BESIKTAS skipper Guti will be a worried man today ... because he has already played against the mighty Potters.
The 34-year-old midfielder was in the Real Madrid team which beat Stoke 2-0 on a pre-season tour of Austria in 2007 in front of about 3,000 fans.
Times have changed, however, and it will be a considerably more hostile occasion for the Spaniard this time around ... and not just in the bearpit atmosphere of the Britannia Stadium. The Istanbul club are home to the Carsi, a group of mad as hatters supporters who could give Hajduk Split's fanatics a run for their money. Their favourite chant in the 32,000-capacity IInonu Stadium is "We are against everything", although presumably that doesn't include their team.
The group's name means "downtown" in Turkish, which makes sense given Besiktas's location in the heart of the city, but it'll take a brave man to tell them it's English meaning. But in a country of three powerhouses, Besiktas fans feel they have to do their utmost to stand out from the followers of Galatasaray and Fenerbache, Tuncay's old club. Perhaps that explains why in 1989 they celebrated the loan signing of a young Les Ferdinand by slaughtering a sheep in his honour.
In the honours stakes, Besiktas have claimed 13 Turkish Super League titles, nine Turkish Cups and eight Turkish Super Cups.
Their most recent league success came in 2008/9 and last year they finished a relatively lowly fifth, although they did pick up the Turkish Cup. Domestic success has ensured the club have been seen plenty of action across the continent.
Since 1958, they have played more than 150 games in elite European competition, including 64 in the European Cup or Champions League. The furthest the Kara Kartallar, or Black Eagles, have reached is the quarter finals of the European Cup under the guidance of Gordon Milne in 1986/87. John Carew, thought to be the only player to have played for both City and Besiktas, spent the 2004/5 season in Istanbul.
In 2010/11 they reached the last 32 of the Europa League, eventually losing a massive 8-1 on aggregate to this year's group stage rivals Dynamo Kiev. To cue-up their meeting against Stoke, the Turks squeezed past Moscow-based Alania Vladikavkaz in the play-off round, winning 3-2 over two legs.
The present squad have a few familiar names and, in veteran goalkeeper Rustu Recber, a familiar hair cut as well.
The well-coiffeured 38-year-old played 17 games for Barcelona after impressing in between the sticks for his country, for whom he has won more than 100 caps. Portuguese winger Bebe is on loan from Manchester United, although his arrival was not greeted by the killing of any livestock that we know of.
Former Chelsea loan recruit Ricardo Quaresma signed last summer and plays alongside German international Fabian Ernst in centre midfield. And the front line is led by Hugo Almeida, the former Werder Bremen star who has turned out 36 times for Portugal, scoring 12 goals.
Source: Thisistaffordshire
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