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Lucescu looks forward

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Coach Mircea Lucescu has signed a two-year extension at Besiktas JK after leading the club to the Turkish title.

Coach Mircea Lucescu has signed a two-year extension to his contract at Besiktas JK as he seeks to build a team capable of impressing in the UEFA Champions League.

Significant lead
The Romanian has committed himself to the Istanbul club in the wake of yesterday's celebration of winning the Turkish Super League. Besiktas ended their campaign on Saturday with a 4-3 away victory at Samsunspor which saw them finish eight points clear of Galatasaray SK, the club Lucescu led to last season's title.

UEFA Cup campaign
The 57-year-old Lucescu is the toast of the Inönü stadium after not only ending an eight-year wait for the championship, but also guiding his team to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, where they were beaten by Italian side S.S. Lazio. Besiktas will be one of 16 teams to qualify automatically for the Champions League group stage.

'Plan ahead'
After watching Lucescu sign his new deal, club president Serdar Bilgili said: "Lucescu did a great job for us in the year of our centenary. When I talked to him recently we agreed that we should plan ahead for the next three to five years. Therefore he accepted our offer of a new contract. Our target is to create a team which can play good football in the Champions League."

Another new deal
Meanwhile, a coach who will no doubt relish pitting his wits against the likes of Lucescu next season, the Çaykur Rizespor trainer Hikmet Karaman, has signed a one-year-contract extension after leading the club into the Turkish top flight.

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