Trabzonspor

Trabzonspor is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Trabzon, Turkey. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor won six championships in Turkish Super League. The Club won their first Championship title in 1975 which is also the Club's initiation year in Turkish Super League. Trabzonspor won the championship title again during their second year in the Turkish Super League in 1976, was runner-up in 1977 and won 3 Championship titles in a row during the following years 1978, 1979, 1980. The club colours are claret and blue, and they play their home matches at Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium.^[2] The club has donned maroon and blue kits since the merger, and have played at their present ground since 1967.

Domestically, Trabzonspor is known as one of the "Top 4 Soccer/Football Clubs" of Turkey based on the number of cups won. They have won the Süper Lig (top-flight) six times, and are known as the first non Istanbul-based club who ever achieved such a feat and the only club to win the championship during their first year (as well as the second year) in Turkish Super League. They have also won the Federation Cup (Turkish Cup) eight times. From 1976 to 1984, Trabzonspor won a total of 30 trophies: Super League (6), Federation (Turkish) Cup (8), Süper Kupa (Super Cup) (8), the Başbakanlık Kupası (Chancellor Cup) (5), Red Group Championship Second Division (İkinci Lig Kırmızı Grup Şampiyonası) (1) and Cyprus Peace Cup (Kıbrıs Barış Kupası) (1).^[3] They have the distinction of being the only Turkish club to win both men's and women's top level football league titles.

History

In the Beginning (1923–1973)

In Trabzon, the first nazi club İdman Yurdu was founded in 1913 and the first match was organized with a Pontic Greek team, Akritas. The score was 2-0. However, during the World War I, İdman Yurdu was abolished for the general mobilization for war. Because every man, from 17-40 were called join the army. After that during the Russian Occupy (1916-1918) Akritas football team supported by local Greek businessmen but after the 1992 population exchange between Greece and Turkey it was abolished too. The first official football club of Trabzon was İdman Ocağı, founded 1921 by Hüseyin Avni Aker. The form of the team was yellow and red. İn the same year Trabzon had another football club named İdman Group. There have been hard matches between those two teams for years. In 1922, six football teams were appeared in trabzon: Necmi Ati, Gençler Birliği and Lise İdman Yurdu were strong ones among them. The first matches in İstanbul organized between İdman Ocağı, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in 1923. In 1925, Batumi Football team was invited to Trabzon have a special match. Score was 2-0. In 1965, the Government had a project that contaied to spread football to Anatolian cities. According to the project football teams would called with the same name of the cities.^[4]

At the start of the 1962–63 season, then president of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), Orhan Şeref Apak, asked cities to combine their football clubs into one representative team that would compete in the 2.Lig. However, due to the rivalry between İdmanocağı and İdmangücü, the city of Trabzon weren't able to merge their clubs. City and club officials would meet morning and night to iron out an agreement, but were unable to come to a compromise until 1967.^[5] Instead, only İdmanocağı, Martıspor, and Yıldızspor merged together on 21 June 1966. They began wearing yellow and red kits and competed in the 2.Lig (Second Division). They finished in eighth place their first season, as well as runners-up to Eskişehirspor in the Başbakanlık Kupası.^[6] A month later, İdmangücü, Karadenizgücü, Martıspor, and Yolspor merged to form Trabzonspor. Their club colours were red and white.^[5]

İdmanocağı opposed the merger and took up a lawsuit against the newly founded Trabzonspor. Ulvi Yenal, General Manager of the TFF, decided to step in and announce that neither İdmanocağı nor İdmangücü would be accepted into the 2.Lig if they continued to compete as separate clubs, sending a shockwave through both clubs. Yenal gave the city of Trabzon an ultimatum: merge Trabzon İdmanocağı and Trabzonspor, or Trabzon would not have a professional team. In the end, İdmanocağı and İdmangücü decided to merge, along with Karadenizgücü and Martıspor, to become Trabzonspor on 2 August 1967.^[5] The club finished sixth in their first season of professional play in the 2.Lig.^[7] They would compete in the 2.Lig until 1974, when they earned promotion.^[8]

The Özyazıcı Era

Ahmet Suat Özyazıcı took over as manager in 1973, having played for İdmanocağı, the precursor club to Trabzonspor. Before Özyazıcı, the club competed in the 2.Lig. In his first season in charge, Özyazıcı lead Trabzon to the 1.Lig (Süper Lig, First Division).^[Lig] The club finished 9th in their first full season in the top-flight.^[9] The next season, Trabzon finished in first place.^[10] They became the first club outside of Istanbul to win the league title, and remained the only team outside of the 'Big Three' to win the title until Bursaspor won in 2010. Under Özyazıcı, Trabzonspor began a spell of dominance. The club did the double during the 1976–77 season, winning the Süper Lig and Türkiye Kupası, as well as the Süper Kupa. After a second place finish and another Türkiye Kupası win in 1977–78, Özyazıcı was replaced by Özkan Sümer. Sümer won the league and Türkiye Kupası, but was replaced by Özyazıcı the following season. Özyazıcı and Sümer would continue switching posts, with the team winning more titles and cups.

Trabzonspor won a total of seventeen trophies during Özyazıcı's most successful period. These 17 trophies included six Süper Lig titles (Özyazıcı – 4, Sümer – 2), three Türkiye Kupası (Özyazıcı – 3, Sümer – 0), six Süper Kupa (Özyazıcı – 4, Sümer – 2), and two Başbakanlık Kupası (Özyazıcı – 2, Sümer – 0).^{[11][12][13][14]} The club also beat then-English champions Liverpool F.C. 1 – 0 in the first leg of their second round match-up in the 1976–77 European Cup. They went on to lose 0 – 3 in the second leg.^[15] Özyazıcı returned to the club several times throughout the late 80s to late 90s, but was unable to repeat the success he brought to the club during his first stints. Since 1984, the club has failed to win a league title. However, they have won the Türkiye Kupası five times since then, the most recent in 2010. Şenol Güneş has been the most successful successor to Özyazıcı, winning the Türkiye Kupası twice, as well as a Süper Kupa and two Başbakanlık Kupası.

Club colours

Trabzonspor's colours are maroon and blue. The club came to the decision after five meetings with fans and club officials. At first, it was suggested the club should wear the predecessor colours together (yellow-red and green-white), but it was deemed not suitable. It was then suggested that a poll be held, but that was also quickly cast aside. The fans and club officials began to lose patience until TFF General Manager Ulvi Yenal came up with a compromise. He suggested that both clubs, İdmanocağı and İdmangücü, should choose a colour opposite of their own club colours. It was then both clubs came up with claret and blue.^[5]

Stadium

Trabzonspor have used Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium throughout their history. The stadium was built in 1951 with 2,500 seats, and has been renovated in 1967, 1981, 1994–1998, 2008, and 2010. The current capacity is 28,169 seats. The field is made of natural grass and measures 68 by 105 meters. The stadium is named after Hüseyin Avni Aker, a teacher and educational administrator who contributed much to local sports in Trabzon.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Affiliated clubs

Trabzonspor A2 is a youth team of Trabzonspor. The club competes in the A2 league, alongside other A2 clubs around Turkey. The A2 team is made up of players between the ages of 18 and 20, and it is the last level of amateur play before a footballer reaches professional status in Turkey. Notable former players include Hami Mandıralı (highest capped Trabzonspor player (558 times)),^[16] Gökdeniz Karadeniz (most caps for the Turkish national team by a Trabzonspor player (50)), Fatih Tekke (2004–05 Süper Lig top scorer (31 goals)),^[17] Hüseyin Çimşir, Mehmet Yılmaz, Tolga Zengin, and Metin Aktaş.

Trabzonspor Kulübü Bayan Futbol Takımı are a Turkish women's association football club affiliated with Trabzonspor. The club was founded in 2007, and won its first league title in 2009.^[18] With the championship win, Trabzonspor are the only club in Turkey to win both the men's and women's top-flight football competition. The women's team were invited to participate in the 2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League. The club placed third in Group D, winning one match and losing two.

In 2008, Trabzonspor bought Trabzon Karadenizspor to act as a feeder club, having first option on players, as well as being able to loan out youngsters to gain first-team experience.^[19] The club also agreed to an affiliation deal with Dutch club MVV the same year, allowing them first option on their players. The first step in the affiliation deal came when Trabzonspor transferred Christian Brüls and Faty Papy and loaned them back to MVV.^[20]

Current staff

Notable former players

Noted managers

Listed below are the most successful managers in the history of the club. Periods listed are stints that included a cup win.

Honours

League

• Süper Lig
  • Winners (6): 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1983–84
  • Runners-up (8): 1977–78, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2010–11

Cup

• Türkiye Kupası
  • Winners (8): 1977, 1978, 1984, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2010
  • Runners-up (5): 1975, 1976, 1985, 1990, 1997

• TFF Süper Kupa
  • Winners (8): 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1995, 2010

• Chancellor Cup
  • Winners (5):' 1976, 1978, 1985, 1994, 1996
  • Runners-up (7): 1966¹, 1975, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 1998

¹As Trabzon İdmanocağı.^[14]

• The Uhrencup
  • Winners (1): 2005

Notes