Turkish Football

[DiegoDiego]

Turkish football is rarely dull and far more interesting that I thought it would be. It's dominated by three teams (Fenerbahce, Besiktas & Galatasaray) with a fourth (Trabzonspor) also having a decent following throughout the country. Depressingly most fans of smaller clubs do very much have a "big team".

Two teams (Basaksehir and Trabzonspor) have stadiums named after people currently managing other Superlig clubs (Fatih Terim and Senol Gunes). Very curious.

Tonight I found out about Hopaspor. Hopa has a population of about 18,000 and just got promoted to 3. lig (fourth tier) from the regional amateur leagues. The highest they've ever reached is a few seasons in 2. lig. Despite their lowly status and Turkey's culture of giving negligible fucks to any clubs that don't qualify for Europe. For the amateur league playoff final, thousands of kilometres away in Sivas, they brought about 4,000 fans. They regularly sell out home games at their 3,600 capacity home stadium. Giving them higher average attendances than Emmanuel Adebayor's Basaksehir.  Their attendances would be even more impressive if they include those watching for free from the nearby building site.

 

[Nightmare]

Looked like it had a brilliant title race this season as well.

4 Istanbul teams all still with a chance of winning the league with 2 or 3 games left. Shame there weren't any derbies in the last few weeks' fixtures.

[GNU_Linux]

One time top flight club Kayseri Ericyesspor (last seen 14-15) have suffered their 4th relegation in a row and are now playing in the 5th tier regional amateur leagues next season.

 

 

[DiegoDiego]

8 hours ago, Nightmare said:

Looked like it had a brilliant title race this season as well.

4 Istanbul teams all still with a chance of winning the league with 2 or 3 games left. Shame there weren't any derbies in the last few weeks' fixtures.

It was fantastic. There was a Galatasaray-Besiktas game with about four weeks left that most thought would decide the title. Galatasaray won 2-0. The other end of the table was equally tight. The team I support (Kasimpasa) managed to relegate two of the three. Strangely Genclerbirligi didn't looked fussed at all despite having a decent chance of staying up with two games left.
The 1. Lig had a great race too. Rizespor (from the eastern Black Sea region, one of the few parts of Turkey with any football culture) won the league fairly easily in the end and Ankaragucu sneaked the second promotion place, meaning two Ankara teams down, one up. In the playoff final Erzurum beat Gaziantep. Gaziantep's other team, Gaziantepspor whom I saw in Europe not long ago, have suffered their second successive relegation.

The cup was interesting this season. Galatasaray were knocked out in the semi final over two legs by relegation threatened Akhisar. The other semi was Fenerbahce-Besiktas. The first leg finished 2-2 with four sendings off. Fenerbahce were leading the second leg 1-0 when their fans, who had been throwing coins all game, hit Senol Gunes on the head with one resulting in the match being abandoned. TFF ordered the game to be finished the following week with closed doors but Besiktas refused to turn up, claiming Fenerbahce should have been thrown out. Fenerbahce's divisive president claimed that it was a small minority at fault and they were the real victims (sound familiar) and were awarded a walkover.
The final was played on a Thursday evening before the end of the season in Diyarbakir, over 1,000km from either team's home town. Akhisar deservedly and hilariously beat Fenerbahce 3-2 after eight spurious minutes of additional time. Akhisar's win means no European football for Trabzonspor who had a poor season by their standards. There's some spurious tabloid chat that Dunga will take over as manager.

Frustratingly, only two teams have released season ticket prices: Besiktas and newly relegated Karabukspor.

Not the greatest photo, but a Denizlispor fan was banned from their stadium. So he took a page from Falkirk FC's book, hired a crane and watched the game from there.

[Nightmare]

9 hours ago, DiegoDiego said:

The team I support (Kasimpasa)

Is this because they’re essentially the Jags of Istanbul? 

[tree house tam]

As a St Johnstone fan we all know about Turkish football, mainly the second tier this season.

#brothers

[DiegoDiego]

14 hours ago, Nightmare said:

Is this because they’re essentially the Jags of Istanbul? 

To be honest, that's pretty much it. I couldn't really bring myself to support Besiktas, Fenerbahce or Galatasaray (plus their tickets are ten times the price) there's very much an Old Firm mentality there, from the chairmen to the fans. Istanbulspor and Umraniyespor play miles away so that left Kasimpasa. They very much are the Jags of Istanbul, the match day atmosphere and demographic mix is very similar.

12 hours ago, tree house tam said:

As a St Johnstone fan we all know about Turkish football, mainly the second tier this season.

#brothers

I'm really glad you're still keeping tabs on them. Turkish football clubs are very volatile and Eskisehirspor are having a tough time at the moment. I was out with a couple of girls from Eskisehir on Sunday night and one of them (not a even football fan) showed me a video of St Johnstone fans in Eskisehir, so they still dream of you guys too.

[DiegoDiego]

Fenerbahce have a new president.

After twenty years in charge, Aziz Yildirim has been ousted. Yildirim not only presided over recent barren years, he also spunked millions on duds like van Persie. The basketball section of the club have been hugely successful, winning Europe's top trophy and reaching this year's final. Yildirim is universally hated by non-Fenerbahce fans for stealing the league title in 2011 by fixing matches. That saw him sentenced to over six years in prison, but after serving one year he got out under appeals which are still ongoing. If the appeals are upheld, Fenerbahce will sue for damages and stand to rake in the cash.

Yildirim managed only about 20% of the vote in the two man election, with over 20,000 fans casting ballots at the football stadium. Yildirim's campaign manager was rumoured to be the same man who is in charge of Erdogan's ongoing presidential campaign. The winner was Ali Koc: youthful, popular and member of the dynastic Koc family of billionaires. This was huge news in Turkey, with TV broadcasting the event live over two days.

Galatasaray also changed their president this year, marking both the first time an incumbent has lost the election and the first time a president has not gone to Galatasaray High School.

Big club:

Wee club:

[Herman Hessian]

On 5/31/2018 at 07:48, DiegoDiego said:

a couple of girls from Eskisehir

[7-2]

1 hour ago, Herman Hessian said:

[DiegoDiego]

Glorious scenes in Istanbul as Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray all lost their last game. Galatasaray took a 4-0 pumping from Trabzonspor last night and Fenerbahçe lost their third straight under new manager Philip Cocu, with some comical defending and a Skrtel wonder (own-)goal.

Only Konyaspor, Kayserispor and Kasımpaşa remain undefeated and the latter will go top with a point at home to Ankaragücü tonight.

[senorsoupe]

Hopefully Cyle Larin can continue to get game time with Besiktas.  He scored 3 times in the Europa League this season but not in the Super Lig as of yet after bagging 4 in 4 games at the end of last season.

[DiegoDiego]

Hopefully Cyle Larin can continue to get game time with Besiktas.  He scored 3 times in the Europa League this season but not in the Super Lig as of yet after bagging 4 in 4 games at the end of last season.

He needs a lot of work on his finishing. The rest of his game is fine though. He works much better with a strike partner than on his own.

I hope Beşiktaş get relegated.

[Nightmare]

1 hour ago, DiegoDiego said:

I hope Beşiktaş get relegated.

Are the big three in Istanbul comparable in any way to our ugly sisters?

I always had the impression (and this could be completely wrong) that Galatasaray had a more thuggish, nasty element of in their support than the others (so more like Rangers): is this true? And who claims to have the best fans in the world while trashing away stadiums and not showing up except for when it's a big game (obv Celtic)? Do each of the three spend most of their time whining about the government, Turkish FA, referees and everything else being against them?

[DiegoDiego]

[emoji38]
Are the big three in Istanbul comparable in any way to our ugly sisters?
I always had the impression (and this could be completely wrong) that Galatasaray had a more thuggish, nasty element of in their support than the others (so more like Rangers): is this true? And who claims to have the best fans in the world while trashing away stadiums and not showing up except for when it's a big game (obv Celtic)? Do each of the three spend most of their time whining about the government, Turkish FA, referees and everything else being against them?

Aside from the religious/ancient historical aspect they are comparable in every way. Generally supported by glory hunting simpletons, the clubs play all the usual tricks and their fans lap it up.

Example: In last year's semi, the Fenerbahçe-Beşiktaş game was abandoned after Fenerbahçe fans threw coins at Şenol Güneş, resulting in stitches. The Fenerbahçe chairman said "Fenerbahçe are the real victims here!", the game was ordered to be finished behind closed doors, Beşiktaş threw a strop and refused to play, and Fenerbahçe were gloriously defeated in the final by Ahkisar.

Although some of them have certain reputations the ugly triplets are really all the same, perhaps Fenerbahçe are more violent. Generally 90% of the fans at the game are there to upload selfies to Instagram to boost their status among fellow saddos and carry on with attention seeking antics throughout the game not really caring about the result.

Bursaspor and Konyaspor have violent/extreme political reputations. Bursaspor play in a crocodile though so I kinda like them.

Kasımpaşa are the sane man's choice in Istanbul. Ticket prices are a tenth of Beşiktaş, the stadium is easy to get to with a lovely view, and the vast majority of the fans are there to watch football. A lot of the fanbase is parents bringing their children to the game. I don't really like children but it warms my heart to see decent people deciding they don't want their offspring to become glory-hunting attention-seekers.
Turks have a very difficult time understanding that I'm a Kasımpaşa fan, even asking me how I heard about them. They really don't get why I don't just support a more successful side.

Ümraniyespor and Istanbulspor fans all have a "big team" and often wear that team's shirt under a scarf of the team they're actually watching.

(Istanbul also has the world's most successful women's volleyball team, Vakıfbank. Tickets are a quid, it's a great venue and a really enjoyable night out.)

[yogisbairns]

Did a footy weekend in Istanbul in May this year. Absolutely superb city to watch football. Managed a third div game Fatiha Karagumruk v Pendispor, then Fenerbache v Bursaspor the next day. Passolig scheme is a pain in the arse, but now that I've got it, I'll be renewing it every year. Defo want to go back. Kasimpasa and Besiktas are high on my list. It's as cheap as chips to stay there and the city has some buzz. The Karagumruk game was watched by about 300 of a crowd and about 30 riot police. Only cost about £1.50 to get in and your pockets had to be emptied before you went in.

 

[DanMc99]

49 minutes ago, yogisbairns said:

Did a footy weekend in Istanbul in May this year. Absolutely superb city to watch football. Managed a third div game Fatiha Karagumruk v Pendispor, then Fenerbache v Bursaspor the next day. Passolig scheme is a pain in the arse, but now that I've got it, I'll be renewing it every year. Defo want to go back. Kasimpasa and Besiktas are high on my list. It's as cheap as chips to stay there and the city has some buzz. The Karagumruk game was watched by about 300 of a crowd and about 30 riot police. Only cost about £1.50 to get in and your pockets had to be emptied before you went in.

 

i know many places in turkey do but do they sell beer at the games? or do some sell it and some don't?

[Waspy]

What's going on at Fenerbache this season? Sitting a lowly 15th and Cocu punted, looks a bit of a disaster.

[DiegoDiego]

i know many places in turkey do but do they sell beer at the games? or do some sell it and some don't?

Sorry, I didn't see this before. I've never seen beer on sale at games but plenty get tanked up outside nearby offies beforehand.

Re: Fenerbahçe,
No idea. Their fans were over the moon in the summer at punting crooked club president Aziz Yıldırım and replacing him with Ali Koç and they were expecting an assault on the league.
Cocu had a decent, but ageing squad and made a couple of decent signings but results have been dreadful. I can only guess the players don't want to play for him, they manage decent performances in the big games but don't turn up against the diddies.

There's plenty of teams dropping points at the moment though, Galatasaray getting beaten 2-0 by Malatyaspor at the weekend being a great example. Başakşehir looked very average when I saw them lose to Kasımpaşa on the second week of the season but have only conceded once since then and sit top. It's sharing up to be another great season.

[Waspy]

Absolute scenes with Hassan Sas in the intercontinental derby tonight. The guy is an absolute psycho.