Göztepe S.K.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 02/2018
Full name
Göztepe Spor Kulübü
Nicknames
Göz Göz
Founded
14 June 1925
as Göztepe Gençlik Kulübü
Ground
Doğanlar Stadium
Capacity
12,500
Chairman
Mehmet Sepil
Manager
Tamer Tuna
League
Süper Lig
2016-17
TFF First League, 5th (Play-off winner)
Göztepe Spor Kulübü, Göztepe Sports Club also known as Göztepe, are a Turkish sports club located in the Güzelyalı neighborhood of İzmir, Turkey.
The "SK" refers to sports club, as besides football the club also has departments in fencing, triathlon, handball, sailing, swimming, and windsurfing.
In 1969 Göztepe became the first Turkish football team to play a semi-final in European competitions.
History
The club was founded in 1925 as a breakaway from Altay.
Their colours are red and yellow.
They merged with İzmirspor and were renamed as Doğanspor in 1937.
Some supporters of İzmirspor opposed the merger and founded Ateşspor in 1938.
Doğanspor was renamed again as Göztepe in 1939.
Ateşspor was also renamed as İzmirspor the same year.
Göztepe enjoyed their best success between the years of 1963 and 1971 under the supervision of coach Adnan Süvari.
Their legendary starting XI during that period of success are still remembered today: Ali Artuner, Mehmet "Junior" Işıkal, Çağlayan Derebaşı, Hüseyin Yazıcı, Mehmet "Senior" Aydın, Nevzat "English" Guzelırmak, Nihat Yayöz, Ertan Öznur, Fevzi Zemzem, Gürsel Aksel, Halil Kiraz.
Starting with 2002-03 season which brought relegation from Süper Lig, Göztepe struggled with financial problems.
Due to the inability to reduce their outstanding debt, the football club was banned from signing new players, which resulted in a free-fall with the team being relegated four times in the next five seasons.
On April 21, 2007 they lost their last home game 2:0 against Aliağa Belediyespor in TFF Third League and were relegated to the Turkish Regional Amateur League.
On August 20, 2007 the club was sold in an auction to an Istanbul-based business conglomerate Altınbaş Group.
The new owner, businessman İmam Altınbaş, has vowed to take Göztepe back to the Süper Lig, making them one of the top five clubs in Turkish football.
The new owners of the club have been met by the local fan base with some suspicion, although there have been recent calls for solidarity and cooperation under the new ownership.
Altınbaş Holding sold the club to the current owner Mehmet Sepil in June 2014, for a sum rumored to be around $9 million.
Göztepe are one of the last examples of an authentic neighborhood club, located in the Güzelyalı neighborhood of İzmir.
They have one of the most devoted and die-hard fan bases in Turkey, despite their downfall between 2002-2008.
In terms of fan base and attendances, they are only behind the three Istanbul teams; Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş.
Their games in the Turkish Regional Amateur League attracted more fans than most clubs in the Süper Lig.
The team competed in the Turkish Regional Amateur League for the 2007-08 season but were eliminated by Ayazağaspor after a 6:5 penalty kick shootout in Eskişehir.
However, on June 18, 2008 Aliağa Belediyespor merged with Göztepe, so that they took place of Aliağa Belediyespor in the TFF Third League.
They played in TFF Third League Group 2 in 2008-09 season and finished 1st in group as qualified to Promotion Group.
Göztepe secured promotion to TFF Second League after beating Lüleburgazspor 2:0 away from home with 3 weeks remaining before the end of the season.
On May 19, 2009 Göztepe defeated Tepecik Belediyespor 2:0 at home and crowned as Third League champions.
After finishing TFF Second League as 8th placed in 2009-10, Göztepe won the TFF Second League White Group trophy and were promoted to TFF First League at the end of 2010-11 season.
On May 3, 2015 Göztepe won the TFF Second League and were promoted to TFF First League.
On 4 June 2016, Göztepe advanced to the Süper Lig for the first time since the 2002–03 season.
Rivalries
The main rivals of Göztepe are another İzmir club, Karşıyaka.
When the two teams played on 16 May 1981 while chasing the TFF First League title, the game attracted a crowd of 80,000.
The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes this milestone as a world record for a Second Division football game and The Guardian published an article named "The biggest non-top-flight attendance ever" including this match.
It is one of the most fiercely contested derbies in the world.
They also have a rivalry with the other large clubs in İzmir, Altay and Bucaspor.