A men who is known for both teams as legand, as a player for Liverpool and as a coach for Besiktas, Gordon Milne said Liverpool shouldn't have any problem beating Besiktas.
Gordon Milne was big soccer player for Reds in his hey days....
In 1965 Milne helped create one of those truly special moments which those lucky enough to witness still talk about more than 40 years on,winning the the FA Cup for the first time.
As far as Besiktas story.....
He became a legend in Turkey thanks to his management of Besiktas.
At a time when other British managers were being feted for bringing limited success to clubs in Spain, the softly spoken Lancastrian was sparking a revolution in Turkish football which makes him a revered figure in Istanbul even today.
Gordon Milne:'“It was 1987 and I had just finished a stint at Leicester,” he recalls. “I was planning on taking a break from football because I had just done 15 years on the bounce in coaching and management.
“Bobby Robson was England manager and I called in to see him at Lilleshall. We chatted about different things and he asked me would I fancy managing in Turkey.
“It obviously wasn’t something I’d even considered but he told me Don Howe had been offered a job by Besiktas but hedidn’t want to take it as he wanted to remain as England coach.
“Bobby told me to come back the following day to speak to Don so I did and he told me they were looking for an English coach and asked would I be interested.
“A couple of days later I was in Istanbul, I signed a contract and I ended up spending six and a half Milne became one of the most successful managers in Besiktas’ history winning a trio of league championships and two domestic cups.
In one season, Besiktas went the entire campaign unbeaten – a record which has never been matched in the history of Turkish soccer.
Gordon wen on to say,“There are three teams in Istanbul – Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray – and each one expects to be the best.
“Finishing second is no good. In my first season we finished second and it wasn’t long before I came under a bit of pressure but in the second season we won the cup and that took some of the pressure off.
“The next season we won the league and then we won the double and the following year we went unbeaten all season.
“It was a wonderful time for me and I only ended up leaving when I was given the opportunity to go and manage in Japan and work with Gary Lineker whom I’d worked with as a youngster at Leicester,”
In 2005, Milne made a brief return to Besiktas in an advisory role but he was kicked out of his role by the Besiktas board of directors. He said "“When I first got to Turkey the facilities were dreadful and in many ways they were primitive.
“We were training on sand and I found it all very hard. But we made little changes here and there and if you look at the way Turkish football has progressed since then it is clear that they have paid dividends.
“The facilities are wonderful now – there are grass pitches, synthetic pitches and all the kind of things you would associate with a top European club.
“Another factor in the improvement has been the increased exposure to top level football.
“In the late Eighties Turkey were being beaten 8-0 and 5-0 but that isn’t happening anymore.
“A lot of this is down to the fact that clubs like Besiktas, Galatasary and Fenerbahce are now playing regular European football and picking up great experience thanks to the format of the Champions League which allows teams to play more games than they used to under the old knockout rules.”
WHAT DOES GORDEN MILNE THINKS ABOUT THE MATCH IN ISTANBUL?
“I think Liverpool will be too strong and powerful for them, at least I hope they will be,” he answers.
“Besiktas are a good side and they have a sprinkling of good players from Brazil and Argentina alongside the native Turkish players but I just think Liverpool will have a little bit too much for them on the night.”
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