Turkcell Super League
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.
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
Second League Category A at the end of each season and replaced by three others teams from Category A.
As of the 2005/06 season, the top two teams qualify for the
Champions League, which the champions directly entering the group phase and the runners-up enter in the second of three qualifying rounds. 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 2009. Digiturk bought the rights in 2004 for 135.85 million New Turkish lira (US$99 million), making the Super League the most expensive league after England's
Premiership.
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.
The clubs to play in the 2006-2007 season are listed below, alongside their home towns.
The clubs below took part in the
Second League Category A play-offs but failed to clinch the final promotion spot for the 2006-2007 season. The winning team was
Sakaryaspor.
The clubs below were relegated to the
Second League Category A at the end of the 2005-2006 season.
Only four clubs, the so-called "Big Four" have been champions since the beginning of the Premier Super League: Fenerbahce SK (16), Galatasaray SK (16 times), BeÅŸiktaÅŸ JK (10) and Trabzonspor (6). The first three, all
Istanbul-based clubs, are known as the "Big Three".
*
Fenerbahce: 1959, 1960-61, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1967-68, 1969-70, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1977-78, 1982-83, 1984-85, 1988-89, 1995-96, 2000-01, 2003-04, 2004-05.
*
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.
*
Besiktas: 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.
These awards were handed out by the members of the Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu (TFF).
Player of the YearWinner -->
Alex,
Fenerbahçe Youth of the YearWinner -->
Isaac Promise,
Gençlerbirliği Manager of the YearWinner -->
Eric Gerets,
GalatasarayTurkcell Super League All-Star Team
GK
Aly Faryd Mondragon,
GalatasarayDF
Rigobert Song,
GalatasarayDF
Mehmet Hakki HocaoÄŸlu,
SivassporDF
Mustafa DoÄŸan,
BeÅŸiktaÅŸMF
Hasan ÅžaÅŸ,
GalatasarayMF
Stephen Appiah,
FenerbahçeMF
Mehmet Çakır,
GençlerbirliğiMF
Cenk,
Kayseri ErciyessporMF
Alex,
FenerbahçeFW
Gökhan Ünal,
KayserisporFW
Fatih Tekke,
Trabzonspor| Cup name | Fenerbahce | Galatasaray | Besiktas | Trabzonspor |
| Turkish League Championships | 16 | 16 | 10 | 6 |
| Turkish Cup | 4 | 14 | 6 | 7 |
| Turkish Supercup | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| UEFA Cup | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Super Cup | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Champions League Cup | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Istanbul Football League | 11 | 9 | 11 | 0 |
| Istanbul Friday League | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Istanbul Professionel League | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Istanbul Shield | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Istanbul Cup | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Fleet Cup | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Spor-Toto Cup | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| National Heap | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Turkish Football Championship | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| TSYD Cup | 12 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Chancellor Cup | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Turkish Federation Cup | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| President Cup | 6 | 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Ataturk Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Balkans Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| - bgcolor=#ffffc0 | Total | 84 | 77 | 71 | 25 |
Season :
*The longest season: 1962-1963 (42 matches)
; Teams :
*The highest scoring match: 1991-1992 Fenerbahçe - Gaziantepspor (8-4)
*The biggest win: 1989-1990 Beşiktaş - Adana Demir Spor (10-0)
*Best performing team: 1988-1989 Fenerbahçe (29 wins, 6 draws, 1 loss in 36 matches)
*Longest unbeaten run: Beşiktaş (48 matches)
*Teams unbeaten in a season: 1985-1986 Galatasaray, 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 in 36 matches)
*Team with the most top scorers: Galatasaray (13 top scorers)
*Most games won in row at home: Fenerbahçe (24 games)
; Players :
*Top scorer for the most years: Metin Oktay (6 times)
*All time top scorer: Tanju Çolak (240 goals)
*Top scorer with the most goals: 1987-1988 Tanju Çolak (39 goals)
*Player with the most championships: Bülent Korkmaz (8 seasons)
*Player with the most goals in a match: 1992-1993 Tanju Çolak (6 goals in the match Fenerbahçe SK â€" Karşıyaka (7-1))
; Coaches :
*Coach with the most championships: Ahmet Fuat Özyazıcı and Fatih Terim (4 seasons)*
Sports league attendances*
Current Turkish Süper Lig standings *
Turkish Football Federation *
Turkish Soccer Databank *
Turkish Soccer Databank*
2005-2006 Turkcell Super League Final Season, Team, and Player Statistics in .PDF format - (www.worldcupadvice.com)
