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 Trabzonspor Kulübü - last updated on 6 June 2008
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Trabzonspor Kulübü
Foundation: 1967
City: Trabzon
Colours: Crimson and sky blue
Website: www.trabzonspor.org.tr
Honours:
Turkcell Süper Lig - 6 (1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1983-84)
Türkiye Kupası - 7 (1977, 1978, 1984, 1992, 1995, 2003, 2004)
A bit of history:
Trabzonspor was formed in 1967 in a merger of two local clubs. Many of the players from these teams became part of the team to win promotion to the top division, and helped Trabzonspor in their early years in the top flight. Trabzonspor is the only club outside Istanbul to have won the Turkish title, earning a name as one of the "Big Four" alongside Galatasaray SK, Fenerbahçe SK, Beşiktaş J.K.. Trabzonspor's nicknames are the "Burgundy Blues" and the "Black Sea storm".
At this time the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) had been encouraging local teams in the same city to merge into one, in order to ensure competitiveness in Turkish football. Trabzon had an extremely competitive league dating back to the 1920s, and there was little love between intense rivals who had been vying for the title for so long. The most intense rivalry was between the two most successful sides, Idmangücü and Idmanocaĝi. Ultimately it was these two teams which were responsible for the many delays before Trabzonspor was formed. When the TFF saw that they had no intention of joining together with the others, they were threatened with punishment. The last big hurdle was choosing the colours of the new club. After many disagreements, the colours of burgundy and blue were chosen and Trabzonspor were formed.
Featuring many of the players that played for the local teams and joined together to form Trabzonspor, the early years were particularly successful. In the season 1973/74, Trabzonspor were promoted to the Turkish Premier Super League.
In a nine year period from the season 1975/76, Trabzonspor managed to win the league six times, and the Turkish Cup three times. In the seasons they didn't finish first, they came second. Some of the most successful names in Turkish football history can be found in the Trabzonspor team of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Şenol Güneş, Turgay Semercioğlu, Necmi Perekli, and Ali Kemal Denizci are some of the best remembered names from this period. Many of the Trabzonspor players at the time also represented the national team.
After the successful period of the late 70's and early 80's Trabzonspor became decidedly less successful. Some trace this back to the selling off of key players to the bigger Istanbul clubs and the poor record on transfers. The closest Trabzonspor came to winning the championship was in 1995/96, when they were on course to win the championship, until a home defeat by Fenerbahçe ruined the dream of reclaiming the title. The increasing reliance of the bigger teams on money from satellite coverage and income from fans and European games has meant that Trabzonspor has fallen behind the bigger Istanbul teams in terms of its ability to buy better players and attract bigger crowds. However, the concentration on local players and carefully scouted foreign players has started to show a marked improvement over the days of the late 1990s, when the club was known for an extremely high turnover of players that contributed to its lack of success. In 2003/04 the club finished second, pushing Fenerbahçe until the penultimate week, when a home defeat to Galatasaray ended their challenge. However, they have still managed to win the Turkish Cup on several occasions. The recent triumphs in 2003 and 2004 show that Trabzonspor still has the talent to win trophies. The recent improvement of the team has also meant that Trabzonspor now has several members of the national team in its playing squad, as well as at least four international footballers who represent their respective countries.
Trabzonspor saw some European success with coaches like Ozkan Sumer and Ahmet Suat Ozyazici beating the teams likes of Internazionale, Liverpool, and FC Barcelona. In the 2004-2005 season they were robbed of a place in the Champions League by Dinamo Kiev after a 2-0 loss while they won before 2-1 in Kiev. In the 2005-2006 they again failed to reach the Champions League after it lost out to minnows, Anorthosis Famagusta, in a heated 2nd Round qualifying match. This was a significant moment for Cypriot football due to the difference in size and wealth of the clubs (Cypriot football clubs have never win a two legged tie to a Turkish club before).
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
Trabzonspor Kulübü
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