The Fernando Santos era officially begins at Beşiktaş! 'It is very similar to Portugal'

Beşiktaş held a signing ceremony for its new head coach Fernando Santos at the Tüpraş Stadium Moda Center. Beşiktaş President Hasan Arat also attended this official ceremony.

The statements of Beşiktaş's new head coach Fernando Santos are as follows:

"It is important to work in unity and be able to fight on the pitch as a team. I spoke with Samet Aybaba on the phone a few times. We will work together with him. We are not in a very good situation as a team, but we will all work together for the success of Beşiktaş."

"Being part of a massive club, being here is very important. It is a 120-year-old club. Not just that. The victories won, the trophies received... I have been in Turkey twice as an opponent. Once in Istanbul and once in Ankara. Istanbul is a very beautiful city. I have also come here for vacation with my family a few times."

"WE WILL WORK TO KEEP SÜLEYMAN SEBA'S CULTURE ALIVE"

"Istanbul is a very beautiful city. It has an incredible history. There is an incredible passion here. It is very similar to Portugal. This is a wonderful country. I want to do very good work here and achieve successes. We will work to keep the culture of Süleyman Seba alive."

"WE NEED THE FANS ON THIS PATH"

"We are not in a good situation in the league, but we will work to be united and win victories. We need the Beşiktaş fans on this path. Everyone is very important in this story. Right now, we need to be calm, realistic, and review our squad. We will analyze it together. Quality is very important, a very important detail. Quality, passion, character, and the ability to represent the club well on the pitch are necessary. They need to show this. We have a good group of players. I become a family to my players; if someone attacks my family, we respond like a fist. The important thing is to be united. My views and those of my assistants are important. We must choose the right path. We must work to bring this team to good places. There are many more matches. We can develop in this way."

"I SPOKE WITH PEPE AND QUARESMA"

"Before coming, I spoke with Pepe and Ricardo Quaresma. They told me I was coming to a big club. I also spoke with Simao; I have a good relationship with him. They all congratulated me on this decision."

"I HAVE KNOWN GÜNEŞ FOR MANY YEARS"

"I have known Mr. Şenol Güneş for many years. He achieved very good things here. Very great coaches like Şenol Güneş have worked at Beşiktaş."

"Since I have been coaching for years, there is only one thing I know; winning. My team always has to win. I cannot sleep when I lose. We have to fight on the pitch. We have to go out on the pitch as if to die. Other than that, nothing else works."

"We need to sign players for some positions. Our president will decide on everything. We will find the best solutions. This team needs good solutions."

I missed working at a club team very much. It was difficult for me to constantly take breaks in national teams. It is difficult not to be able to observe what the players do every day. I am happy to return to a club team, to such a big team. It is a bit difficult in national teams when there is no feeling of being together constantly."

"I DO NOT HAVE A MAGIC WAND"

This team will win matches, but if you ask if winning just a few matches is enough, this is not enough. Beşiktaş's goal is always to win, to take trophies. We will bring these back. I do not have a magic wand. We want to do our best by working and planning."

"I was the one who called Gedson Fernandes to the national team for the first time. He is a very successful and talented player. I do not want to talk about players one by one."

PLAYERS EXCLUDED FROM THE SQUAD

We will talk to every player. Rosier, Aboubakar... I do not make these decisions based on what I hear, but because of what I see. If a player is not part of the team, that is fine, but we will talk to everyone. Who are the ones who really want to continue with us? Our door is open to them. If there is anyone who wants to leave, of course, they can go."

"We have to bring some players here. No one will come to Beşiktaş to go on vacation. We must bring not big names, but big characters. All the players I bring here must come to work. Personality, character, and quality. These three criteria are very important to me. Some players are very high quality but struggle to reach the top level. This is also about character and discipline... We will try to reach agreements with very good players."

"Ronaldo not playing in the World Cup match was a very tactical decision. I had to make this decision, and I made it correctly. When you look at it, the team is important, after all."

TACTICAL EXPLANATION

"I play 4-3-3. Sometimes I play two number 6s. If you do not have fast players, you cannot play counter-attack. For a game system that presses forward, you need a group of players who will not let the opponent out from there. Sometimes it is necessary to build a system according to the players. The important thing is what kind of players we have and what we can do with these players. Of course, we have to attack well to win. It is important to create a team that knows how to play compactly. The important thing is to continue the game dynamically rather than the system. Sometimes you spread out on the pitch in a 4-3-3 shape, but there is a different system in attack. Football is not played like foosball. We will always do our work to find the most correct system."

The statements of Beşiktaş Club President Hasan Arat are as follows:

"Today, we appeared before you for a very valuable union. The reason both of us are here is to lead Beşiktaş to the goals it desires. It has been 34 days since I took office. Dear Fernando... You have come to Beşiktaş, the oldest club in its country, as the coach of coaches. Beşiktaş is the people; a Beşiktaş fan loves their homeland and nation very much. A Beşiktaş fan says 'this is Beşiktaş,' has principles, and does not compromise. Your presence here is the guarantee of what we will do. You have dozens of trophies; you have coached world stars. Beşiktaş suits you very well, and you suit Beşiktaş very well. The arrival of Fernando Santos stems from Beşiktaş's reputation in the world."

"BRIGHT DAYS AWAIT BEŞİKTAŞ"

"We have been talking to you for 1 month. You have watched our last 5 matches closely. Among the 15 coaches we interviewed, all members of our board of directors voted in your favor. We also called all the coaches we interviewed and thanked them. Finally, you also spoke with Samet Aybaba via video call. I thank Hüseyin Yücel, Kaan Şakul, Feyyaz Uçar, and Samet Aybaba, who contributed to our coach's arrival. Bright days await Beşiktaş. Mister, you will be the greatest herald of those bright days."

"We made very serious preparations when we took on this duty. While conducting head coach interviews, we researched who could provide the most suitable leadership for our community. We have been talking to Santos for a long time. From now on, there will be no change in our working attitude. Media members should not wear Beşiktaş down. You and our fans should also look after Beşiktaş. We are open to all kinds of criticism, but let these criticisms be within the framework of respect."

"THE AGREEMENT IS BETWEEN US AND OUR COACH"

"The agreement is between us and our coach. We will do whatever the Capital Markets Board (SPK) rules require. Press members should not write things that will lead to misunderstandings."

"We had 14 foreign players. Samet Aybaba did very important work here. We got rid of Eric Bailly's 3.5 million Euro contract. We got rid of the 1.65 million Euros we would pay in the 2nd half. Onana's cost is 10 million Euros. We gave Onana to Marseille on loan with an option to buy. Chamberlain was injured. We will talk to our medical team about when he can return. Two players left in 34 days. This is something important from a financial perspective."

"Semih's contract has been extended. We are following our other players in the youth academy very well. We will prepare very well for the next season. We have a Turkish Cup goal, let this not be forgotten."

RUIZ'S MONEY WAS PAID

"Yesterday, Beşiktaş paid around 2 million 250 thousand Euros for Victor Ruiz. I wish you had asked about this too."