Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted that the Besiktas job reminds him of his stint in the Old Trafford dugout.
On Saturday, Solskjaer was confirmed as the new Besiktas boss.
He had been out of management since he was sacked by United in 2021 after a string of poor performances and results.
The Norwegian takes over at the Super Lig side who have been without a head coach since letting Giovanni van Bronckhorst go last month.
Solskjaer put pen to paper on a deal running until the end of the 2025/26 season, with the option of extending his stay by an additional 12 months.
The former striker will be joined at Besiktas by assistant coach Erling Moe and goalkeeping coach Richard John Hartis.
Speaking to reporters [via ESPN], Solskjaer noted that he accepted Besiktas’ offer because of the similarities to his time at United.
The 51-year-old remarked, “I’ve been outside football for a little while, as a boss.”
“But I’ve been working in UEFA and I’ve been following football as well as this club … This project seems a little bit like Manchester United for me. We were sixth, then we become third and then second. And this is step by step.
“And of course we’re here to win, so hopefully we can make it faster. But we have to be realistic. And yes, I had many offers, but as I said before, it had to be the right offer worth me moving away from my perfect life.”
“You need to feel that heartbeat racing again, because [you ask] ‘do you have the energy?’ and the project that the president and the board have been talking to me about it was the right thing I needed now.”
He added, “I’ve been following United [since I left] and it’s difficult when it goes down. You need to just turn the boat and hopefully we can turn the boat quickly here.”
In the Turkish top flight, Solskjaer will come up against his predecessor as United boss José Mourinho, currently in charge of Fenerbahce.
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
