Beşiktaş J.K.

Beşiktaş

Full name	Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü[1]
Nickname(s)	Kara Kartallar (Black Eagles)[2][3] Siyah Beyazlılar (Black and Whites)
Founded	19 March 1903 (1903-03-19),[1] as Beşiktaş Bereket Jimnastik Kulübü[4]
Ground	Vodafone Arena Istanbul, Turkey
Ground Capacity	41,903
Chairman	Fikret Orman[5]
Manager	Şenol Güneş
League	Süper Lig
2015–16	1st
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü (Turkish pronunciation: [beˈʃiktaʃ], English: Beşiktaş Gymnastics Club), known as simply Beşiktaş (spelled: Beshiktash), is a Turkish sports club founded in 1903, and based in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul.

The club's football team is one of the most successful teams in Turkey, having never been relegated to a lower division. The club last won the Turkish Süper Lig championship during the 2015–16 season.

The home ground of Beşiktaş is Vodafone Arena, a 41,903 all-seater capacity stadium located next to Dolmabahçe Palace.

The club also competes in other branches including basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, boxing, wrestling, chess, bridge, gymnastics, rowing, table tennis, paralympic sports, eSports and beach football.^[6]

History

Active departments of Beşiktaş
Athletics	Basketball (Men's) (Women's)	Boxing
Bridge	Chess	e-Sports
Football (Men's) (Women's)	Gymnastics	Handball (Men's)
Rowing	Table tennis	Volleyball (Men's) (Women's)
Wheelchair Basketball	Wrestling

Early years

Beşiktaş was established in 1903 during the late Ottoman period. A group of 22 young individuals gathered on certain days of the week to perform bodily exercises in the Serencebey neighborhood of Beşiktaş. They began in the fall of 1902, in the garden of the mansion of Osman Paşa, who was then a part of the Medine Guard. The various sporting activities that these youths participated in included the horizontal bar, parallel bar, wrestling, weight lifting and gymnastics. They included such members as the sons of Osman Paşa, Mehmet Şamil and Hüseyin Bereket, and other youths of the neighborhood – Ahmet Fetgeri, Mehmet Ali Fetgeri, Nazım Nazif, Cemil Feti and Şevket. At that time, the Sultan Abdul Hamid II was having secret agents go around the city, reporting on any gatherings that might be political in nature. When these agents heard about the group, a raid was conducted and the exercising youths were taken to the police station. The tense situation was relaxed as some of these youths were close to palace officers. Since football was in disfavor in those days, they only participated in bodily exercises. In fact, Şehzade Abdülhalim, who had relations with the Palace, supported these youths and started to watch their practices frequently. Famous boxer and wrestler Kenan Bey came to the practices and started to show the group wrestling and boxing tricks.

Bereket Gymnastic Club was founded under special permission in 1903. Their sporting activities gained more freedom with the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy in 1908. After the political events of 31 March 1909, Fuat Balkan and Mazhar Kazancı, who were in Edirne, came to Istanbul with the Movement Army. After the political events settled down, Fuat Balkan, who was a good fencing coach, and Mazhar Kazancı, a good wrestler and weight lifter, found the youths involved in gymnastics in Serencebey and got them to agree to participate in sports together. Refik and Şerafettin Beys, friends of Fuat Bey, were also good fencers. Fuat Balkan made the space under his home in Ihlamur the Club’s headquarters, and the title of Bereket Gymnastics Club was changed to Beşiktaş Ottoman Gymnastics Club. Thus, a stronger sports club, where gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, fencing and athletics were emphasized, was formed.

In the meantime, Beşiktaş Ottoman Gymnastics Club became the first registered Turkish sports club on 13 January 1910 with the encouragement of Beyoğlu Governor Muhittin Bey. The interest among the youths of the neighborhood in the sports club grew and the number of members involved in sports suddenly went up to 150. The headquarters of the club was moved from Ihlamur to Building 49 in Akaretler. When this building became too small, Building 84, also in Akaretler, became their headquarters. The yard behind this building was turned into a sports pitch.

Some of the young patriots from the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul formed two football clubs called "Valideçeşme" and "Basiret" under the leadership of Şeref Bey. The Valideçeşme and Basiret football clubs joined under the Beşiktaş Ottoman Gymnastics Club in 1911. In a very short time, football became the foremost branch in the club.

For years, the original colours of the Beşiktaş were believed to be Red and White; and then temporarily changed into Black and White as a sign of mourning for the dead in Balkan Wars, which included some players of the club. Although most written sources endorse this claim, a detailed study carried out for Beşiktaş’s 100th anniversary documentary had shown that red was never used in club’s first colors; and Beşiktaş’s colours were always Black and White.^[7]

Initial years of football

With football becoming the main sport of the Ottoman Empire around 1910, Beşiktaş members slowly started to give more attention to football. In August 1911, Ahmet Şerafettin Bey started the football team. Beşiktaş didn't enter the Istanbul Friday and Sunday leagues, and didn't have any championships until 1918, when they won the Istanbul Turkish 1st Sports League. In 1921, that particular league's final season, they won it again. In 1924, Beşiktaş entered the Istanbul Football League along with Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and other Istanbul teams. Beşiktaş became the league's first champion in 1924, but was not able to get more success in the league. Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe were the two dominant teams through the middle of the 1930s.

Beşiktaş won their second Istanbul League championship in 1934, as well as their first Turkish Football Championship in the same year. In 1937, the Turkish National League was formed. In the Istanbul League season prior to the National League's first season, Beşiktaş finished in fourth place, which earned them a berth in the National League. Beşiktaş finished third place in the National league, behind Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. In 1938, Beşiktaş finished in third place in the Istanbul league and second place in the National league, behind Güneş. Beşiktaş won a record five consecutive Istanbul league championships between 1939 and 1943. In the National league, Beşiktaş finished fourth in 1939, fifth in 1940, first in 1941 and third in 1943 (1942 league was not held). The club won the Istanbul league in 1945 and 1946, as well as the National league in 1944 and 1947.

After 1959

In 1959, the Turkish First League was formed, the nation's first professional football league. In the inaugural year, Beşiktaş came in third place, while in 1960 it won the league title. In 1960, the club also participated in the European Cup, becoming the first Turkish team ever to participate in the tournament. In subsequent years, Beşiktaş finished third in both 1961 and 1962, as well as second in 1963, 1964 and 1965. In 1966 and 1967, meanwhile, the club won back-to-back championship titles, and in the latter year, they also won their first Turkish Super Cup. In 1968, Beşiktaş finished in second.

Silent 1970s

After 1967, Beşiktaş's performance declined slightly, finishing in 8th, 12th, 5th, 4th many times, while Trabzonspor, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray continued their success. Beşiktaş only finished in second place once in the decade, in 1975.

1980s Revival

Beşiktaş put an end to their poor performances in 1982 with a surprise Turkish championship, earning another in 1986. They finished the league in the second place four times in the second half of the decade, save for 1985–86. Hooliganism was also a major problem that had started in Europe and spread throughout Turkey as well. Beşiktaş fan hooliganism had been a major issue with many fights inside and outside the stadium, although this has become less of an issue in more recent years.

Gordon Milne era: 1987–1993

Beşiktaş had their most successful run in the Süper Lig with three consecutive championships under the management of Gordon Milne in the early 1990s. Three players of the squad – Metin Tekin, Ali Gültiken and Feyyaz Uçar – were notable for significant contributions to the team during this period. These players had been called Metin-Ali-Feyyaz ("MAF") and they formed the front of the team's line-up. The supporters composed various chants for the trio devoted to their delighting style on the pitch, their goals, and above all for their friendship and modesty. The trio is regarded by supporters as the best ever attacking line of the club.

The only three-in-a-row title term in club history occurred in the 1989–90, 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons. Most notably, Beşiktaş became the first undefeated champion in Süper Lig history.^[8][9] So far, Beşiktaş is the only team that has achieved these honors.

Under Milne, the team adopted the 4–4–2 system. By playing down the lines, crossing and winning balls in the air, the team scored many goals. On 15 October 1989, Beşiktaş broke the Süper Lig record for the biggest winning margin in a game with a 10–0 victory over Southern Turkey team Adana Demirspor.^[10] This match was designated as one of the 16 biggest matches in club history.^[11]

Legend of the Black Eagles

There is a legend surrounding the nicknaming of the team as "The Black Eagles". Beşiktaş, the title holder of the previous two seasons, started the 1940–41 season with a young and renewed team. As the weeks went by, this team was more and more secure in the leader's seat in the league. With five weeks remaining in the season, the opponent was Süleymaniye. Beşiktaş had started the game in Şeref Stadium on Sunday 19 January 1941, with the following players: Faruk, Yavuz, İbrahim, Rıfat, Halil, Hüseyin, Şakir, Hakkı, Şükrü, Şeref, Eşref. The team went ahead in the first half. Halfway through the second half of the game, Beşiktaş attacked continuously, despite being in front. And then, according to legend, a voice was heard from the stands towards which Beşiktaş was attacking. The voice said, "Come on, Black Eagles! Attack, Black Eagles!" The story goes that the owner of the voice from the stands was a fisherman called Mehmet Galin. Beşiktaş finished the game with a 6–0 win. The Beşiktaş players, who had very successfully defeated their opponents that season, were being described as "Black Eagles", and the football they played was being compared to "Attacking like Black Eagles". The comparison resonated with the team and the fans, and so it was adopted by the Beşiktaş community as their team's nickname.^[12]

Colours and badge

Since only individual sports were done at the beginning in the Osman Pasha Mansion, there was no need for any colours for a uniform. However, the number of sportsmen increased with new youths who joined sport teams each passing day. Mehmet Şamil Bey (first president of the Club), who had graduated from the French school gathered the Founders Committee. He removed the pin he used in his school days bearing the colours of his school from his lapel and showed it around. He said “We must have a pin just like this one made and we must force all members who attend sports in our Club to bear this pin”. Those attending the meeting eagerly agreed with Mehmet Şamil Bey’s proposal. At the end of the meeting, the colours of the Club to be shown on the pin were decided. The two principal colours of nature in full contrast to each other were chosen as the Club colours: black and white.

The date Beşiktaş’s first badge was made was written as "1906" in Latin years inspired by the badges in the French school. On top, it said "Beşiktaş" in Arabic letters, the letter "J" was placed on the rights and letter “K” was placed on the left. On the back of the badge, there was a script saying it was made in Constantinople and there was the seal of the craftsmen who made the badge on the inside. It is interesting that the star on the crest on the badge has 6 points. This six-pointed star was used until the second Constitutional Monarchy (1908). This badge was donated by Iskender Yakak to Süleyman Seba, the late Honorary President of Beşiktaş J.K.

The current emblem of Beşiktaş symbolizes the foundation date. There are two white and three black bars on the emblem. It consists of nine parts in total. There is one white bar, three black bars, and another white bar, and there are nine parts in total. Thus: 1319, the year of the club's foundation. (The Islamic calendar was still used in the Ottoman Empire at the time of the club's foundation. 1319 is the equivalent of 1903 in Gregorian Calendar.)

Home colours

1991-92

1997-98

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

Away colours

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

Third colours

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

Previous Stadium

BJK İnönü Stadium was located near the Bosphorus and was very close to Taksim Square. The stadium could be reached easily by many means of public transport (bus, ferry, metro, light-rail, funicular etc.) easily due to its central location.

There were four different parts of the stadium; 1."Kapalı" is where the most hot-blooded fans were during the matches; 2."Yeni Açık" was the larger side, which faced the sea; 3."Eski Açık" was the smaller curve on the seaside, where visiting supporters were typically placed; 4."Numaralı" is where press, VIP and protocol stands could be found.

2013 was the last season of the İnönü Stadium as Beşiktaş's home ground. The club played their 2013-14 and 2014-15 season home games mostly at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium and the Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium. The new stadium, Vodafone Arena, has completed in April 2016.

Players

Current squad

As of 31 August 2016^[13]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Fabricio 3 DF Adriano 6 DF Duško Tošić 7 MF Ricardo Quaresma (third-captain) 8 MF Veli Kavlak 9 FW Vincent Aboubakar (on loan from Porto) 10 MF Olcay Şahan 13 MF Atiba Hutchinson 15 MF Oğuzhan Özyakup 17 FW Ömer Şişmanoğlu 18 MF Tolgay Arslan 20 MF Necip Uysal (vice-captain) 21 MF Kerim Frei

No. Position Player 22 MF Aras Özbiliz 23 FW Cenk Tosun 29 GK Tolga Zengin (captain) 30 DF Marcelo 32 DF Andreas Beck 33 DF Atınç Nukan (on loan from RB Leipzig) 44 DF Rhodolfo 77 DF Gökhan Gönül 80 MF Gökhan Inler 88 DF Caner Erkin (on loan from Inter) 94 MF Talisca (on loan from Benfica) 97 GK Utku Yuvakuran

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Denys Boyko (at Málaga until 30 June 2017) DF Pedro Franco (at Millonarios until 30 June 2017) DF Alexander Milošević (at Darmstadt 98 until 30 June 2017)

No. Position Player MF Gökhan Töre (at West Ham United until 30 June 2017) FW Mustafa Pektemek (at İstanbul Başakşehir until 30 June 2017)

Technical staff

Position	Name
Manager	Şenol Güneş
Assistant Manager	Tamer Tuna
Assistant Manager	Şeref Çiçek
Assistant Manager	Mehmet Kulaksızoğlu
First Team Coach	Dolu Arslan
First Team Coach	Eren Şafak
Fitness Coach	Miguel Peiró Montanana
Goalkeeping Coach	Marjan Mrmić
First Team Doctor	Sarper Çetinkaya
First Team Doctor	Murat Çevik
Physiotherapist	Zeki Cetin
Physiotherapist	Aşkın Dede
Physiotherapist	Mehmet Alpözgen
Football Interpreter	Halil Yazıcıoğlu
Kit Manager	Ünal Akkoyun
Kit Manager	Süreyya Soner
Chief Scout	Gökhan Keskin

Honours

Domestic

• Süper Lig:
  • Winners (14): 1956–57, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 2002–03, 2008–09, 2015–16
• Turkish Cup:
  • Winners (9): 1974–75, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 1997–98, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11
• Turkish Super Cup:
  • Winners (8): 1967, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2006

Others

• Amatör Futbol Şampiyonası:
  • Winners (2): 1934, 1951
• Milli Küme Şampiyonası: (amateur)
  • Winners (3): 1940–41, 1943–44, 1946–47
• Amatör Futbol Şampiyonası:
  • Winners (2): 1985, 1988
• Chancellor Cup:
  • Winners (8): 1943–44, 1946–47, 1973–74, 1976–77, 1987–88, 1996–97
• TSYD Cup: (shared-record)
  • Winners (12): 1964–65, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1996–97
• Atatürk Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2000
• Istanbul Football League:
  • Winners (13): 1923–24, 1933–34, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1953–54
• Istanbul Futbol Kupası: (shared-record)
  • Winners (3): 1944, 1946
• Istanbul Shield:
  • Winners (1): 1935
• Spor-Toto Cup: (record)
  • Winners (4): 1966, 1968, 1970, 1972
• Fleet Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1986

UEFA achievements

• European Cup
  • Quarter-finals (1): 1986–87
• UEFA Cup
  • Quarter-finals (1): 2002–03

European record

Current ranking

As of November 2016^[14]

Rank	Team	Coefficient
51	FC Salzburg	35.220
52	Beşiktaş	33.920
53	SC Braga	33.733
54	KRC Genk	32.080

Statistics

As of 23 November 2016^[15]

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
UEFA Champions League	73	23	17	33	73	112	−39
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	20	4	4	12	21	38	−17
UEFA Europa League	96	42	20	34	146	118	+28
Total	189	69	41	79	240	268	−28

Recent seasons

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Manager
2005–06	SL	3	34	15	9	10	52	39	54	Winners	UC	Group stage	Rıza Çalımbay–Jean Tigana
2006–07	SL	2	34	18	7	9	43	32	61	Winners	UC	Group stage	Jean Tigana
2007–08	SL	3	34	23	4	7	58	32	73	Quarter-finals	UCL	Group stage	Ertuğrul Sağlam
2008–09	SL	1	34	21	8	5	60	30	71	Winners	UC	First round	Ertuğrul Sağlam–Mustafa Denizli
2009–10	SL	4	34	18	10	6	47	25	64	Group stage	UCL	Group stage	Mustafa Denizli
2010–11	SL	5	34	15	9	10	53	36	54	Winners	UEL	Round of 32	Bernd Schuster–Tayfur Havutçu
2011–12	SL	4	34+6	15+1	9+2	10+3	50+5	39+9	54+5	Round of 16	UEL	Round of 16	Carlos Carvalhal–Tayfur Havutçu
2012–13	SL	3	34	16	10	8	63	49	58	Round of 16	—		Samet Aybaba
2013–14	SL	3	34	17	11	6	53	33	62	Round of 32	UEL	Play-off	Slaven Bilić
2014–15	SL	3	34	21	6	7	55	32	69	Round of 16	UCL UEL	Play-off Round of 16
2015–16	SL	1	34	25	4	5	75	35	79	Quarter-finals	UEL	Group Stage	Şenol Güneş

Last updated: 9 June 2015 (2015-06-09)
Div.=Division; Pos.=Position; Pl=Match played; W=Won; D=Drawn; L=Lost; GS=Goals scored; GA=Goals against; P=Points
SL=Süper Lig; UCL=UEFA Champions League; UCWC=UEFA Cup Winners' Cup; UC=UEFA Cup; UEL=UEFA Europa League; Cup=Turkish Cup
Background colours: Gold=winners; Silver=runners-up; Bronze=third

Presidents

Name[16]	Period[16]
Mehmet Üstünkaya	1981–84
Süleyman Seba	1984–00∞
Serdar Bilgili	2000–04
Yıldırım Demirören	2004–12
Fikret Orman	2012–

Managers

There have been managers from various European countries at the helm of the club. The longest serving manager of Beşiktaş is Şeref Bey, managing the club for 14 years. The most successful manager is Gordon Milne, winning the league three times in a row along with other trophies as well.^[17]

Sponsorship

Years	Shirt sponsor	Kit manufacturer
1988	None	Adidas
1988–1998	Beko
1998–2001		Reebok
2001–2004		Puma
2004–2005	Turkcell
2005–2009	Cola Turka	Umbro
2009–2011		Adidas
2011–2014	Toyota
2014–	Vodafone

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beşiktaş JK.

• Official website (Turkish) (English)
• Beşiktaş J.K. at UEFA
• Beşiktaş J.K. at TFF