Galatasaray appoints its former player as manager

Ex-Türkiye midfielder Okan Buruk has been appointed coach of his former club Galatasaray on a two-year deal, the Istanbul side announced on June 24.

After the departure of Fatih Terim in January Spaniard Domenec Torrent, a former assistant to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was unable to improve the team's results, Bein Sports reports.

The club slumped to 13th in the league, a historic low for the record 22-time Turkish league champions.

The 48-year-old was capped 56 times for Türkiye and played for the club for 12 seasons, from 1991 to 2001 and from 2006 t 2008, winning the UEFA Cup with them in 2000.

"Welcome home!" Galatasaray said in a statement.

As a coach Buruk led Istanbul Basaksehir to their first-ever Turkish league title in 2020.