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Gençlerbirliği S.K.

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Gençlerbirliği
Full nameGençlerbirliği Spor Kulübü
Nickname(s)Gençler (The Youth)
Ankara Rüzgârı (The Wind of Ankara)
Alkaralar (The Red and Black)
Founded14 March 1923; 101 years ago (1923-03-14)
GroundEryaman Stadium[1]
Capacity20,560[2]
PresidentOsman Sungur[1]
Head coachRecep Karatepe
LeagueTFF First League
2023–24TFF First League, 8th of 19
Websitehttp://www.genclerbirligi.org.tr/

Gençlerbirliği Spor Kulübü (pronounced Turkish pronunciation: [ɟentʃˈlæɾbiɾli.i]), commonly known as Gençlerbirliği, is a Turkish sports club based in Ankara. Formed in 1923, Gençlerbirliği are nicknamed Ankara Rüzgârı (The Wind of Ankara) or simply Gençler (The Youth). The club colours are black and red. The football team currently plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium, following the closure of the Ankara 19 Mayıs.

Domestically, the club have won the Turkish Cup twice, in 1987 and 2001. They have also won the former Turkish Football Championship twice and the regional Ankara Football League a record nine times. In Europe, Gençlerbirliği's greatest success came in 2004. The club reached the fourth round of the UEFA Cup before losing to eventual champions Valencia.

History

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Gençlerbirliği squad in 1924.

Gençlerbirliği were founded in a slightly different way compared to many other football clubs, having been established by students from a high school, Ankara Erkek Lisesi (Sultani Mektebi) now Ankara Atatürk Lisesi . The students in question (Ramiz Eren, Mennan İz, Mazhar Atacanlı, Sait, Kenan, Nuri, Namık Katoğlu, Namık Ambarcıoğlu, Rıdvan Kırmacı, Hafi Araç, Ruhi, Sarı Ziya and Hakkı) had failed to be selected for their own school team, and asked one of their student friends, Asim, to talk with his father about setting up a football team for them to show how well they could play.

On 14 March 1923, Asim's father, the member of parliament from Muş Province, established the team for his son and his friends. Since all the members of the team were students he chose the name 'Youth Union' (Turkish: Gençlerbirliği). They elected Sarı Ziya's father Faik Bey as their first chairman.[3]

Turkish newspaper Yeni Sabah announcing the Turkish championship title of Gençlerbirliği on 16 July 1941
Turkish newspaper Yeni Sabah announcing the Turkish championship title of Gençlerbirliği on 16 July 1941.

Subsequently, these young students wanted to play against the school team which had not selected them. Gençlerbirliği won the game, played at "Hamit tarlası", 3–0. According to these young rebellious players this victory forged the identity of their new team.

They won the regional Ankara Football League a record nine times between 1923 and 1959, when the league had first level status before the introduction of a nationwide league.[4] Their greatest success domestically were the victories in the former Turkish Football Championship, when they became Turkish champions in 1941 and 1946.[5] Gençler entered the Turkish National League in 1959 and played 12 seasons until relegation in the 1969–70 season. They played in the second level until relegation to third level in the 1978–79 season. The club came back to second level after the merger of the third level with second level, at the end of the 1979–80 season. They finished second from last in Group A of the Second League, and had to relegate to the regional league. But, since the number of teams in the second division was increased, Gençlerbirliği were readmitted. The club won Group D in the 1982–83 season and finally returned to the top-flight after 13 years. They relegated again in 1987–88 season. Finally, Gençlerbirliği returned to the top-flight in the 1988–89 season, in their first return attempt. Gençlerbirliği's most successful seasons in the Süper Lig are 1965–66 and 2002–03, when they reached the third place. At the end of the 2017–18 season Gençler only reached the 17th place and as a result the club relegated to the second tier TFF First League.

Colours

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There are two rumors about how Gençlerbirliği got their team colours, black and red:

  • The young students went to a local haberdashers and the only available colours were black and red. They purchased these colours to sew their own kit.[6]
  • The outskirts of Ankara during spring time see plenty of poppy flowers (Gelincik) blooming and Gençlerbirliği selected the red and black of this flower for their colours.

Rivalry

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Gençlerbirliği's arch-rival are the neighbouring club Ankaragücü and games between the clubs are considered as the "Derby of the Capital".

Youth academy and scouting

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Gençlerbirliği have always been one of the teams in Turkey most notable for their talented young footballers that they procure through scouting both in Turkey and throughout Europe and Africa. For example, Geremi was scouted and raised by the club, transferred to Real Madrid and later Chelsea. Another of Gençlerbirliği's young stars Isaac Promise received the 2005–06 Super League Individual Youth player of the Year award.[6] Also included was Arda Güler, who was sold to Fenerbahce.

Gençlerbirliği's state-of-the-art youth academy is located in Beştepe, Ankara with 50 acres (200,000 m2) of training facilities (Beştepe İlhan Cavcav Tesisleri).

Gençlerbirliği had been run by İlhan Cavcav from 1978 until his death in 2017. With Cavcav's help, Gençlerbirliği have become one of the more stable clubs in Turkey. This has been achieved mainly through the departure of the most talented players every season to the other clubs in Turkey. Departing players are usually replaced with much cheaper imports from Turkey, Europe or Africa.

Honours

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Domestic competitions

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Regional competitions

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  • Ankara Football League
    • Winners (10) (record): 1929–30, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1945–46, 1949–50, 1950–51
    • Runners-up (7): 1926, 1926–27, 1929, 1934, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1947–48
  • Ankara Shield
    • Winners (3) : 1931, 1935, 1940–41

Others

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  • TSYD Cup
    • Winners (16): 1969, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2021

European participations

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As of 30 September 2004
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 2 0 0 2 1 4 –3
UEFA Cup 14 6 4 4 17 11 +6
UEFA Intertoto Cup 4 2 0 2 10 7 +3
UEFA Total 20 8 4 8 28 22 +6
Balkans Cup 6 0 1 5 3 10 –7
Overall Total 26 8 5 13 31 32 –1

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

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Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1987–88 First Round Soviet Union Dinamo Minsk 1–2 0–2 1–4

UEFA Cup

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Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2001–02 First Round Sweden Halmstad 1–1 0–1 1–2
2003–04 First Round England Blackburn Rovers 3–1 1–1 4–2
Second Round Portugal Sporting CP 1–1 3–0 4–1
Third Round Italy Parma 3–0 1–0 4–0
Fourth Round Spain Valencia 1–0 0–2 (aet) 1–2
2004–05 Second Qualifying Round Croatia Rijeka 1–0 1–2 2–2 (a)
First Round Greece Egaleo 1–1 0–1 1–2

UEFA Intertoto Cup

[edit]
Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1995 Group Stage
(Group 11) 		France Strasbourg — 1–4 3rd
Austria Tirol Innsbruck — 2–3
Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva 4–0 —
Malta Floriana 3–0 —

Balkans Cup

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Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1967–68 Group Stage
(Group A) 		Bulgaria Beroe Stara Zagora 0–2 0–1 4th
Albania Vllaznia Shkodër 1–1 0–1
Romania Farul Constanța 1–2 1–3

UEFA Ranking history

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See also: UEFA coefficient
As of 2009
Season Rank Points Ref.
2002 157 Increase 15.362 [7]
2003 162 Decrease 15.495 [8]
2004 88 Increase 23.656 [9]
2005 94 Decrease 23.872 [10]
2006 106 Decrease 22.634 [11]
2007 106 Same position 21.791 [12]
2008 100 Increase 23.469 [13]
2009 171 Decrease 7.445 [14]

Players

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Current squad

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As of 28 August 2024[15][16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Turkey TUR Ebrar Aydın
2 FW Senegal SEN Moussa Djitté
4 DF Turkey TUR Abdullah Şahindere
5 MF Nigeria NGA Peter Etebo
6 MF Turkey TUR Rahman Buğra Çağıran
7 MF Turkey TUR Metehan Mimaroğlu
8 MF Turkey TUR Samed Onur
9 FW Mali MLI Mustapha Yatabaré
10 FW Turkey TUR Mete Kaan Demir (on loan from Eyüpspor)
11 FW Turkey TUR Çağrı Fedai (on loan from Fenerbahçe)
12 DF Turkey TUR Oğuzhan Berber
13 GK Turkey TUR Orkun Özdemir
14 MF Poland POL Michał Nalepa
15 DF Slovenia SVN Žan Žužek
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 DF Turkey TUR Yasin Güreler Captain
18 GK Turkey TUR Erhan Erentürk
19 FW Turkey TUR Gökhan Altıparmak
20 MF Turkey TUR Mikail Okyar
21 MF Sweden SWE Jimmy Durmaz
22 DF Turkey TUR Berat Can Sebat
23 MF Syria SYR Aias Aosman
24 DF Turkey TUR Alperen Babacan
53 DF Turkey TUR Taha Necati Atay
61 MF Turkey TUR Ensar Kemaloğlu
88 DF Turkey TUR Fıratcan Üzüm
89 FW Brazil BRA Amilton
90 DF Turkey TUR Sinan Osmanoğlu
91 FW Sweden SWE Elias Durmaz

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Turkey TUR Atalay Gökçe (at Karaman until 30 June 2025)
— DF Turkey TUR Arda Çağan Çelik (at Polatlı 1926 until 30 June 2025)
— DF Turkey TUR Musa Şahindere (at Sarıyer until 30 June 2025)
— MF Turkey TUR Eralp Aydın (at 24 Erzincanspor until 30 June 2025)
— FW Turkey TUR Arda Akgül (at Zonguldakspor until 30 June 2025)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW Turkey TUR Baran Başyiğit (at Polatlı 1926 until 30 June 2025)
— FW Turkey TUR Emirkan Demir (at Polatlı 1926 until 30 June 2025)
— FW Turkey TUR Kağan Özkan (at Düzcespor until 30 June 2025)
— FW Turkey TUR Arda Tuzcu (at Batman Petrolspor until 30 June 2025)

Most capped players

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Player Caps Period
1 Turkey Tevfik Kutlay 353 1959–72
2 Turkey Selçuk Çakmaklı 336 1959–72
3 Turkey Avni Okumuş 317 1983–93
4 Turkey Zeynel Soyuer 291 1959–71
5 Turkey Nihat Baştürk 279 1994–2005
6 Turkey Metin Diyadin 265 1988–98
7 Turkey Orhan Yüksel 235 1959–66
8 Turkey Mehmet Şimşek 228 1993–2001
9 Turkey İhsan Temen 219 1959-66
10 Turkey Okan Gedikali 207 1982–91

Source: Mackolik news site, in Turkish

Top goalscorers

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Player Goals (Caps) Period
1 Democratic Republic of the Congo Andre Kona N'Gole 72 (145) 1993–2001
2 Turkey Avni Okumuş 71 (317) 1983–1993
3 Turkey Orhan Yüksel 67 (235) 1959–1966
4 Turkey Ümit Karan 59 (150) 1996–2001
5 Guinea Souleymane Youla 57 (134) 2001–2005
6 Romania Bogdan Stancu 55 (139) 2013-2020
7 Turkey Abdullah Çevrim 50 (154) 1961–1966
8 Turkey Zeynel Soyuer 47 (291) 1959–1971
9 Turkey Tevfik Kutlay 46 (353) 1959–1972
10 Turkey Muammer Nurlu 44 (152) 1983–1989

Source: Mackolik news site, in Turkish

Former players

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See also: Category:Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers

Coaches

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Presidents

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Name Years
Münif Kemal Ak 1923–36
Saffet Gürol 1936–43
Namık Ambarlıoğlu 1943–44
Fevzi Magat 1944–46
Namık Katoğlu 1947–48
Yusuf Bahri 1948–49
Orhan Şeref Apak 1949–50
Reşat Taşer 1950–52
 
Name Years
Nuri Togay 1952–55
Mümtaz Tarhan 1955–57
Ahmet Salih Korur 1957–58
Orhan Şeref Apak 1958–61
Turhan Ogan 1961–63
İbrahim Sıtkı Hatipoğlu 1964–65
Muslihittin Yılmaz Mete 1965–66
İsmet Sezgin 1966–67
 
Name Years
Hadi Özbay 1967–68
Necip Türegen 1968–69
Mehmet Ali Tuzcuoğlu 1969–70
Adil Evrensel 1970–72
Sezai Diblan 1972–74
Hasan Şengel 1976–77
İlhan Cavcav 1977–2017
Murat Cavcav 2017–2021
Niyazi Akdaş 2021–

Source: Gençlerbirliği SK Official Website

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Club details tff.org. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Eryaman Stadı - Türkiye Stadyumları ve Stadyum Projeleri". 31 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Gençlerbirliği'nin Tarihçesi". gencler.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Turkey – List of Ankara League Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Turkey – List of Champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Genclerbirligi team profile Archived 17 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine turkish-football.com (English) accessed 27 January 2012
  7. ^ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2002". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ^ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2003". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  9. ^ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2004". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  10. ^ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2005". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  11. ^ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2006". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  12. ^ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2007". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  13. ^ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2008". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  14. ^ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2009". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Kulüp Bilgileri". TFF.
  16. ^ "A Takimi". Gençlerbirliği S.K.

Further reading

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  • Bora, Tanıl (2001). Ankara Rüzgarı. Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları ISBN-10 9753333935 (in Turkish)
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