In case you haven’t heard, Besiktas are champions of the Turkcell Super Lig this year. You probably haven’t heard unless you have some Turkish blood in you because, well, 1. The Turkish league isn’t that high profile, especially in the English-speaking world and 2. Besiktas don’t make as many headlines as Fenerbahce or Galatasaray do internationally. No worry for fans of the team with the black and white stripes as the club won its first title in six years and the first of beleagured chairman Yildirim Demiroren’s tenure. The league success was coupled with a triumph in the Turkish Cup to make this a great double for a team with perhaps the most passionate fans in Turkey.
The league was still in doubt on the final day with three teams theoretically in with a shout though only Sivasspor had a realistic chance of overhauling Besiktas. Besiktas played away to relegation-threatened Denizlispor and won a potentially tricky game rather comfortably despite conceding a late goal to make it 2-1. Sivas had a difficult match away to Galatasaray who needed a win to guarantee a berth in the Europa League next year. A win for Sivas and a loss for Besiktas would have meant a spectacular title celebration in small Sivas but the exact opposite occurred as Sivas lost in an entertaining game. In fact, the top six all stayed in the same places as Fenerbahce beat Trabzonspor with a last-second goal to condemn the Black Sea side to third (a win by Trabzon would have seen them into the Champions League) and retain Fenerbahce’s advantage in fourth place over rivals Galatasaray due to goal difference. Bursaspor in sixth place were denied extracurricular activities in the upcoming season despite being the best side (in terms of points) in the last 15 games.
Add the scrum at the bottom for the last relegation spot and you have a fascinating end to the season. Konyaspor went down despite finishing level on points with Genclerbirligi and Denizlispor and having a better goal difference. But the deciding a three-way tie requires looking at the matches among those teams and unfortunately for the city of the whirling dervishes they had poor results against the wrong teams this season. Konyaspor joins Hacettepespor and Kocaelispor, both of whom had known their destiny for several weeks, in the Bank Asya 1. Lig next year. Diyarbakirspor will join the Super Lig to give south-eastern Turkey some representation. Manisaspor (champions of the 1.Lig) and Kasimpasaspor accompany them.
As for Besiktas, it’s no secret why they won. They simply had the best manager. I personally thought it was a poor and classless move to bring in Mustafa Denizli early in the season to replace Ertugrul Saglam (who later masterminded Bursaspor’s incredible late-season push). The early results showed little change in fortune but a terrific 2009 earned Besiktas the league and allowed Denizli to add an incredible accomplishment to his CV: he has now managed Besiktas, Fenerbahce AND Galatasaray to titles in his career. He brought in a couple of new players in the transfer period and began to mold his own squad. Fabian Ernst was perhaps the key to the equation as the German, sacked at Schalke, had a great half-season and lent solidity to the spine of the team. And honestly, though Besiktas never played that well, they earned the results and that’s how they won the title.
Interestingly, Besiktas played poorly against the rest of the top five. Seven points (and one win) in eight games is a terrible return and if you add sixth-placed Bursa they earned only nine points in ten games. It’s difficult to read into this but I think it shows a relative lack of quality in the squad (as evidenced by their inability to win against other good teams) as well as a terrific coaching job (as evidenced by the fact the team were motivated to play hard and beat the ’small’ clubs). One and half years removed from a humiliating 8-0 loss to Liverpool (although they had beaten them 2-1 the week before) Besiktas will need a facelift to compete in the Champions League next year. Denizli has already demanded a raise and the power to enact that facelift and surely Besiktas will fare better with him in charge than anyone else at the moment.
If the league were the top five teams
Joining them in the Champions League (at least in the qualifying stages) will be tenacious Sivasspor. While it may be difficult to swallow the lack of a title this year, it was still a tremendous season. The team seemed on the verge of imploding when manager Bulent Uygun did everything but physically attack a referee at the end of a game about ten weeks back. In the finest tradition of Turkish football, he followed it up with a scathing and unwarranted rant during the post-game interviews and every pundit thought that his team would lose the plot just as their manager had. But Sivas kept grinding out results and the Champions League is their reward. Imagine the excitement if they actually make the group stages. Even if they get drawn against the fourth place team of one of the top leagues, it is not beyond their reach. Sivas are virutally unbeatable at home (13 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss this year) and few teams would relish a trip to the foothills of Anatolia.
Trabzon, Fener and Galatasaray will have to content themselves with the bloated experiment known as the Europa League. It’s no secret why Trabzon failed to reach greater heights. Zero wins against the top five teams and a truly pathetic five points from eight games. Ersun Yanal has been shown the door and it’s difficult to see them improving next year despite some exciting talent in the Brazilian Alanzinho and youngster Baris Memis. Still, like Sivas, third place cannot be seen as too great a disappointment for such a thin squad and they were close to the top for much of the season.
Meanwhile, Luis Aragones has been shown the door at Fenerbahce. He achieved the exact opposite results as Mustafa Denizli. A single loss (at Sivas) led to 17 points in eight games against the top five including a double over Besiktas. However, awful results against the rest of the league and a loss to that same Besiktas team in the Cup final saw him meet his doom. Dani Guiza, tipped by many as the most disappointing player of the season, hit late-season form which may see him leave Fenerbahce for the right price. Aragones is not the first high-profile manager too last a single season in Turkey and he won’t be the last. The board have brought back Christoph Daum, architect of recent Fener success, in an attempt to right the ship.
As bad a season as Fener had, Galatasaray had it worse. It’s confusing how this squad squandered so much talent – even with its many injuries. There was a distinct lack of concentration under both Michael Skibbe and his eventual replacement Bulent Korkmaz. At no time during the season did the team put together the type of display expected of their squad. The high point of the season was a last-minute victory against Bordeaux (who were without Gourcuff) in the UEFA Cup but the only reason they needed a last-minute performance was because they squandered a 3-1 lead at home. A 4-1 defeat away to Fenerbahce and a 5-2 loss at home to mighty Kocaelispor were only two of the many lowlights. Next season should see them stronger although there may be concerns if Arda Turan, Servet Cetin and Mehmet Topal decide to try their hand in other European leagues. Frank Rijkaard has been brought in to lend some profile and hopefully some management nous but the construction of their new stadium is taking place at exactly the wrong economic time.
And so a fascinating Turkish domestic season had drawn to a close. The national team disappointed after a magical run in Euro 2008 and the clubs disappointed even more on the European stage. Still, the league this year had an additional sparkle with the type of deep competition that few leagues see in the modern age. Fifteen years ago, Turkish football had the quality of provincial kickabouts but since then the national team has reached the semifinals of two major tournaments, Galatasaray has won the UEFA Cup and Fenerbahce has reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League. While disappointing on face level, seasons like this show deep promise for the future. More clubs are developing more quality and it is sooner than later that Turkish clubs will be consistent and lasting impact in international competition.
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