Formed: 1903
Nickname: Karakartallar (The Black Eagles)

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• none

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 13 (2009)
• Turkish Cup: 8 (2009)

History
• Founded in the latter days of the Ottoman Empire as a gymnastic club – the JK in their official name stands for Jimnastik Kulübü – Beşiktaş took their name from their local district in Istanbul, on the northern banks of the Bosphorus; their footballing division was founded in August 1911 following the incorporation of two local teams, Valideçeşme and Basiret.

• With the founding of the modern Turkey football became the dominant discipline for Beşiktaş, who won a number of minor local titles; the Federation Cups of 1957 and 1958 classed as their first national titles ahead of the foundation of Turkey's first professional league in 1959.

• Fenerbahçe SK won the first formal league title, but under Hungarian coach András Kuttik, Beşiktaş claimed the second in 1959/60. Former Yugoslavian international Ljubiša Spajić led them to consecutive crowns in 1966 and 1967, but while they won the first of their eight Turkish Cups in 1975, they had to wait until 1982 and the appointment of another Yugoslavian, Djordje Milić, for their next title, countryman Branko Stanković then overseeing their 1985/86 league success.

• Englishman Gordon Milne ushered in a golden age following his appointment in 1987; during his seven-year reign Beşiktaş won three titles in a row between 1991 and 1993 as well as two Turkish Cups, and their MAF attacking lineup of Metin Tekin, Ali Gültiken and Feyyaz Uçar became legends.

• Christoph Daum won a further title in 1995, while in the years that followed, Romanian Mircea Lucescu brought Beşiktaş the league crown in their centenary year 2003; Mustafa Denizli broke new ground with a double success in 2008/09, becoming the first Turkish coach to guide the Black Eagles to league glory.

Club records
Most appearances: Rıza Çalımbay (494)
Most goals: Hakkı Yeten (382)
Record victory: Beşiktaş 10-0 Adana Demirspor (Turkish First Division, 15 October 1989)
Record defeat: Liverpool 8-0 Beşiktaş (UEFA Champions League, 6 November 2007)

* Last updated 31 December 2010