Sağlam sharpens Black Eagles' talons

New coach Ertuğrul Sağlam is hoping to inject some sparkle into Beşiktaş JK as they start their UEFA Champions League campaign against Moldova's FC Sheriff tonight.

Disappointing spell
Jean Tigana's time with the Black Eagles ended on a minor high last season with the French coach leaving the club in the wake of his second successive Turkish Cup triumph. However, his two-year spell at the club is unlikely to be remembered as any kind of golden age, with Beşiktaş unable to wrest the title away from Istanbul neighbours Galatasaray SK and Fenerbahçe SK.

New dynamism
The hope now is that the 37-year-old Sağlam, who played for Beşiktaş in the 1994/95 and 2000/01 seasons as a forward and occasional makeshift centre-back, can bring some dynamism to the team, having worked minor miracles at Kayserispor. The club were barely avoiding relegation when he arrived in 2005 but he led them to successive fifth-placed finishes.

Kayserispor achievement
Sağlam's reputation sky-rocketed as he squeezed some excellent performances out of a limited squad at Kayserispor and turned midfielder Mehmet Topuz and striker Gökhan Ünal into Turkish internationals. The hope now is that he can achieve even greater results with better resources at Beşiktaş. "It's an honour to be return again to my former club," said Sağlam, after his appointment on 1 June.

Summer signings
The coach has been ringing the changes, signing Chilean Rodrigo Tello and Mehmet Yozgatlı to cover the left and right wings, Turkish international goalkeepers Rüstü Reçber and Hakan Arıkan as well as French midfielder Edouard Cissé. "We had some deficiencies in these positions last year," said Sağlam who has also restored 19-year-old Serdar Kurtulus, deployed as a defensive midfielder under Tigana, to his original position as a right-back.

Team outlook
Along with a change of personnel, Sağlam has promised a change of outlook. Tigana had criticised his players for their performances and private lives last season, but focusing on individuals is not his successor's style. "All my players should play according to our system," he said. "If the team concedes a goal, every player is responsible for that, not only the defenders."

Sheriff next
Beşiktaş's European campaign fizzled out in the UEFA Cup group stage last season, but the UEFA Champions League remains Sağlam's target as the first leg against Sheriff looms. "Sheriff are not easy opponents but if we show our quality on the pitch we will advance to the next stage," he said. It remains to be seen whether Beşiktaş's new broom will sweep clean.