but was fired in September. The Polish national team did not secure a direct qualification ticket for the EURO 2024 finals, but will play qualifying playoffs in March.

Besiktas, one of the "Big Three" in the Turkish Super Lig, are in a turbulent season to be far from the title race.

The Black Eagles collected 29 points in 18 matches to be in the sixth spot in the Super Lig led by archrivals Fenerbahce, who have 47 points. Besiktas' other city rivals Galatasaray have 47 points as well.

Besiktas were eliminated from the third-tier UEFA Europa Conference League groups in November.