Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appointed as new Besiktas manager as the Norwegian makes his return to management after long absence.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been confirmed as the new manager at Turkish club Besiktas.
The Super Lig team, which has been without a head coach since firing Giovanni van Bronckhorst last month, welcomes Solskjaer, who hasn’t had a coaching position since departing Old Trafford in 2021. Arriving in Istanbul on Friday, the Norwegian has reached an agreement that will last until the end of the 2025–2026 season, with the possibility of a one-year extension.
A statement on the Besiktas website read: “A contract has been signed with Ole Gunnar Solskjær for the position of technical director of our professional football team until the end of the 2025-26 season with a one-year option for the 2026-27 season. We welcome Ole Gunnar Solskjær, who we believe will provide important services to our club, to the Besiktas family and wish him outstanding success.”
Solskjaer will be joined at the club by goalkeeping coach Richard John Hartis and assistant coach Erling Moe. For a brief period in 2014, Solskjær led Cardiff and has twice coached Molde in his native country.
The 21-time league champions, Besiktas, are presently having trouble in sixth position.
Solskjær will face José Mourinho, the former manager of Manchester United, who is currently leading Fenerbahce, who are currently ranked second in the league behind leaders Galatasaray, in the Super Lig.
Given that interim head coach Serdar Topraktepe has been leading the team, Saturday’s home game against Samsunspor is probably going to be a watching brief for Solskjaer. However, the 51-year-old Norwegian ought to lead the team against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League matchup next week.