The picture on the top was both familiar and not. Besiktas slipped to 5th place. They were entirely outside the championship race and not even competing for medals. Temporary weakness, but also telling – the provincial clubs were getting stronger.
Adanaspor (Adana) had a strong year. Not at the level of the best three, but better than Besiktas.
A good example of the new winds in Turkish football: sponsorship and dependable foreigners. Perovic was not a star in Yugoslavia, but still competent and reliable player. He was not elevating the club single-handed, but was a valuable addition with professional attitude. Adanaspor finished 4th, earning a place in the UEFA Cup. They were three points ahead of Besiktas. And most interestingly, they were not the only club from Adana excelling this season.
Galatasaray was third. With 38 points, they finished 3points ahead of Adanaspor, but also 3 points less from the silver medalists. Perhaps not the stronger season of the club, but they were failing either. Still, ‘Cimbom’ were not champions since 1973 – a rather long dry spell so far and as it turned out, there were many more years without a title ahead. This was the first season playing with sponsor’s name on the shirts and the it was Volvo – but the great name of the Swedish car makers did not help.
New winds – Volvo and foreigners. Bosko Kajganic, the goalkeeper of Crvena zvezda (Belgrade), born in 1949, arrived this season. He is considered the best goalkeeper Galatasaray ever had, but he died in tragic car accident at the end of the season.
His impact was great – here is his replacement Nihat Akbay playing with shirt displaying not Volvo, but the name of dead Yugoslavian. Meantime another Yugoslavian arrived – the 26-years old midfielder Esref Yasarevic from Sloboda (Tuzla).
Two clubs contested the title, chasing each other to the end. Trabzonspor clearly confirmed its addition to the big three of Turkish football, making them four. With a double the previous year, Trabzonspor wanted more. The title they lost by a single point, having the best defense in the league – they received only 16 goals in 30 games. They also won most matches – 18, but unfortunately lost 7. The same number as the Adanaspor, 4th, but 2 more than the record of Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. Their attack was second-best. Trabzonspor were clearly determined to stay on top – a provincial challenge to the status quo.
Standing from left: Mehmet, Şenol, Necati, Hüseyin, Güngör, Ahmet.
Crouching: Necdet, Turgay, Serdar, Yaşar, Orhan.
Successful season for Trabzonspor – second place was not a disappointment and there was still a trophy won.
Fenerbahce cliched the title by single point. 9th professional title for ‘Sari Kanaryalar’ (The Yellow Canaries) or 12th total.
Naturally, it was great to leave the arch-enemy Galatasaray in the dust, but now the real danger came from the Black Sea coast – Trabzonspor. Defeating the provincials was not easy. The duel lasted the whole season, but the Canaries were victorious at the end.
Like Galatasaray, Fenerbahce added new foreign players in 1977 – the rivalry continued in the recruit of new players: Galatasaray shopped from Crvena zvezda, Fenerbahce – from their bitter rivals Partizan (Belgrade). Cimbom bought a goalkeeper and so did Sari Kanaryalar: Radmilo Ivancevic, born 1950. Plus Radomir Antic, a defender born in 1948. Like their rivals, Fenerbahce did not buy really famous players – Ivancevic never played for Yugoslavia and Antic only once in 1973 – but solid and reliable ones. They helped, but did not stay long – Antic moved to Real Zaragoza (Spain) after the end of the season. Ivancevic returned to Yugoslavia a bit later and generally disappeared from sight. As for Antic, who would guess back in 1977 that he was to become a famous coach. Spells with both Barcelona and Real Madrid happen very rarely. But it was Turkish title in the spring of 1978.
One more look at the champions.