Matchday in focus: Beşiktaş JK up close

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Eintracht Frankfurt

·1 October 2024

Matchday in focus: Beşiktaş JK up close

An in-depth look at Eintracht’s upcoming UEFA Europa League opponents from Istanbul.

The opposition

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Founded in 1903 in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Beşiktaş Jimnastik Kulübü is the oldest sports club in Turkey and one of the country’s most successful football clubs. Since 1959 – incidentally, the year Eintracht won the German league title – Beşiktaş have formed part of the Turkish Süper Lig, the top flight that was founded that same year. City rivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are the only other teams to have remained in the first division for 66 consecutive years; between them Turkey’s ‘big three’ have won a combined 59 league titles.

Last season Beşiktaş won the domestic cup for an 11th time. They have also won 16 national championships – their first came in 1959/60, while the most recent was secured in 2020/21 – as well as ten Turkish Supercups. Their club colours are black and white.

The stadium

The Beşiktaş Stadium is situated in the eponymous district of Istanbul, the nation’s capital, and was officially opened on 10 April 2016. It has capacity for 42,590 spectators.

Tactics

Head coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation, and used this system on Europa League Matchday 1 against Ajax and more recently in the Turkish league against Trabzonspor.

One to watch

Milot Rashica knows Eintracht and the Bundesliga very well thanks to the three years he spent at SV Werder Bremen. Following his transfer to Norwich City, he spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan at Galatasaray prior to joining Beşiktaş in summer 2023. The winger has one goal and four assists, and has created 16 shooting opportunities so far in the Süper Lig this term.

Milot Rashica…

…spearheaded Beşiktaş’ 2-1 win over Eyüpsor with a goal and an all-round superb performance.
…played exactly 100 competitive games for Werder Bremen.
…registered 21 goals and 17 assists in 87 Bundesliga games for the club.
…won the Kosovan league title in 2014, the Dutch cup in 2017 and the Turkish league title with Galatasaray in 2023.
…has scored 12 goals in 57 international caps for Kosovo.

Form

Putting aside their 4-0 defeat against Ajax on Matchday 1, Beşiktaş are in the groove. They have picked up 16 of a possible 18 points on the domestic front and also beat city rivals Galatasaray 5-0 in the final of the Turkish Supercup at the beginning of August.

Absentees

Captain Necip Uysal will be sidelined for several more months with a cruciate ligament injury and hasn’t even been registered for the league phase of this competition. Moatasem Al-Musrati missed the team’s 3-0 win away to Kayserispor on Monday with a thigh strain.

Facts and figures

Eintracht Frankfurt are unbeaten away from home in their last six Europa League outings.