Global access and market data to help bring Besiktas to the top

Brad Friedel was one of the finest goalkeepers in the Premier League and the United States’ football history.

Now, after spells as a Head Coach and Agent, he is Advisor to the Board at Besiktas, one of the biggest clubs in Türkiye.

He arrived at Besiktas after a sixth-place finish, 46 points off champions Galatasaray, but with a Turkish Cup win and a place in the following season’s UEFA Europa League.

The club’s transfer strategy and squad structure needed reshaping, with too many foreign players for the new regulations in the Turkish Süper Lig, and pressure and expectations to sign international stars and homegrown talent to make them compete for the league title and Champions League football.

Friedel quickly saw one way to gain an unrivalled amount of real-time market intelligence and player data, as well as a network of decision-makers from over 800 clubs and 500 Trusted Agencies in more than 100 leagues worldwide.

That is through TransferRoom, football’s only transfer marketplace.

He was integral to the club joining TransferRoom, bringing the club on the platform within two weeks of his appointment as Advisor to the Board.

Friedel shared his journey from player to decision-maker and how he is shaping the club’s transfer strategy at August 2024’s TransferRoom Deal Day in Madrid, where over 200 clubs and a selection of top agents met for transfer talks and networking at one venue in one day. You can watch the full interview below.

“Days like today [are why we joined TransferRoom] and also day to day, getting information,” Friedel says. “Players switch agents on a regular basis now as well, and what's listed on TransferMarkt or what's listed before could be different from week to week.

“So when you have the ability to get in touch directly with the club and directly with the player and be upfront about what you want to do, it speeds up the process by months.

“Building a scouting network takes months, and then, you follow players for a long time, especially young players, so you can get the correct character.

“But again, also when you're meeting with people face to face, and there's people here I know and trust as well, they'll give you the honest opinion about the player. Scouting, selling and recruiting is about decreasing the percentages of failure. 

“Another element is to create relationships in areas of the world where we can attract the players needed to win a championship and compete in the Champions League while also not getting our squad out of whack, so to speak, for lack of a better word with regards to FFP.

“So, I'm always looking at where we can try to find the talent that costs less with no decrease in the ability of the player. And there are areas of football that are getting bigger and bigger every day. And they're creating and producing better players. It's impossible for me to know every single person in global football. That's the second reason why I'm here.

“Another reason is that we have had some regulation changes, where we have to put our squad from 30 down to 28 and we have to go from a number of foreign players, to decrease it by at least 4 or 5 players from the ones that we are currently allowed to have.

“So we have to create, again, relationships if we're going to loan or sell players, but again, not do it in a panic, do it in a way that it benefits both parties. So it's not often that you can go into one room or for a couple of days and meet a lot of decision-makers. You have to fly all over the globe to usually get to that. So, hopefully this will help speed up the process.”

Besiktas and fellow Istanbul giants Galatasaray are among the Turkish clubs on TransferRoom, and you can find out how to join them here.

Istanbul will be the host of the next TransferRoom Summit, on 11-12 November 2024, with a Virtual Deal Day on 14 November 2024. Over 300 clubs are set to attend, and you can register for the Summit here.