World Soccer - UK (2020-10)

has been guilty of Financial Fair-Play

infractions, and all have taken to

missing salary payments. German

attacker Max Kruse, for example,

recently had his contract with

Fenerbahce rescinded after wage

commitments did not materialise.

With next to no cash for expensive

foreign recruits, the competitiveness of

the Istanbul powerhouses has inevitably

waned. One need only look at the

massive gap that Basaksehir opened

up over the Big Three in last season’s

Super Lig. Besiktas – who to their credit,

always looked to attack – finished third,

Istanbul revolution

S

till flush with the euphoria of

clinching their first-ever Super

Lig crown, Istanbul Basaksehir

now have their sights on the

next part of their master plan –

establishing a domestic dynasty.

For Basaksehir, only a top-flight side

for a mere six years, it’s simply not

enough to savour this one intense

moment of glory, or to bask in the

warm glow of putting traditional

Istanbul big-hitters (Fenerbahce,

Besiktas and Galatasaray) in their

place. The orange-shirted interlopers

aim to shake up the Turkish football

hierarchy for good.

The new Turkish champions, located

in the western Istanbul suburb of

Basaksehir, have good reason to believe

they have the necessary staying power.

Although not the most spectacular of

sides, they have other ways of getting

the job done. They are tremendously

consistent, play a controlled possession

game, make excellent use of the wings,

and have the most balanced team in

the country – and all with a group of

players who cost less than€8 million.

Under coach Okan Buruk, champion

in his inaugural season at the helm, the

recipe for success is not likely to change

to any great degree. At Basaksehir, they

put a premium on battle-hardened

experience, with veteran Slovakia

centre-back Martin Skrtel calling the

shots in defence, Franco-African duo

of Enzo Crivelli and Demba Ba expertly

leading the line, and the much-

underrated Bosnian Edin Visca

combining creativity and goal threat

from the right flank. 25-year-old

playmaker Irfan Kahveci, one of the

exceptions to the senior citizen rule,

is also making quite a name for himself

at the moment.

Last season, the champions had

one of the oldest squads in the Super

Lig, with an average age of over 29.8,

thanks in no small part to the presence

of a trio of golden oldies: the Brazilian

flyer Robinho, ex-Napoli and Leicester

City midfielder Gokhan Inler and Dutch

winger Eljero Elia.

While Basaksehir are a model of

financial and organisational stability,

the same cannot be said of Istanbul’s

“Big Three”. The proud recipients of

no fewer than 54 Turkish league titles,

Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray

are sinking in a sea of unpaid bills. The

trio currently have combined debts of

6.5 billion Turkish lira (€793m), each

seven points adrift of top spot. Sixth-

placed Galatasaray were13 points

behind, while Fenerbahce finished

seventh,19 points in arrears.

Trabzonspor could turn out to be the

main challengers for the title. The Black

Sea outfit were Super Lig pacesetters

for much of last term – on course for

their first title in 36 years – only for the

wheels to come off when the league

resumed after the three-month

coronavirus hiatus. The former Chelsea

midfielder and assistant boss Eddie

Newton is Trabzonspor’s new permanent

coach. He was appointed as a caretaker

towards the end of last term and

immediately struck gold, steering

the club to victory in the Turkish Cup

final, a 2-0 victory over Alanyaspor.

Instilling a killer instinct has to be

Newton’s top priority. Last season, they

threw away an incredible 30 points in

games in which they led.

The 2020-21 Super Lig will be a

well-stocked affair, with 21 participants

rather than the usual18. After initially

insisting in May that they had no

intention of abolishing relegation

from the top flight, the Turkish football

authorities ended up doing just that.

Normally the bottom-three –

Malatyaspor, Kayserispor and

Ankaragucu – would have been

unceremoniously demoted. Little

wonder their sighs of relief could be

heard for miles. Coming up from the

second tier are Hatayspor, Erzurumspor

and Fatih Karagumruk. In 2020-21,

four teams will be relegated from

the Super Lig.

Nick Bidwell

T U R K E Y S U P E R L

IG

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Season preview2020-21

TURKEY SUPER LIG

Cup-winner...former

Chelsea assistant

Eddie Newton

Rising force...Istanbul

Basaksehir won their

first Super Lig title

inJuly

While Basaksehir are a model of

financial and organisational stability,

the same cannot be said of Istanbul’s

“Big Three”