Besiktas dismiss head coach Fernando Santos

ANKARA

Turkish football club Besiktas sacked Portuguese head coach Fernando Santos for poor performance on Saturday.

The club from Istanbul said that it parted ways with Santos and thanked the 69-year-old for his service.

Santos was fired after Besiktas were held to a 1 – 1 home draw against Yilport Samsunspor in a Trendyol Super Lig match.

The Black Eagles added that Serdar Topraktepe will be the interim head coach until the end of the season.

Santos’ Besiktas have been unable to end their winless run for five league matches. They were handed three losses, including a derby defeat against Galatasaray on March 3, and had two straight draws with RAMS Basaksehir and Samsunspor on Saturday evening.

Fourth-place Besiktas have 48 points in 32 matches in the Turkish Super Lig which is led by archrivals Galatasaray, who have 84 points. Second-place Fenerbahce have 82 points.

Besiktas, one of the “Big Three” in the Super Lig, have been in a turbulent season and is far from the title race. They hired Santos on Jan. 7.

Santos, a well-known head coach in Europe, led Portugal to the UEFA EURO 2016 title, the country’s first major trophy.

During his more than eight-year spell, Santos guided Portugal to the 2019 UEFA Nations League championship.

Santos previously coached Poland but was fired in September.

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