Total escalation on the pitch: Trabzonspor is the Turkish sensations champion

Total escalation on the pitch
Trabzonspor is Turkish sensations champion

On Saturday evening, the celebrations in the Turkish Black Sea city of Trabzon knew no bounds: Trabzonspor won the championship for the first time in 38 years – breaking through the phalanx of Istanbul clubs for only the second time since 1985. There is also a lot of celebration in Germany.

After 38 years of waiting, Trabzonspor sensationally won the football championship in the Süper Lig in Turkey. The team from the port city on the Black Sea had led the standings without interruption since the ninth game day and now completed the triumph three games before the end: After the 2: 2 (1: 0) against Antalyaspor, Trabzon can no longer be relegated from first place .

Even before the final whistle, a number of fans had stormed onto the field because they wanted to hear the referee’s whistle. Antalyaspor coach Nuri Sahin, a Bundesliga professional with Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen for many years, was furious, but the referee let the game end. When the real final whistle sounded, the ranks knew no stopping. Thousands of supporters rushed onto the pitch, surrounding the Trabzon players and having a huge party.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the first to congratulate him. The lead over big club Fenerbahçe Istanbul is nine points, and Trabzonspor has also won the direct comparison that will decide in the event of a tie.

Led by former Napoli star and playmaker Marek Hamsik, coach Abdullah Avci’s team claimed their first league title since 1983/84 and their seventh overall. Since 1985, only two clubs, Bursaspor (2009/10) and Istanbul Basaksehir (2019/20), have managed to interrupt the title haul of Istanbul’s top clubs Besiktas, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray.

Spontaneous celebration parties and car parades took place in Trabzon, Istanbul and several European cities on Sunday night. In Berlin on Kurfürstendamm, the celebrations were largely peaceful, said a police spokesman. There were only minor traffic disruptions.

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