Draw against Antalyaspor is enough
“We want our fans to remain calm and level-headed. A very nice happy ending awaits us,” said Trabzonspor coach Abdullah Avci last February about the outcome of the Turkish Süper Lig championship first championship since 1984. About two months later it is clear that Avci was right with his statement. After the 2-2 draw against Antalyaspor on Saturday, Trabzonspor can no longer be caught and are already crowned champions after 35 match days.
“It’s an extraordinary season,” said striker Emrehan Gedikli (19) in an interview with Transfermarkt. Born in Oberhausen, he switched from Bayer 04 Leverkusen to Trabzonspor for €800,000 in the last transfer period, where he signed a contract until 2026. The German youth international is still awaiting his debut for the new club, but the fans’ anticipation of their first championship in 38 years has not passed him by. “Everything around you is red and blue, the people in this city live for the club,” says the attacker and reports on bus stops that look like the substitutes’ benches in the stadium and traffic lights with the inscription “This year is the day”. Gedikli is certain that this will be celebrated appropriately. “People here haven’t seen a championship in over 35 years and will therefore celebrate in such a way that the whole country will still be talking about it in 35 years,” he says.
They’ve even decked out the traffic lights:
This year
Is ‘the’ year
Then the image of the league trophy pic.twitter.com/bTMKXSK8AF— Eli (@ElMengem) April 28, 2022
Before the start of the season, it was not to be expected that it would become so clear in the end and that Trabzonspor would have a nine-point lead in second place with three games to go. The club finished fourth last season behind Istanbul giants Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, once again cementing their status as one of the trio’s first pursuers. In the summer transfer period, Trabzonspor focused mainly on newcomers on a free transfer and only spent money on Andreas Cornelius (29) and Manolis Siopis (27).
Most of the new players were already at the club before the league started last August and were able to take part in the preparations, which “bearing fruit”, says Lara Karacan, Lead of Content at Transfermarkt Turkey. Trabzonspor remained undefeated in their first 15 league games and have already built up a comfortable gap to second in the table. Meanwhile, the three top Istanbul clubs in particular failed to keep up. In the meantime it even looked as if, for the first time since the introduction of the Süper Lig in 1959, none of these clubs would be among the top 3. “Trabzonspor has a car that can drive 180 and they drive 180. The others have a car that can drive 200 but they drive 120,” said former professional and former international Ridvan Dilmen last year.
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“It played into Trabzonspor’s hands that all the big Istanbul clubs have been so weak this season,” says Turkey expert Karacan. “But it wasn’t just a successful season because the other three underperformed, but because Trabzonspor also overperformed.” The team also benefited from the fact that at international level it was already over in the qualifying round of the Conference League against AS Roma, while Istanbul’s top clubs played at least the group stage in the Europa League and Champions League.
The Black Sea club is currently responsible for the best value in the league with 30 goals conceded and also has the second best offensive after Fenerbahce with 65 goals. “Our game is designed to get to the goal quickly,” explains storm talent Gedikli. “In addition, each player tries to iron out the mistakes of the other, which creates a compact defense.” In the final games, Trabzonspor still has the opportunity to play one of the best seasons in the history of the Süper Lig in terms of points. Since Fenerbahce’s record season in 1988/89 with 93 points and including Toni Schumacher in the squad, no team had managed to collect more than 85 points. Trabzonspor would reach 88 points with three wins in the final sprint.
Trabzonspor’s top scorer Nwakaeme about to jump? Fenerbahce probably interested
The extent to which such a success story could be repeated in the coming season depends above all on whether high performers who are being courted can be retained. At least the contract situations of the players do not cause headaches for those responsible, as only the loans of Tymoteusz Puchacz (23) and Stefano Denswil (28) and the working paper of Anthony Nwakaeme (33) end after this season. However, the latter is the best scorer in the team with 23 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions and is associated with a move to Fenerbahce.
There are also rumors about a farewell to goalkeeper and captain Ugurcan Cakir (26), who is the most valuable professional in the league with a market value of 18 million euros. In the most recent update of the Süper Lig, the Turkey international was among the winners when he booked a plus of one million euros. Newcastle, among others, are said to be interested in him. “He’s the most important player on the team,” says Karacan. “He wanted to leave last summer but could be held. It will be exciting to see if he stays at the club due to his potential participation in the Champions League.”
Trabzonspor talent Gedikli wants to “make a splash this season”
Meanwhile, fellow player Gedikli sees it as important “that our team remains a team in both good and bad times. We are like a family, we stand and fall together and always have our big goal in mind. If we keep that up, then we’ll be successful again next season.”
At the latest then he should also have the opportunity to show himself. “During discussions with the coach I was told that after winning the championship I will have my chances. My goal is to cause a stir this season and maybe score a goal or two,” says the attacker. “But it won’t really start until the next season.” Then in Trabzon at the traffic lights the inscription “This year is the day” might have to be interposed with a “again”.
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