Turkey. Ranked 25th by UEFA. 3 points for a win and the familiar clash between the 4 leading clubs. The 3-point system created division between the leaders. The top league was going to be reduced from 18 to 16 teams for the next season, so 5 were relegated and 3 promoted from Second Division, which still had 3 groups of 17 teams each. Turkish football was going up largely by having money and thus importing both players and coaches, some of them famous – even if getting old: all 4 leading clubs had foreign coaches from leading schools (West German, English, and Belgian) and among the imported players were Toni Schumacher (Fenerbahce), Jean-Marie Pfaff (Trabzonspor), Carlos (Malatyaspor), Simovic (Galatasaray) – goalkeepers were the greatest foreign stars and the mentioned quartet hardly requires any introduction – longtime national team members of West Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Yugoslavia, with World Cup finals and all kinds of other successes. Money was the key for going up, for sure and Turkish clubs were clearly going to the next step – from importing famous veterans to getting strong and famous stars in their best years. And along them, developing and, most importantly, keeping at home their own talent.
Second Division. 3 groups of 17 teams, the winners promoted and the last 3 in each group relegated. However, there was no intrigue – each group was dominated by a single team.
Group A.
Freshly relegated from First Division Caykur Rizepsor finished 3rd with 47 points. Not bad, but not a contender for promotion. Standing from left: Abdullah, Kemallettin, Memduh, İsmail, Tuncay, Adil. Front: Erol, Nuri, Metin, Turgut, Harun.
Bakirkoyspor was in excellent condition this season and dominated the league: they won it with 70 points from 21 wins, 7 ties, and 4 losses. Scored 74 goals, receiving 35, leaving second-placed Emlak Bankasi Eyupspor 18 points behind. Well deserved promotion.
Group B.
Kusadasispor ended 8th with 44 points. Neither they, nor anybody else managed to challenge the leader.
Aydinspor won the championship and promotion with 74 points after 22 wins, 8 ties, 2 losses, and 66-24 scoring record. The next team – Goztepe (Izmir) – was 11 points behind.
Group C.
A sample of the lower ends of Second Division football: Kahramanmarasspor barely escaped relegation – 14th with 40 points.
At the top end, Gaziantepspor had no rival – they left the nearest pursuer, Petrol Ofisi SK, 17 points behind, finishing with 69 points from 22 wins, 3 ties, and 7 losses. 60-32 scoring record and promoted to the top level.
A Football Blog