Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's emotional Besiktas dressing room speech - ‘One of the best feelings I’ve ever had’
The former Manchester United boss made a winning return to the dugout
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hailed his first game in charge of Besiktas as one of the best moments of his managerial career after a 4-1 triumph over Athletic Bilbao.
The Manchester United legend replaced ex-Rangers boss Gio van Bronckhorst at the Turkish Super Lig club earlier this month and arrived to huge fanfare in Istanbul. Solskjaer's dugout bow couldn't have gone any better as his team triumphed in the Europa League.
Milot Rashica netted the inaugural goal under Solskjaer's leadership before Unai Nunez disrupted the Norwegian's half-time pep talk. However, Besiktas bounced back in spectacular fashion as Rashica notched a second goal, setting the stage for Rafa Silva and Joao Mario's penalty to secure a winning start to the Norwegian's reign.
Dressing room footage showed an elated Solskjaer praising his squad's performance, labelling their triumph as "one of the best feelings I've ever had". He beamed: "That is teamwork, togetherness. That is a proper team. It was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life as a coach. This is special. I know it’s been difficult. Now we keep calm and go to the next one. But I got to say thank you and well done."
Fans were thrilled to see Solskjaer make a winning return to management, three years after leaving Old Trafford. One wrote: "Such a nice guy man hope he does well he deserves it." Another commented: "He will be a great coach again! Wow." While a third added: "Yeah nice to see Ole back in football."
Solskjaer will now set his sights on challenging ex-Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce, who are battling with table-toppers Galatasaray for the Super Lig crown. Currently positioned sixth in the Super Lig and trailing by 20 points, Besiktas face Antalyaspor on Sunday afternoon. However, with Solskjaer's recent appointment, there's anticipation that Besiktas might make a late surge for the European spots after their convincing victory on Thursday.