Among the strongest teams
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Basaksehir FK is on a roll. In the top 10 European leagues, only one club has done better in the last ten league matches than the 2020 Turkish champions. There are eight wins, one draw and one loss. Coach Nuri Şahin, absent since September, is largely responsible for this. After an early season calf injury, striker Davie Selke is also going from strength to strength and is one of the top scorers outside the top 5 leagues this calendar year.
Şahin took over as manager of the Istanbul team almost eight months after leaving Borussia Dortmund and signed a contract until 2028. The Lüdenscheid native followed Çağdaş Atan, with whom the collaboration ended by mutual agreement after a poor start to the season with two draws against Kayserispor (1:1) and Eyüpspor (0:0). The main deciding factor was the absence from the Conference League in the qualifier against Romanian representative CS Universitatea Craiova.
Şahin, the Süper Lig’s youngest coach at 37, has since led Basaksehir to 14 wins (four draws, eight losses) in 26 matches and currently sits fifth in the Turkish upper house. “Things quickly got complicated for him in terms of sport,” says Sinan Yener, editor-in-chief of (Site notre blog d’information) in Türkiye. « The victory against a strong opponent Göztepe on Saturday evening (2:1) was particularly important. As a result, they overtook thanks to a better goal difference. »
Basaksehir showed a bitter reaction to the cup defeat against Trabzonspor during the week (2:4) in relation to the club’s goals. « To qualify for Europe, Basaksehir must finish the season at least in fifth place. If they stay ahead of Göztepe, it could work. However, there will still be difficult matches against league leader Galatasaray next Saturday and later against Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce. That is why they have pinned their hopes on the cup. For many Turkish clubs, this is seen as an important path to Europe, » Yener emphasizes. This must now be achieved via the Süper Lig. Besiktas, also in very good form, are currently four points ahead of them. “If the cup is won by one of the top four teams, fifth place could also be enough for the European competitions,” says Yener.
Basaksehir for Şahin 2nd stop in Türkiye – Selke & Shomurodov are on site
Basaksehir is Şahin’s third coaching job in his young coaching career and second in the Süper Lig. The former midfielder was employed by Antalyaspor from October 2021 to December 2023. He finished his active career there in order to move directly to the coaching bench.
After just over six months as BVB head coach and a points average of 1.48, Basaksehir Şahin’s great understanding of (Site notre bureau spécialisé) quickly paid off, Yener said. “There he shows what he can do with his tactics and his analysis of the opponent.” With 1.77 points, this is currently its best average compared to its previous stations. There were small adaptation difficulties at the beginning, « but in the second half of the season the team collected important points and gradually progressed. »
The reason for this is, among other things, the goals of Selke, voted player of the season in the 2nd Bundesliga by the (Site notre blog d’information) community last season. After promotion to Hamburger SV, they parted ways and Selke moved to the Turkish metropolis on a free transfer. There he got off to a promising start with three goals in four games during Conference League qualifying, although he did not reach the group stage.
Subsequently, a calf injury forced him to be absent for two months. Since the end of January, last season’s top scorer in the second division has turned up the pressure and scored six goals, putting him at European level with, among others, Ousmane Dembélé of PSG and Benjamin Sesko of Manchester United.
Only Basaksehir, on loan from AS Roma, has scored more goals than Selke. The Uzbek has already scored 16 times in the league, making him the second top scorer in the Turkish upper house. “Eldor and I complement each other very well because he is very flexible,” recently quoted the “kicker” Selke, who himself serves as a classic nine. Besides his attacking partner, Selke also praised his coach: « I find him impressive as a coach. I like his ideas and the style he wants to play. » With more urgency, more courage and more clarity.
With a squad value of €72.1 million, Basaksehir have the fifth most valuable team of all clubs in the Süper Lig. This also includes former Schalke player Amine Harit, who is the third highest-rated professional in the team with €5 million. Şahin played against Harit four times as a professional and even played once with Selke in the Werder Bremen jersey.
Umut Güneş, born in Albstadt, Swabia, is also an important pillar for the coach. The central midfielder, formerly active in the VfB Stuttgart youth team, and Şahin « get along well, not least because both have links to Germany », explains Yener. Güneş is in a similar position to Şahin, who could also play a role. With his main players and the rest of the team, the big goal of the European Cup should be achieved.