Akhisar Belediyespor

Akhisar Belediye Gençlik ve Spor Kulübü (Akhisar Municipality Youth and Sports Club), commonly known as Akhisar Belediyespor or Akhisarspor, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Akhisar.[1] Formed in 1970, Akhisarspor are nicknamed Akigo.[2] The club has a fierce rivalry with Turgutluspor and Manisaspor.

Akhisar Belediyespor
Full nameAkhisar Belediye Gençlik ve Spor Kulübü
Nickname(s)Akigo
Short nameAksihar B.G.S.
Founded8 April 1970 (1970-04-08)
GroundSpor Toto Akhisar Stadium
Capacity12,139
PresidentFatih Karabulut
ManagerYılmaz Vural
LeagueTFF First League
2018–19Süper Lig, 18th (relegated)
WebsiteClub website
Active departments of
Akhisar Belediyespor
Football Basketball Taekwondo
Wrestling

Akhisar Belediyespor had their first major success in 2012 when they won the TFF First League and as a result were promoted to the Süper Lig. On 10 May 2018, Akhisarspor won their first professional trophy, the 2017–18 Turkish Cup.[3] On 5 August 2018, they won the Turkish Super Cup by beating Galatasaray on penalties.

History

Akhisar Belediyespor was founded in 1970 by the merger of three football teams, Güneşspor, Gençlikspor and Doğanspor in Manisa. Yılmaz Atabarut was the founder and the first president of Akhisar Belediyespor.

The club competed in the Turkish regional amateur series until 1984, when it was promoted to the TFF Third League, the fourth level in the Turkish football league system. Ten years later, in 1994, they were relegated back to the regional amateur league for one season.

In 1995, Akhisar Belediyespor was promoted back to the third league. In the 2000–2001 season, they advanced to the TFF Second League and after nine years there, they were promoted to the TFF First League. They became the champion of the league in their second season which brought them to the highest level of Turkish football, the Süper Lig.

In 2012, Akhisar Belediyespor brought in Bruno Mezenga, Çağdaş Atan and Ibrahima Sonko to strengthen their squad. In January 2013, they signed Greek striker Theofanis "Fanis" Gekas who went on to score 12 goals for the remainder of the 2012–13 season, and assisted in the effort to keep the club in the division. Akhisar Belediyespor ended on a 14th place in the Süper Lig.

In the 2016–17 season, Akhisarspor finished in 7th place on the table, which is the highest position they've been in throughout their history.

On 10 May 2018, Akhisarspor won the Turkish Cup, their first title in their history. This qualified them to the UEFA Europa League for the first time.[4]

Stadium
Main articles: Akhisar Şehir Stadium, Manisa 19 Mayıs Stadium, and Spor Toto Akhisar Stadium

Akhisar Belediyespor played at the Akhisar Şehir Stadium before being promoted to the Süper Lig in 2012. However, the Akhisar Şehir Stadium was not fit for the standards of the league. Consequently, the club had to ground-share with Manisaspor and use the Manisa 19 Mayis Stadium from 2012 to 2017. The stadium was officially opened in 1974 and was renovated in 2008.

In 2014, the construction of Akhisar Belediyespor's new and very own stadium was started. It is called the Spor Toto Akhisar Stadium, and is located in Akhisar.[5][6]

Stadium history
# Stadium Years Capacity
1 Akhisar Şehir Stadium 1970–2012 5,000
2 Manisa 19 Mayıs Stadium 2012–2017 16,597
3 Spor Toto Akhisar Stadium 2018–present 12,139

Colours and Crest
Akhisar's original home colours.

Colours

The official colours of Akhisar Belediyespor are green and black, but the team also use the yellow colour. These three colours represent Güneşspor, Gençlikspor and Doğanspor, respectively. As a fourth colour, the club uses white. Nike has been the kit manufacturer of the team since 2012.

Crest

On the crest of the team you can again find the three colours of Akhisar Belediyespor. On the crest you can see a ball with wings. The ball is white coloured and the wings are yellow coloured. Above and under the ball you can read the words 'Akhisar' in green and 'Belediyespor' with a black background. Under Belediyespor, we can read 'Gençlik ve Spor Kulübü' and '1970' also in black.

League Participations

Recent seasons
Season League Cup Super Cup Europe
Division Pos Pld W D L GF GA Pts Competition Round
2007–08 3. Lig 2nd 3217105 452461
2008–09 2. Lig 5th 36101610 627046 First round
2009–10 2. Lig 2nd 3621105 643273
2010–11 1. Lig 14th 328915 273933 First round
2011–12 1. Lig 1st 3417125 462863 Third round
2012–13 Süper Lig 14th 3411914 364442 Third round
2013–14 Süper Lig 10th 3412814 445544 Group stage
2014–15 Süper Lig 12th 3491114 415138 Group stage
2015–16 Super Lig 8th 34111310 424146 Quarter-finals
2016–17 Süper Lig 7th 3414614 464248 Quarter-finals
2017–18 Süper Lig 11th 3411914 445342 Winners
2018–19 Süper Lig 18th 346919 335427 Runners-up Winners Europa League Group stage

Honours

Domestic

League

Cups

European record
As of 13 December 2018
CompetitionPWDLGFGAGD
UEFA Europa League 6015414–10
Total 6 0 1 5 4 14 –10

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goals difference.

List of matches

Note: Akhisar score always listed first.

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Agg.
2018–19 UEFA Europa League GS Sevilla 2–3 0–6 4th out of 4
Krasnodar 0–1 1–2
Standard Liège 0–0 1–2

Players

Current squad
As of 21 August 2019[7]

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

No. Position Player
1 GK Milan Lukač
2 DF Avdija Vršajević
3 DF Edin Cocalić
4 MF Rajko Rotman
5 MF Eray Ataseven
6 MF Aykut Çeviker
7 DF Musa Nizam
8 MF Eray Ataseven
9 FW Ergin Keleş
10 MF Çekdar Orhan
11 FW Onur Ayık
14 DF Tolga Ünlü
17 MF Onurcan Güler
No. Position Player
18 FW Irfan Hadžić
19 FW Bertug Bayar
20 DF Alperen Babacan
21 MF Burhan Eser
22 DF Uğur Arslan Kuru
24 MF Muhammet Reis
37 FW Sokol Cikalleshi
45 GK Gökhan Değirmenci
61 DF Kadir Keleş
66 MF Ali Kaan Güneren
87 MF Elmar Bjarnason
89 MF Erhan Çelenk
99 GK Halil Yeral

Personnel
As of 29 January 2020[8]
Position Staff
Manager Yılmaz Vural
Assistant Recep Umut
Assistant Ülken Durak
Assistant Toprak Kırtoğlu
Goalkeeping coach Metin Akçevre

Notable managers
Main article: List of Akhisar Belediyespor managers
Okan Buruk won the 2017–18 Turkish Cup with Akhisar Belediyespor.
Dates Name Honours
2011–2014 Hamza Hamzaoğlu 2011–12 TFF First League
2017–2018 Okan Buruk 2017–18 Turkish Cup
2018 Safet Sušić 2018 Turkish Super Cup

References
  1. AKHİSAR BELEDİYE GENÇLİK VE SPOR tff.org (in Turkish), accessed 23 June 2010
  2. Tarihçe Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine akhisarspor.com (in Turkish), accessed 23 June 2010
  3. "Kupa tarihinin 15. şampiyonu oldu!".
  4. sitesi, milliyet.com.tr Türkiye'nin lider haber. "Teleset Mobilya Akhisarspor - Fenerbahçe: 3-2 (İşte maçın özeti)".
  5. "Akhisar Belediyespor'un stad ihalesi tarihi". Fotospor.com.
  6. http://stadimiz.com/manisa-akhisar-yeni-stadyum-insaati/
  7. "A Takım". Akhisarspor. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  8. Telmag. "Akhisar Belediyespor". www.akhisarspor.com.tr. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
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