Besiktas Dominates with Italiano and Nübel's Iron Curtain
Besiktas have barely started the season, yet Vincenzo Italiano already has a team playing like it’s mid-spring, not August. Six games, six wins, not a single goal conceded. The latest chapter: a ruthless 3-0 dismantling of FK Kauno Zalgiris that has all but booked their ticket to the Europa League league phase for 2026/27.
This was over early. Brutally early.
Hyeon-Gyu Oh needed just six minutes to crack the Lithuanian side open, setting the tone in Istanbul. Six minutes later, Michael Amir Murillo doubled the lead, and the tie felt almost settled before some fans had taken their seats. When Orkun Kökcü made it 3-0 in the 59th minute, it stopped being a contest and became a statement.
Yet the story of Besiktas’ season so far isn’t only the goals. It’s the man making sure they don’t need many.
Nübel the wall
Alexander Nübel has landed in Istanbul and turned into exactly what the Turkish press is calling him: a wall.
Against the club from Kaunas, the German goalkeeper made his sixth competitive appearance for Besiktas. He kept his sixth straight clean sheet. Not a single opponent has scored past him since he pulled on the black-and-white shirt.
The reaction in Turkey has been emphatic. Daily newspaper Hürriyet summed up the mood with a headline that echoed around the city: “Nübel is a wall – he does not concede any goals.” The paper hailed the new signing and his instant impact, noting how he has “caused a stir with his performances in the black-and-white shirt.”
It is a sharp twist in a career that had stalled at Bayern Munich. Under contract there from 2020 to 2026, Nübel never truly broke through and made only four competitive appearances for the German giants. His loan spell at Stuttgart restored his reputation. Besiktas, so far, is supercharging it.
Italiano’s perfect start
The 3-0 win over Kauno Zalgiris stretched Besiktas’ flawless run under Italiano to six wins from six in all competitions. No goals conceded, momentum growing with every outing, and a clear identity already visible.
They now head to Alanyaspor on matchday two of the Süper Lig with the wind at their backs and the second leg against Zalgiris still to come next Thursday. The Europa League play-off tie looks close to done, but Italiano’s side are playing like a group that wants rhythm, not rest.
This surge is no accident. It is fuelled by one of the most aggressive transfer windows in the club’s recent history.
Big money, bold moves
Besiktas officials have already spent just under €67 million on new players, reshaping the squad around Italiano’s ideas.
Nübel arrived permanently from Bayern Munich in July for just under €6 million, a fee that already looks shrewd. The headline deal, though, was Kökcü. After impressing on loan from Benfica, the midfielder joined on a permanent transfer for €30 million, underlining how central he is to the project.
The club also pulled off a major coup up front by bringing in Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus on a free transfer, a move that would have been unthinkable not long ago. To add more creativity and experience, Leandro Trossard was signed from Arsenal for €18 million.
These are not speculative bets. They are signings made to win now.
One cloud on a clear night
Amid the dominance against Zalgiris, Besiktas did suffer one worrying moment. Trossard picked up an injury during the match and had to come off early, a setback that slightly tempered the celebrations.
Given how central he is expected to be in the attacking structure, his fitness over the coming weeks could shape how far this early surge can carry them.
Still, the numbers are stark. Six games. Six wins. Six clean sheets. A rebuilt squad already playing with authority. If this is only the beginning of the Italiano era at Besiktas, what does the peak look like?
