Turkcell Super League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Turkcell Super League |
|---|
 Turkcell Super League 2007-08 |
 |
| Founded |
| 1959 |
| Nation |
 Turkey |
| Relegation To |
| Bank Asya 1. Lig |
| Number of Teams |
| 18 |
| Level on Pyramid |
| Level 1 |
| European Qualification |
| UEFA Champions League UEFA Cup UEFA Intertoto Cup |
| Cups |
| Turkey Super Cup Fortis Turkey Cup |
| Current Champions (2007-08) |
| Galatasaray SK |
| Most Successful Clubs |
| Website |
| Official |
The Turkcell Super League (formerly National League, First Football League and First Super League respectively, Turkish: Turkcell Süper Lig) is the top-flight league in Turkish nationwide football, and the most popular sporting competition in the country. It is managed by Turkey's football federation.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The league was established in 1959 as an attempt to unify some of the many regional leagues around the country. The season begins in August each year and ends in May, with a month-long winter break in December and January. The 18 clubs in the league play each other twice, once at home and once away. The bottom three teams are relegated to the Bank Asya 1. Lig at the end of each season and replaced by three others teams from Bank Asya 1. Lig.
As of the 2005/06 season, the top two teams qualify for the Champions League, with the champions entering the third qualifying round and the runners-up entering in the second qualifying round. The third-placed league team and the winners of the Turkey Cup make up the two Turkish teams that enter the UEFA Cup.
The arrival of private television channels in Turkey in the 1990s created a bidding war for live coverage rights, pouring money into the league and raising footballing standards dramatically. Live coverage rights are currently held by Digiturk, the digital satellite platform, until the contract expires in 2010. Digiturk bought the rights in 2004 for 135.85 million New Turkish lira (US$99 million).[1] On the other hand, Doğan Medya, the company of the Turkish media magnate Aydın Doğan, argues that the contract of Digiturk will expire in 2008. In accordance to this claim, Doğan Medya came out with a new offer of approximately $180 million.[2]
In 2005, the Turkish Football Federation signed a five-year deal with mobile phone operator Turkcell that saw the league's name changed to the 'Turkcell Super League' for five years. It came some years after an abortive sponsorship attempt by Turkcell's rivals, Telsim, in 1999.
[edit] Super League clubs, 2008-09
The clubs to play in the 2008-2009 season are listed below, alongside their home towns.
| Club | Home town | Founded in | In league since | Finishing position last season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ankaragücü | Ankara | 1910 | 1981-1982 | 8th |
| Ankaraspor | Ankara | 1978 | 2004-2005 | 10th |
| Antalyaspor | Antalya | 1966 | 2008-2009 | Bank Asya 1.league 2nd |
| Beşiktaş | İstanbul | 1903 | 1959 | 3rd |
| Bursaspor | Bursa | 1963 | 2006-2007 | 13th |
| Denizlispor | Denizli | 1966 | 1999-2000 | 7th |
| Eskisehirspor | Eskisehir | 1965 | 2008-2009 | Bank Asya 1.league 4th (Play-Off winner) |
| Fenerbahçe | İstanbul | 1907 | 1959 | 2nd |
| Galatasaray | İstanbul | 1905 | 1959 | National champions |
| Gaziantepspor | Gaziantep | 1969 | 1990-1991 | 9th |
| Gençlerbirliği | Ankara | 1923 | 1989-1990 | 15th |
| Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ | Ankara | 2003 | 2007-2008 | 11th |
| İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor | İstanbul | 1990 | 2007-2008 | 12th |
| Kocaelispor | Kocaeli | 1966 | 2008-2009 | Bank Asya 1.league Champion |
| Kayserispor | Kayseri | 1966 | 2004-2005 | 5th |
| Konyaspor | Konya | 1981 | 2003-2004 | 14th |
| Sivasspor | Sivas | 1967 | 2005-2006 | 4th |
| Trabzonspor | Trabzon | 1967 | 1974-1975 | 6th |
The clubs below took part in the Türk Telekom League A play-offs but failed to clinch the final promotion spot for the 2008-2009 season. The winning team was Eskişehirspor
| Club | Home town | Founded in | Last season in Super League | Finishing position in Category A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sakaryaspor | Sakarya | 1966 | 2006-2007 | 3rd |
| Diyarbakırspor | Diyarbakir | 1968 | 2005-2006 | 5th |
| Boluspor | Bolu | 1965 | 1991-1992 | 6th |
The clubs below were relegated to the Türk Telekom League A at the end of the 2006-2007 season.
| Club | Home town | Founded in | In league since | Finishing position last season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasımpaşa | İstanbul | 1921 | 2007-2008 | 18th |
| Çaykur Rizespor | Rize | 1953 | 2002-2003 | 17th |
| Manisaspor | Manisa | 1931 | 2005-2006 | 16th |
[edit] Champions
Only four clubs, also known as the "Big Four" have been champions since the beginning of the Super League: Fenerbahçe SK (17), Beşiktaş J.K. (10) and Trabzonspor (6). The first three, all Istanbul-based clubs, are known as Üç Büyükler (Big Three in Turkish).
- Fenerbahçe: 1959, 1960-61, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1967-68, 1969-70, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1977-78, 1982-83, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1995-96, 2000-01, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07.
- Galatasaray: 1961-62, 1962-63, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2005-06, 2007-08
- Beşiktaş: 1959-60, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1981-82, 1985-86, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1994-95, 2002-03.
- Trabzonspor: 1975-76, 1976-77, 1978-79, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1983-84.
|
[edit] Number of National Honors Won by Clubs
| Club | Seasons |
|---|---|
| Galatasaray SK | 17 |
| Fenerbahçe SK | 17 |
| Beşiktaş JK | 10 |
| Trabzonspor | 6 |
[edit] Participations
Türkcell Super League was created in 1958 by TFF and played as 1 league only with 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or 22 teams. These are the 66 teams which took part to the championships played from 1958 to 2009. Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are the only clubs which played all the seasons.
Note: Kayseri Erciyesspor played as Kayserispor between 1973-1975, 1979-1980, 1985-1986, 1992-1996 and 1997-1998. They were renamed to Kayseri Erciyesspor and played again in Super League since 2005. Also, Kayseri Erciyesspor were renamed to Kayserispor and have played in the Super League since 2004.
[edit] Records
- Season
-
- The longest season: 1962-1963 (42 matches)[3]
- Teams
-
- Most time champions: Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray with 17 seasons
- Biggest championship streak: Galatasaray with 4 seasons in a row.
- The biggest win: 1989-1990 Beşiktaş - Adana Demirspor (10-0)
- The highest scoring match: 1991-1992 Fenerbahçe - Gaziantepspor (8-4)
- Best performing team: 1988-1989 Beşiktaş (29 wins, 6 draws, 1 lost in 36 matches)
- Longest unbeaten run: Beşiktaş (48 matches)
- Longest winning streak: 1959-1960 Beşiktaş (13 matches)
- Teams unbeaten in a season: 1985-1986 Galatasaray, 1991-1992 Beşiktaş
- Unbeaten Champions: 1991-1992 Beşiktaş
- Team with the most wins in a season: 1959-1960 Beşiktaş, 1988-1989 Fenerbahçe (29 wins)
- Highest scoring team: 1988-1989 Fenerbahçe (103 goals)
- Most games won in row at home: Galatasaray (25 games)
- Champion team with highest point: 2002-2003 Beşiktaş (85 pts - 26 wins, 7 draws, 1 lost in 34 matches)
- Players
-
- Top scorer for the most years: Metin Oktay (6 times)
- All time top scorer: Hakan Şükür (249 goals)
- Top scorer in one season: 1987-1988 Tanju Çolak (39 goals)
- Most league titles won: Bülent Korkmaz and Hakan Şükür (8 seasons)
- Most goals in one match: Tanju Çolak (6 goals)
[edit] Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hakan Şükür |
249 |
| 2 | Tanju Çolak |
240 |
| 3 | Hami Mandıralı |
219 |
| 4 | Metin Oktay |
217 |
| 5 | Aykut Kocaman |
200 |
| 6 | Feyyaz Uçar |
191 |
| 7 | Serkan Aykut |
188 |
| 8 | Fevzi Zemzem |
144 |
| 9 | Cenk İşler |
131 |
| 10 | Mehmet Özdilek |
130 |
| 10 | Saffet Sancaklı |
130 |
| As of 10 May 2008 (Bold and italic denotes players still in Turkcell Süper League). | ||
- Coaches
-
- Coach with the most championships: Ahmet Suat Özyazıcı and Fatih Terim (4 seasons)
[edit] UEFA ranking
National League Ranking for 2007-08 Euro Season (Previous year rank in italics, UEFA National League Coefficients in parentheses)
- 9
(14) Turkcell Süper Lig (10.303) - 10
(8) 
Netherlands League (12.500) - 11
(10) 
Scottish League (10.353) - 12 (11)
Ukrainian League (9.932) - 13 (12)
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png)
Belgium League (8.645)
[edit] See also
- List of sports attendance figures — the Super League in a worldwide context
[edit] References
- ^ Lig TV'den D-Smart'a Tepki, <http://www.goal.com/tr/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=395848>. Retrieved on 29 August 2007
- ^ D-Smart'dan Müthiş Teklif, <http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/08/28/spor/axspo01.html>. Retrieved on 29 August 2007
- ^ http://www.turkfutbolu.net/istatistik/futbolen.htm (Turkish)
- ^ UEFA Country Ranking Retrieved on 9 March 2008
[edit] External links
- (Turkish) TURKCELL SüperLig Official Site
- (English) Turkcell Süper Football Stats and Results
- (English)Super League news and column by Ahmet Turgut
- (English) Turkcell Süper League Table and Livescores
Current Turkish Süper Lig standings
- (Turkish) Turkish Football Federation
- (Turkish) List of Turkish football transfers 2007-2008
- (Turkish) Turkish Soccer Databank
- (Turkish) Turksportal - Turkcell Süper Ligi Home Page
- (Turkish) Online game broadcasts
