Turkcell Super League
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| Countries | Turkey |
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| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Relegation to | TFF First League |
| Level on pyramid | Level 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Turkish Super Cup Fortis Turkey Cup |
| International cup(s) | Champions League UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup |
| Current champions | Galatasaray S.K. (2007-08) |
| Most successful club | Fenerbahçe S.K. (17 titles) Galatasaray S.K. (17 titles) |
| Website | http://www.turkcellsuperlig.com |
 2008-09 season |
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The Süper Lig (formerly National League, First Football League and First Super League and currently known under a sponsorship deal as the 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 Turkish Football Federation.
Contents
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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 TFF First League at the end of each season and replaced by three others teams from that league.
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). On the other hand, Do?an Medya, the company of the Turkish media magnate Ayd?n Do?an, argues that the contract of Digiturk will expire in 2008. In accordance to this claim, Do?an Medya came out with a new offer of approximately $180 million.
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.
For the new inspiring Turkcell Super Lig Season season saw more than £50,000,000 spent on new exciting players, this includes such super stars as Daniel Guiza, Milan Baros, Gokhan Unal, Emre Belozoglu, Harry Kewell, Fernando Meira and many more. Economist in the next five years have foreshadowed, that the Turkcell Super Lig will be one of the top leagues to be watched in the world.
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 | Stadium | In league since | Finishing position last season | First season in top division | Number of seasons in top division | Last title | Number of titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ankara S.A.?. | Ankara | 1978 | Yenikent | 2004-2005 | 10th | 2004-2005 | 5 | - | 0 |
| Antalya S.K. | Antalya | 1966 | Antalya Atatürk | 2008-2009 | TFF First League; 2nd | 1982-1983 | 14 | - | 0 |
| Be?ikta? J.K. | ?stanbul | 1903 | ?nönü | 1959 | 3rd | 1959 | 51 | 2002-2003 | 12 |
| Bursaspor | Bursa | 1963 | Bursa Atatürk | 2006-2007 | 13th | 1967-1968 | 40 | - | 0 |
| Denizlispor | Denizli | 1966 | Denizli Atatürk | 1999-2000 | 7th | 1983-1984 | 18 | - | 0 |
| Eski?ehirspor | Eski?ehir | 1965 | Eski?ehir Atatürk | 2008-2009 | TFF First League; Play-Off winner | 1966-1967 | 23 | - | 0 |
| Fenerbahçe S.K. | ?stanbul | 1907 | ?ükrü Saraco?lu | 1959 | 2nd | 1959 | 51 | 2006-2007 | 17 |
| Galatasaray A.?. | ?stanbul | 1905 | Ali Sami Yen | 1959 | 1st | 1959 | 51 | 2007-2008 | 17 |
| Gaziantepspor | Gaziantep | 1969 | Kamil Ocak | 1990-1991 | 9th | 1979-1980 | 23 | - | 0 |
| Gençlerbirli?i S.K. | Ankara | 1923 | Ankara 19 May?s | 1989-1990 | 15th | 1959 | 37 | - | 0 |
| Hacettepe S.K. | Ankara | 1949 | Ankara 19 May?s | 2007-2008 | 11th | 2007-2008 | 2 | - | 0 |
| ?stanbul B.B. | ?stanbul | 1990 | Atatürk Olympic | 2007-2008 | 12th | 2007-2008 | 2 | - | 0 |
| Kayserispor | Kayseri | 1966 | Kadir Has | 2004-2005 | 5th | 2004-2005 | 5 | - | 0 |
| Kocaelispor | Kocaeli | 1966 | ?smet Pa?a | 2008-2009 | TFF First League; 1st | 1980-1981 | 20 | - | 0 |
| Konyaspor | Konya | 1981 | Konya Atatürk | 2003-2004 | 14th | 1988-1989 | 11 | - | 0 |
| M.K.E. Ankaragücü | Ankara | 1910 | Ankara 19 May?s | 1981-1982 | 8th | 1959 | 46 | - | 0 |
| Sivasspor | Sivas | 1967 | 4 Eylül | 2005-2006 | 4th | 2005-2006 | 4 | - | 0 |
| Trabzonspor | Trabzon | 1967 | Avni Aker | 1974-1975 | 6th | 1974-1975 | 35 | 1983-1984 | 6 |
The clubs below took part in the TFF First League play-offs but failed to clinch the final promotion spot for the 2008-09 season.
| Club | Home town | Founded in | Last season in Super League | Finishing position in Category A |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sakaryaspor | Sakarya | 1966 | 2006-2007 | 3rd |
| Diyarbak?rspor | Diyarbak?r | 1968 | 2005-2006 | 5th |
| Boluspor | Bolu | 1965 | 1991-1992 | 6th |
The clubs below were relegated to the TFF First League at the end of the 2007-08 season.
| Club | Home town | Founded in | In league since | Finishing position last season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manisaspor | Manisa | 1931 | 2005-2006 | 16th |
| Çaykur Rizespor | Rize | 1953 | 2002-2003 | 17th |
| Kas?mpa?a S.K. | ?stanbul | 1921 | 2007-2008 | 18th |
Champions
Only four clubs, also known as the “Big Four” have been champions since the beginning of the Super League: Fenerbahçe SK (17), Galatasaray A.? (17), Be?ikta? J.K. (12, normally 10) and Trabzonspor (6). The first three, all Istanbul-based clubs, are known as Big Three (Üç Büyükler in Turkish).
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Performance by club
| Club | Champions | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Fenerbahce SK |
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1959,1961,1964,1965,1968,1970,1974,1975,1978,1983,1985,1989,1996,2001,2004,2005,2007 |
| Galatasaray SK |
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1962,1963,1969,1971,1972,1973,1987,1988,1993,1994,1997,1998,1999,2000,2002,2006,2008 |
| Be?ikta? JK |
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1960,1966,1967,1982,1986,1990,1991,1992,1995,2003 |
| Trabzonspor |
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1976,1977,1979,1980,1981,1984 |
Be?ikta? have formally requested that championships won in the 1956/57 and 1957/58 versions of the Turkish Federation Cup to be counted as Turkish Professional First Division championships. The Turkish Football Federation’s ruling on this matter was announced in a press release on March 25, 2002. The press release indicated that the championships won by Be?ikta? in the Turkish Federation Cup will be considered as national championships but the Turkish Federation Cup can not be considered as the precursor to the Turkish Professional First Division (later named Süper Lig) and as such these titles can not be categorized as a Turkish Professional First Division championships.
The Turkish Football Federation permits clubs to place a golden star above their crest on their uniforms for every five national championships won. For the purposes of calculating national championships, the Turkish Football Federation ruled that Be?ikta? has two additional national championships due to their success in the Turkish Federation Cup during the 1956/57 and 1957/58 seasons. For the 2008/09 season Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are permitted three golden stars, Be?ikta? are permitted two golden stars and Trabzonspor are permitted one golden star to be placed above their crest on their jerseys.
Title wins by decade
| 1950s | Team |
| 1 | Fenerbahçe |
| 1960s | Team |
| 4 | Fenerbahçe |
| 3 | Galatasaray,Be?ikta? |
| 1970s | Team |
| 4 | Fenerbahçe |
| 3 | Galatasaray,Trabzonspor |
| 1980s | Team |
| 3 | Tabzonspor,Fenerbahçe |
| 2 | Be?ikta?,Galatasaray |
| 1990s | Team |
| 5 | Galatasaray |
| 4 | Be?ikta? |
| 1 | Fenerbahçe |
| 2000s | Team |
| 4 | Fenerbahçe |
| 3 | Galatasaray |
| 1 | Be?ikta? |
Participations
Türkcell Super League was created in the Spring of 1959 by the Turkish Football Federation 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 1959 to 2009. Be?ikta?, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are the only clubs which played all the seasons.
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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.
Keçiörengücü played as Hacettepe when they were in the Super League and Hacettepe S.K. were Gençlerbirli?i Ofta? until 2008-2009 season.
Türk Telekom G.S.K. were PTT when they were playing Super League football in sixties and seventies.
Siirt S.K. were Siirt Jetpa S.K. and Manisaspor were Vestel Manisaspor due to the sponsorship reasons
Belediye Vanspor were Vanspor.
Popular Players
Many players who enjoy global popularity started their professional careers or came to Turkey in order to continue their careers. Some of them are as follows (in alphabetical order for nationality):
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Records
- Season
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- The longest season: 1962-1963 (42 matches)
- Teams
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- Most time champions: Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray with 17 seasons
- Most consecutive championships: Galatasaray with 4 seasons in a row (1996 - 2000).
- Largest win: 1989-1990 Be?ikta? - Adana Demirspor (10-0)
- The highest scoring match: 1991-1992 Fenerbahçe - Gaziantepspor (8-4)
- Best performing team: 1988-1989 Fenerbahçe (29 wins, 6 draws, 1 loss in 36 matches)
- Longest unbeaten run: Be?ikta? (48 matches)
- Longest winning streak: 1959-1960 Be?ikta? (13 matches)
- Teams unbeaten in a season: 1985-1986 Galatasaray, 1991-1992 Be?ikta?
- Unbeaten Champions: 1991-1992 Be?ikta?
- Team with the most wins in a season: 1959-1960 Be?ikta?, 1988-1989 Fenerbahçe (29 wins)
- Highest scoring team: 1962-1963 Galatasaray (105 goals)
- Most games won in row at home: Galatasaray (25 games)
- Champion team with highest point: 1988-1989 Fenerbahçe (93 pts - 29 wins, 6 draws, 1 loss in 36 matches)
- Players
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- All time top scorer: Hakan Sukur (249 goals)
- Most league titles won: Bülent Korkmaz and Hakan ?ükür (8 seasons)
- Top scorer for the most years: Metin Oktay (6 times)
- Top scorer in one season: 1987-1988 Tanju Çolak (39 goals)
- Most goals in one match: Tanju Çolak (6 goals)
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hakan ?ükür |
249 |
| 2 | Tanju Çolak |
240 |
| 3 | Hami Mand?ral? |
219 |
| 4 | Metin Oktay |
217 |
| 5 | Aykut Kocaman |
200 |
| 6 | Feyyaz Uçar |
191 |
| 7 | Serkan Aykut |
188 |
| 8 | Fevzi Zemzem |
144 |
| 9 | Ertu?rul Sa?lam |
132 |
| 10 | Cenk ??ler |
131 |
| 11 | Mehmet Özdilek |
130 |
| As of 10 May 2008 (Bold and italic denotes players still in Turkcell Süper League). | ||
- Coaches with multiple Süper Lig Titles Won (in order of date of first title win)
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- Coaches with four league titles won:
- Ahmet Suat Özyaz?c? (1975/1976, 1976/1977, 1979/1980 and 1983/1984 with Trabzonspor)
- Fatih Terim (1996/1997, 1997/1998, 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 with Galatasaray)
- Coaches with three league titles won:
- Gordon Milne (1989/1990, 1990/1991 and 1991/1992 with Be?ikta?)
- Christoph Daum (1994/1995 with Be?ikta?, 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 with Fenerbahçe)
- Coaches with two league titles won:
- Ignace Molnar (1959 and 1967/68 with Fenerbahçe)
- Gündüz K?l?ç (1961/1962 and 1962/1963 with Galatasaray)
- Ljubisa Spajic (1965/66 and 1966/67 with Be?ikta?)
- Tomislav Kaleperovic (1968/1969 with Galatasaray and 1977/1978 with Fenerbahçe)
- Brian Birch (1971/1972 and 1972/1973 with Galatasaray)
- Valdir Pereira (1973/1974 and 1974/1975 with Fenerbahçe)
- Özkan Sümer (1978/1979 and 1980/1981 with Trabzonspor)
- Todor Veselinovic (1984/1985 and 1988/1989 with Fenerbahçe)
- Mustafa Denizli (1987/1988 with Galatasaray and 2000/2001 with Fenerbahçe)
- Mircea Lucescu (2001/2002 with Galatasaray and 2002/2003 with Be?ikta?)
- Coaches with four league titles won:
UEFA ranking
National League Ranking for 2007-08 Euro Season (Previous year rank in italics, UEFA coefficient in parentheses)
- 9
(8) 
Eredivisie (38.213) - 10
(10) 
Scottish Premier League (33.375) - 11
(14) Süper Lig (31.725) - 12 (11)
Ukrainian Premier League (30.100) - 13 (12)
Belgian First Division (26.700)
- Full List
See also
- List of sports attendance figures — the Super League in a worldwide context
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 Müthi? Teklif, http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/08/28/spor/axspo01.html, retrieved on 29 August 2007
- ^ “TFF Bas?n Bülteni”.
- ^ “TFF Bas?n Bülteni”.
- ^ “turkfutbolu.net Statistics”.
- ^ UEFA Country Ranking Retrieved on 9 March 2008