In the Trendyol Super League, Greek defender Dimitris Goutas played the most time in Gençlerbirliği in the first half of the 2025-2026 season. The indispensable player of the first half of the capital team, which returned to the Super League after four years, was Goutas, who was transferred from the Cardiff team at the beginning of the season.
31-year-old Goutas, who won the hearts of the technical staff and fans with his combative nature, stayed on the field for 90 minutes in each of the 17 matches in the league.
The Portuguese right-back of the capital team, Pedro Pereira, also attracted attention with his consistency. Pereira, who only missed the Galatasaray match due to a card suspension, played 90 minutes in 16 matches.
Another defender, Zan Zuzek, followed Goutas (1530 minutes) and Pereira (1440 minutes). Zuzek, who played for the capital team last season, played 1318 minutes in all 17 matches, 15 of which were in the first 11, in the first half of the season.
29 players played in Gençlerbirliği in the 17-week first period of the league. The red-black football players who stayed on the field the most are:
| Footballer | Minute |
| Goutas | 1530 |
| pereira | 1440 |
| Zuzek | 1318 |
| Thalisson | 1269 |
| Göktan Gürpüz | 1193 |
| Niang | 1068 |
| Tongya | 1017 |
| Dele-Bashiru | 1011 |
| Hanousek | 978 |
| Ogulcan Ülgün | 878 |
| Koita | 806 |
| Metehan Mimaroğlu | 768 |
ONYEKURU COULD NOT MEET EXPECTATIONS
Henry Onyekuru, who excited the red-black fans with his career when he was transferred, could not meet the expectations in the first half. The 28-year-old Nigerian football player, who played for important teams such as Everton, Monaco and Galatasaray in his career, played only 159 minutes in the 17-week period.
Onyekuru, who had a chance in the first 11 in the Corendon Alanyaspor match, which ended only 2-2 in the league, was replaced by Metehan Mimaroğlu in the 46th minute.
Onyekuru, who could not contribute a goal to his team, could not benefit from the penalty kick at the last minute in the match where Gençlerbirliği lost 1-0 to Çaykur Rizespor.
The Nigerian football player, who started the match against Sipay Bodrum FK in the Ziraat Turkish Cup in the 11th minute, could not use the chance given well and was taken off the game by the coach at halftime.
Onyekuru, who played 4 matches for the Saudi Arabian team Al-Fayha last season due to injuries, was transferred to Gençlerbirliği after the camp period.
Gençlerbirliği signed contracts with 18 players in the first transfer and registration period after being promoted to the Super League, and new transfers Dal Varesanovic (155 minutes) and Kevin Csoboth (45 minutes) also fell below expectations with their performances.
THE MOST RED CARDS WERE GIVEN TO “YOUNG”
Completing the first half of the league with 5 red cards, Gençlerbirliği became the most “combative” team of the 17-week division. In the capital’s representative, Brazilian defender Thalisson received 2 red cards, while Nalepa, Koita and Tongya left his team missing once.
After Gençlerbirliği, Göztepe received the most red cards (4).
IT STARTED BAD, ENDED WELL
Gençlerbirliği, who lost the first 5 matches due to the delay in the squad restructuring, later recovered and managed to get out of the relegation pot.
The red-blacks had 5 wins, 3 draws and 9 losses in the first half of the season. The capital representative, who collected 7 points in the last 3 matches, entered the break in 11th place with 18 points.
Gençlerbirliği, which displayed a better appearance at home, ranked 7th with 13 points (4 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses) when looking at its home performances.
Gençlerbirliği won its last 3 league matches at home. After the defeat of TÜMOSAN Konyaspor, the capital representative defeated RAMS Başakşehir 2-1, Mısırlı.com.tr Fatih Karagümrük 3-0 and Trabzonspor 4-3 at Eryaman Stadium.
GOAL STATISTICS
Having scored 21 goals in the first half of the season, Gençlerbirliği conceded 24 goals. Gençlerbirliği’s top scorer was midfielder Oğulcan Ülgün, who netted 4 times.
Niang, the only striker of the team other than 16-year-old Furkan Ayaz, conceded 3 goals. Wingers Tongya and Metehan Mimaroğlu scored 3 goals each, defenders Goutas and Zuzek and midfielder Koita scored 2 goals each.
3 PRESIDENTS AND 3 TECHNICAL DIRECTORS WORKED
Gençlerbirliği also came to the fore with the changes of president and coach in the first half of the season.
President Osman Sungur, who was the head of the team that was promoted to the Super League last season, announced that he left his post as president on October 7 due to health problems and personal reasons, due to the bad start to the new season and the economic difficulties in the club.
Mehmet Kaya was appointed to the chairmanship position vacated by Osman Sungur’s resignation, as a result of the vote held by the board of directors on October 8. Thereupon, members of the general assembly started a signature campaign to take the club to an “elective extraordinary general assembly”.
After the defeat against TÜMOSAN Konyaspor in the capital in the 10th week of the league, he parted ways with coach Hüseyin Eroğlu, and an agreement was reached with Volkan Demirel on October 28.
Following the tension at the extraordinary general assembly held on December 6, the current president, Mehmet Kaya, withdrew his candidacy. Following this development, Arda Çakmak, who came to the hall and entered the election as the only candidate, became the 3rd president of Gençlerbirliği this season.
Coach Volkan Demirel also resigned from his position after the Mısırlı.com.tr Fatih Karagümrük match on December 7, due to the change of president.
The new management appointed Metin Diyadin, who knows the red-black community closely, as the coach vacated by Demirel. Under the management of Diyadin, Gençlerbirliği defeated Sipay Bodrum FK in the cup and Trabzonspor in the league and made it 2 out of 2.