football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
club located in the city of
Samsun
Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun recorded a population of 710,000 people. The cit ...
. The club was formed through a merger of five clubs: 19 Mayıs, Akınspor, Fener Gençlik, Samsunspor, and Samsunspor Galatasaray.Samsunspor Tarihçe samsunspor.org.tr , accessed 19 July 2010 The club colours are red and white, and they play their home matches at Samsun Stadium.SAMSUN 19 MAYIS tff.org
The club finished runners-up for the 2. Lig crown in 1968–69, but then yo-yoed between the top two divisions until 1993. The club competed in the
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, ' betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Fo ...
in 1997 and 1998, and won the
Balkans Cup
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
in 1994.
History
First Years
Samsunspor stepped into professional leagues for the first time in the second football league, today's
TFF First League
The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...
in the 1965–66 season. The opponent of Samsunspor, who played the first professional league match on September 5, 1965, was Yeşildirek S.K. Samsunspor won the match 1–0 with the goal scored by Nihat Serçeme. Thus Nihat made history as the player who scored Samsunspor's first league goal. In this first season of the league, Samsunspor became 5th in the White Group. The club also competed in the Turkish Cup that year. They reached round two after defeating Güneşspor in the first round, but would go on to lose 2–1 to Petrolspor.Pekin, Ce 1965–1966 – 4. Türkiye Kupası turkish-soccer.com, accessed 19 July 2010 The following season was more successful, as the club placed second in the 2. Lig, six points behind champion
Bursaspor
Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern.
In th ...
.Sivritepe, Erdin 1966–1967 1. Lig turkish-soccer.com, accessed 19 July 2010 In the Turkish Cup, the club reached the semi-finals, defeating Konyaspor, Adanaspor,
Manisaspor
Manisaspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Manisa. Originally formed in 1931 as Sakaryaspor, the club changed its name to Manisaspor on 15 June 1965.Galatasaray, and Fenerbahçe along the way. They met Göztepe in the semi-finals, eventually losing 5–2 on aggregate. Samsunspor finished second in the 2. Lig and were knocked out in the first round of the Turkish Cup in 1967–68.Sivritepe, Erdin 1967–1968 1. Lig turkish-soccer.com, accessed 19 July 2010Pekin, Ce turkish-soccer.com, accessed 19 July 2010
The club earned their first promotion to the 1. Lig (
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
) in 1969. They finished first in the Beyaz Grup (White Group) of the 2. Lig, six points ahead of runners-up Boluspor. Because there were two groups, the winners of each group played each other in a final game to decide the champion and the runner-up. Ankaragücü beat Samsunspor 1–0 in the final.Pekin, Ce 1968–1969 Türkiye 2. Ligi turkish-soccer.com, accessed 20 July 2010 Samsunspor finished fifth in their first season in the 1. Lig, five points away from securing a spot in the
Balkans Cup
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
. The club finished with a record of eleven wins, nine draws, and ten losses, while scoring 24 goals and allowing 28.Sivritepe, Erdin 1969–1970 1. Lig turkish-soccer.com, accessed 20 July 2010 Samsunspor finished tenth the following season and were knocked out of the first round of the Turkish Cup for the second year in a row.Sivritepe, Erdin turkish-soccer.com, accessed 20 July 2010Pekin, Ce turkish-soccer.com, accessed 20 July 2010
After competing in first tier for five seasons, Samsunspor completed the league in the 15th place with 24 points in the 1974–75 season and relegated to the 2nd Football League. Upon this, coach
Basri Dirimlili
Basri Dirimlili (7 June 1929 – 14 September 1997), nicknamed Mehmetcik Basri, was a Turkish football player.
Career
Born in Dârstor, Romania (now Silistra, Bulgaria), Dirimlili began playing football for Eskişehir Demirspor. He transferred ...
was dismissed and Kamuran Soykıray was brought back to the team.
1975-76 Football League season Soykıray again made the club White Group leader and Samsunspor has moved to the First Football League. In the same season, Samsunspor won Ministry of Youth and Sports Cup after Bursaspor II was defeated 2–1.
Golden Ages
In the Mid-1980s, Samsunspor has achieved some of its major successes in the first tier of Turkish Football. After the promotion from second tier in 1984–85, Samsunspor finished First League at 3rd place with 33 goals scored by Tanju Çolak in 1985–86 season. The next season, the club had one of the best season in its history. Ranking again 3rd in the league where Tanju Çolak scored 25 goals, the team rose to the semi-finals in the Federation Cup. The next season, Samsunspor finished the league in fourth place and reached the final in the
Turkish Cup
The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas ...
. Until the cup final, Nevşehirspor,
Uşakspor
Uşakspor was a Turkish football club located in Uşak. They play their home games at 1 Eylül Stadium in Uşak. The club was founded in 1967 and played in Second League between 1967–1968, 1970–1975, 1982–1983, 1987–1988, 2005–2007. ...
MKE Ankaragücü
MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (), is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the closure of t ...
were eliminated but lost to
Sakaryaspor
Sakaryaspor Kulübü Derneği is a Turkish professional football club, formed in 1965 after the merger of ''Adapazarı Gençlerbirliği'', ''Adapazarı İdman Yurdu'', ''Güneşspor'' and ''Ada Gençlik''. The club is better known as Sakaryaspor ...
as a result of the two-legged final.
Accident
On 20 January 1989, while traveling to
Malatya
Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...
to face Malatyaspor, Samsunspor were involved in a bus accident. The accident killed three players, two coaches, and seriously injured seven other team members. Among the players killed were Mete Adanır and Muzaffer Badalıoğlu; Zoran Tomić fell into a coma for six months before dying in his native
. Manager Nuri Asan and the bus driver were also killed. Of the players who were injured, two continued playing. Emin Kar, captain of Samsunspor, was left paralyzed after the event. Fatih Uraz, then starting goalkeeper of Samsunspor and the
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team ( tr, Türkiye Millî Futbol Takımı) represents Turkey in men's international football matches. The team is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation ( tr, Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu), the governing bod ...
, broke a
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
in his back. He made a return to football, but was unable to regain a starting place at either national or club level.
Promotions and Relegations
Samsunspor took place in the first tier again in the 1993–94 season and it was in the league continuously for thirteen seasons. The club finished the league at 5th position and run to semi-finals in
Turkish Cup
The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas ...
at their comeback season. In both 1994-95 and 1995–96 seasons Samsunspor finished the first League 8th place and run to semi-finals in Turkish Cup Again. 1996-97 Season finished in the 9th place in the first managerial season of Gheorghe Mulțescu but played in the
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, ' betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Fo ...
with a minor success. Samsunspor relegated from first tier, it's now Super Lig in 2005–06 season after finishing the league at 17th place. Between 2006 and 2011, Samsunspor competed in second tier now
TFF First League
The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...
until succeed a promotion after being a runner-up behind the league champion
Mersin İdman Yurdu
Mersin Talim Yurdu, formerly Mersin İdman Yurdu, is a Turkish sports club from Mersin, Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean Region. The team played in the Turkish first division for 15 seasons, and after the 1983–84 season the football team p ...
. Unfortunately, Samsunspor relegated again after a season in the first tier. In the 2017–18 season, the club relegated to the third tier, TFF Second League for the first time in its history.
On the way back from an away match in February 2012, two players were injured when the team coach was struck by a train on a level crossing.
Supporters
Samsunspor's main ultra group who go by the name, Şirinler (Smurfs) are well known for their ‘flare march’. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of Şirinler meet up at Çiftlik Avenue and walk to the 19 Mayis stadium with flares, turning the city red and creating an intense atmosphere.SAMSUNSPOR turkish-football.com (English) accessed 29 May 2010
Honours
*
TFF First League
The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...
**Winners (6): 1968–69, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1992–93
**''Runners-up (2):'' 1968–69, 2010–11
* TFF Second League
**Winners (1): 2019-20
*
Balkans Cup
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
TFF First League
The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...
(23 seasons): 1965–1969, 1975–1976, 1979–1982, 1983–1985, 1990–1991, 1992–1993, 2006–2011, 2012–2018, 2020-
* TFF Second League (2 seasons): 2018-2020
Samsunspor competed in European competition for the first time in 1993. The club took part in the last edition of the Balkans Cup, defeating
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad was a Bulgarian professional football club based in Blagoevgrad.
History Makedonska slava
Club was founded in 1928 as Makedonska Slava ("Macedonian Glory"). In 1948 the club joined the newly established FD Julius Dermendz ...
before facing
PAS Giannina
PAS Giannina Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1966), or with its full name Panepirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina ( el, Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα, ''Panepirotic Athleti ...
in the final. The first leg took place in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
, which Samsunspor won 3–0. The second leg took place in Turkey, where Samsunspor sealed the championship with a 2–0 win.Balkans Cup 1980–94 rsssf.com, accessed 20 July 2010 The club competed in the
1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup
The 1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by three French teams -- Lyon, Bastia, and Auxerre. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup.
Qualified teams
Group stage Group 1
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Group 2 ...
after finishing in ninth place.Sivritepe, Erdin 1996–1997 1. Lig turkish-soccer.com, accessed 20 July 2010 They were drawn into Group 6 alongside
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
Odense Boldklub
Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...
. Samsunspor finished second with nine points and were unable to advance.UEFA Intertoto Cup 1997 rsssf.com, accessed 20 July 2010 The club qualified for the
Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foo ...
again the following season. Drawn against Danish club
Lyngby Boldklub
Lyngby Boldklub () is a Danish professional football club founded in 1921. It is based at Lyngby Stadion in Kongens Lyngby, Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, a northern suburb of Copenhagen. From 1994 to 2001 the club was known as Lyngby FC. The club ...
, Samsunspor took a 3–0 lead in the first leg. The club faced a scare in the second leg, advancing by one goal on aggregate after losing the match 1–3. They faced
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
club Crystal Palace F.C. in the second round, beating the club four to nil on aggregate. Samsunspor were knocked out of the cup in the semi-finals after losing 6–0 at the hands of
Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, ' betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Fo ...
:
Balkans Cup
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
Basri Dirimlili
Basri Dirimlili (7 June 1929 – 14 September 1997), nicknamed Mehmetcik Basri, was a Turkish football player.
Career
Born in Dârstor, Romania (now Silistra, Bulgaria), Dirimlili began playing football for Eskişehir Demirspor. He transferred ...
Turgay Şeren
Turkay Sabit Şeren (15 May 1932 – 7 July 2016) was a Turkish football player, who was a one-time goalkeeper of Galatasaray. He played for Galatasaray between 1947 and 1966 and was capped 52 times for Turkey, including two matches at the 19 ...
Basri Dirimlili
Basri Dirimlili (7 June 1929 – 14 September 1997), nicknamed Mehmetcik Basri, was a Turkish football player.
Career
Born in Dârstor, Romania (now Silistra, Bulgaria), Dirimlili began playing football for Eskişehir Demirspor. He transferred ...
Yılmaz Vural
Yılmaz Vural (born 1 January 1953) is a Turkish football manager and former player. He played as a midfielder for Hacettepe and Sivasspor in the 1970s.
Career
He is most known for his aggressive coaching style. Vural managed most of the clubs ...
Özkan Sümer
Özkan Sümer (20 November 194022 December 2020) was a Turkish footballer and coach. He played as defender in Trabzonspor (and later coached the same club), Galatasaray SK, and the Turkey national football team. He also served as president of Tr ...
Metin Türel
Metin Türel (13 September 1937 – 17 November 2018) was a Turkish football coach. Türel coached many teams in Turkey, he also coached the Turkey national football team from 1977 to 1978. He started his professional career with Galatasaray SK a ...
(Sep 1998 – Jun 1999)
* Erdoğan Arıca (Jul 1999 – Jun 2000)
*
Bülent Ünder
Bülent Ünder (born 16 April 1949) is a Turkish former professional football player and manager.
Playing career
Born Istanbul, Turkey, Ünder played his entire career for Galatasaray. He played eight seasons for his club. His team won the T ...
Ertuğrul Sağlam
Ertuğrul Sağlam (born 19 November 1969) is a UEFA Pro Licensed Turkish football manager and former player.
Playing career
As a player, he scored 11 goals in 30 appearances for Turkey, and was selected for the Euro 1996 squad. He began his c ...
Ümit Özat
Ümit Özat (born 30 October 1976) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player.
Club career
Born in Ankara, Özat initially played for Gençlerbirliği and for Fenerbahçe as a central defender or a defensive midfielder. Late ...
Alpay Özalan
Fehmi Alpay Özalan (born 29 May 1973) is a Turkish former professional footballer, football manager and politician. He last worked as the manager of Samsunspor. He played 90 international games for Turkey between 1995 and 2005, making him T ...
(Aug 2017 – Sep 2017)
*
Engin İpekoğlu
Engin İpekoğlu (born 7 June 1961 in İzmir, Turkey) is a Turkish football manager and former goalkeeper who most recently served as manager of Adanaspor.
He began his football career with Prater SV, an Austrian team, in 1978. He transferred ...
(Oct 2017 – Feb 2018)
* Besim Durmuş (Feb 2018 – Jun 2018)
*
Taner Taşkın
Taner Taşkın (born 27 October 1972) is a retired Turkish football defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scor ...
Ertuğrul Sağlam
Ertuğrul Sağlam (born 19 November 1969) is a UEFA Pro Licensed Turkish football manager and former player.
Playing career
As a player, he scored 11 goals in 30 appearances for Turkey, and was selected for the Euro 1996 squad. He began his c ...
(Nov 2019– June 2021)
*
Mehmet Altıparmak
Mehmet Altıparmak (born 1 May 1969) is a Turkish professional football manager and former player. As a footballer, Altıparmak played as a midfielder.
Career
Altıparmak was a footballer throughout the pro and semi-pro divisions in Turkey. A jo ...
(June 2021– Oct 2021)
*
Fuat Çapa
Fuat Çapa (born 15 August 1968) is a Turkish football manager.
Career
Çapa coached in Belgium before moving on to Turkey. His career in Belgium spanned four years as he held positions with K.V. Turnhout, K. Patro Maasmechelen, K. Beringen-Heu ...
(Oct 2021– May 2022)
*
Bayram Bektaş
Bayram Bektaş (born 10 February 1974) is a UEFA Pro Licensed Turkish football manager and former footballer. He is best known for his spell at Turkish side Beşiktaş. Used to play at midfield, Bektaş was able to adapt to attacking midfield or ...