Adanaspor

Adanaspor
Full name Adana Spor Kulübü
Nickname(s) Toros Kaplanları
(Toros Tigers)
Founded 1954
Ground Adana 5 Ocak Stadı, Adana
Capacity 14,805[1]
Chairman Bayram Akgül
Manager Levent Eriş
League 1.Lig
2013–14 1.Lig, 12th

Adanaspor is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Adana. Formed in 1954, Adanaspor are nicknamed Toros Kaplanları (Toros Tigers). The club colours are orange and white, and the club play their home matches at Adana 5 Ocak Stadı.[1] Main rivals of the club are Adana Demirspor and Mersin İdman Yurdu.

Domestically, they have won the now-defunct Ministry of Sports and Youth Cup once. Their highest finishes at top-flight were second and third place, in 1981 and 1976 respectively. They have competed in the UEFA Cup three times and the Balkans Cup once. They have also won the 2.Lig[2] once.[3]

History

Club badge 1954–1967

Adanaspor was founded in 1954 by Mehmet Sanlitürk, Mustafa Bekbas, Erol Erk, Ali Gedikbas, and Dr.Muzaffer Eraslan. The clubs' original colours were yellow and navy. They competed in the amateur league until 1966. Adanaspor merged with Akinspor and Torosspor in order to become a fully professional club. They were admitted into the 2.Lig (Second Division) in their first season as a professional club. After the merge, they changed their colours to orange and white.[3]

The club competed in the 2.Lig until they earned promotion to the 1.Lig (Süper Lig) at the conclusion of the 1970-71 season. They won their first cup, the Gençlik ve Spor Bakanligi Kupasini in 1973. Adanaspor defeated İzmir Denizgücü 2-0 in the final, with Behçet Arkun and Orhan Yalçınkaya scoring the goals. They spent thirteen straight years in the 1.Lig, from 1971-1984, competing in the UEFA Cup three times and the Balkans Cup once.[3]

Adanaspor finished fourth[4] at the end of 1975-76 season, their highest finish in the top-flight at the time. They went on to best their record, finishing second in 1980-81. They were relegated for the first time in 1984, but earned promotion back in 1988 after winning the 2.Lig. However, due to financial troubles, the club could not keep up their level of performance and were relegated back to the 2.Lig at the end of the 1990-91 season.[3]

The club spent the next several years bouncing back and forth between leagues. The club spiraled out of control in the mid-2000s, declaring bankruptcy in 2005. They were relegated three times in a row, ending up in the 3.Lig (Fourth Division) in 2006. However, they earned double promotion in 2006-07 and 2007-08. They have been competing in the 1.Lig (Second Division) since 2008, narrowly missing out on promotion to the Süper Lig at the end of the 2009-10 season.[3]

Adanaspor finished 6th 1st League in 2011-12 season and qualified to Promotion Play-Offs. They defeated Çaykur Rizespor with a 4-1 aggregate but were beaten by Kasımpaşa a 3-2 score (normal time score was 2-2) after extra time and missed return to top level.

Colours and badge

The current badge of Adanaspor features a cotton ball superimposed over an orange background. Adana, the city where Adanaspor is based, grows some of the largest crops of cotton and orange in Turkey.[5] The badge also features the foundation date (1954), as well as the club name and the city name.

Stadium

Main article: Adana 5 Ocak Stadium

Adanaspor play their home matches at Adana 5 Ocak Stadı, a multi-purpose stadium they share with Adana Demirspor. The stadium opened in 1973[6] and has a capacity of 14,085 seats, all-seated. The field measures 68 by 105 meters and is covered with grass. The stadium also has floodlights.[1]

Current squad

As of 4 February 2015.[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Turkey GK Mert Akyüz
3 Turkey DF Selçuk Şahin
4 Turkey DF Yigitcan Gölboyu
6 Turkey MF Sami Can Keskin
7 Turkey FW Ahmet Dereli
8 Turkey MF Cem Özdemir
9 Turkey FW Murat Yilmaz
10 Brazil FW Tiago Bezerra
14 Azerbaijan DF Jemshid Maharramov
15 Turkey DF Abdullah Karmil
16 Nigeria FW Nduka Ozokwo
17 Turkey FW Hakan Yilmaz
18 Turkey MF Mehmet Boztepe
No. Position Player
19 Germany MF Olcay Turhan
20 Turkey MF Tevfik Altindag
21 Turkey MF Emre Uruc
22 Turkey DF Atakan Ekiz
23 Turkey DF Ozan Tahtaisleyen
26 Turkey MF Ahmet Bahcivan
28 Turkey MF Merthan Açıl
29 Turkey GK Atilla Koca
30 Turkey MF Firat Kaplan
46 Turkey GK Irfan Egribayat
55 Turkey DF Fahri Akyol
66 Turkey MF Berk Tömek
90 Turkey MF Mehmet Sak

Honours

Panoramic view of Adana 5 Ocak Stadium during a football game.

European Participations

UEFA Cup/Europa League:

Season Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1976-77 1R Austria SV Austria Salzburg 2–0 0–5 2-5
1978–79 1R Hungary Budapest Honvéd FC 2–2 0-6 2-8
1981-82 1R Italy Inter 1–3 1-4 2-7

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 5 OCAK - ADANA DEMİRSPOR tff.org (Turkish), accessed 4 June 2010
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 At the time of their win, the 2.Lig was the Second Division in the Turkish football league system. However, after the 1.Lig became the Süper Lig in 2001, the 2.Lig became the 1.Lig and a newly created 2.Lig was put into place. The old 2.Lig became the 3.Lig.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Tarihçe adanaspor.com.tr (Turkish), accessed 5 June 2010
  4. ↑ 1975-1976 1.Lig turkish-soccer.com, accessed 5 June 2010
  5. ↑ İllere göre tarım ürünleri ve üretim miktarları turkcebilgi.net (Turkish), accessed 5 June 2010
  6. ↑ Stadiums in Turkey Mediterranean worldstadiums.com, accessed 4 June 2010
  7. ↑ 2012-2013 FUTBOLCULAR adanaspor.com.tr (Turkish), accessed 25 January 2013
  8. ↑ 1980-1981 1.Lig turkish-soccer.com, accessed 5 June 2010
  9. ↑ ŞAMPİYONLAR Türkiye Profesyonel 2. Ligi ligtv.com.tr (Turkish), accessed 5 June 2010

External links

See also