First Division. 19 teams played in it, the last two relegated to make the increase to 20 teams next season (three promoted from Second Division). Only one outsider, so the battle for survival at the bottom end of the table kept many teams on tip-toes. Four teams dominated the championship, but eventually the race for the title was reduced to two teams.
Diyarbakirspor was the weakest this championship – they got only 15 points, ended last and were relegated.
Antalyaspor did what they could, but eventually lost steam, finished 18th with 24 points and went down.
Bursaspor had a weak season – they were becoming something of unpredictable team, but escaped relegation. 17th with 28 points.
Kocaelispor bested only 3 teams, but in a way – not a bad season: they survived. 16th with 31 points.
Boluspor – nothing special as usual. 15th with 32 points.
Saryer – also with 32 points, but better goal-difference placed then ahead of Boluspor: 14th. They actually finished with positive goal-difference, something rare for a team near the bottom of a league.
Caykur Rizespor – 13th with 33 points, but having the worst negative goal-difference – if the relegated teams are omitted. Minus 20. Standing from left: Mehmet Ali, Sinan, İsa, Hasan Vezir, Gurgen Phall, K.Turgut
First row : Hakan, Muharrem, Metin, Tupayiç, Harun İlik.
Genclerbirligi – 12th with 33 points, but this was their best year in history.
Zonguldakspor – 11th with 33 points. Better goal-difference placed them ahead of Caykur Rizespor and Genclerbirligi.
MKE Ankaragucu – 10th with 34 points.
Eskisehirspor -9th with 34 points. Mid-table performance, but got one of 2 Turkish spots in the Balkans Cup as a Cup finalist.
Altay – 8th with 36 points.
Denizlispor – 7th with 36 points.
Malatyaspor – 6th with 39 points.
Fenerbahce – 5th with 39 points. Rather weak season – not even with a medal.
Trabzonspor – steady, not at all declining: 4th with 49 points – 10 points ahead of Fenerbahce! Standing from left: Şenol Ustaömer, Şenol Güneş, Hasan Vezir, İbrahim Yazıcı, Bahaddin Güneş Hamdi Zıvalıoğlu.
Crouching: Lemi Çelik, Hami Mandıralı, İskender Günen, Serdar Bali, Kemal Serdar.
Excellent season for Samsunspor – they clinched bronze medals, beating Trabzonspor on goal-difference. In fact, they had better goal-difference than the champions: +34 was second-best this championship.
Besiktas fought for the title, but at the end lost it by a single point. 2nd with 53 points, but the best scorers by far with 67 goals and with best goal-difference +41.
Galatasaray prevailed and won the title: 23 wins, 8 ties, and 5 losses gave them 54 points – one more than Besiktas’. 55-24 was not the best record at all – Besiktas and Samsunspor had better goal-difference, they also outscored Galatasaray, and Samsunspor and Trabzonspor had better defensive records, but who cares? Who cares when Galatasaray won the title? It was not shining and overwhelming victory and perhaps cherished better for that: Galatasaray did not win a championship since 1972-73! A long and bitter wait ended with dramatic victory over bitter rival Besiktas. And arch-enemy Fenerbahce nowhere to be seen. Thus, Galatasaray finally won its 7th title. May be not a great team – if taken in historic perspective – but one thing was already firmly established: no strong Turkish team was possible without foreign players. Yugoslavs were mainly imported at this time and one can say that Galatasaray had the upper hand precisely because they had better Yugoslavs (Simovic and Prekazi) than their rivals Besiktas (Jurkovic and Kovacevic) and Fenerbahce (Lukovcan and Pesic). Anyhow, finally Galatasaray returned to the top. They still were quite behind dreaded Fenerbahce, which had 11 titles so far, but came ahead of Trabzonspor (6 titles).