On the map,  I have included a photo of each club’s stadium.  If possible,  I selected an exterior shot of the stadium,  to give a view of the surroundings of each location.  Kayserispor’s Kaydar Has Stadyumu is brand new;  the photo I used is from last winter,  and shows the now-completed structure about three-quarters finished.  Here is a photo of the interior of the stadium {click here (TinyPic.com; photo by Serkam Erdogan)}.   The stadium will be one of the main assets in Turkey’s bid for hosting a European Championship in the future. 

Also on the map is a list of the largest cities in Turkey,  with population figures.  The cities with 2009-10 SuperLig representation are shown in bold, with the clubs’ crests displayed alongside.  Here is a forum thread with photos, ‘Stadiums in Turkey’ {click here (SkyscraperCity.com)}.   Here is an article from http://www.insidefutbol.com , ‘Turkish Super Lig Stadium Report’, by Volkan Agir, from October, 2008 {click here}.    This is a English-language blog on the Turkish Super Lig that I just found {click here (TurkeySuperLig.blogspot.com)}.

Below are two galleries.  The first shows the top Turkish internationals who are currently plying their trade in their homeland.

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The second gallery shows the young Turkish-born players most likely to be future stars.

Thanks to The Stadium Guide {click here}.   Thanks to World Stadiums site {click here}.   Thanks to www.flickr.com {click here (set at blackbir/dk’s photo of the Ataturk Olimpiyat Stadi)}.   Thanks to ImageShak.com {click here (set at photo, unattributed,  of Galatasaray’s Ali Sami Yen Stadyumu )}.   Thanks to www.panoramio.com .   Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org {click here (set at Super Lig 2009-10 page). 

Thanks to PC Lion FC blog {click here / translated, click here},  and Aceto Balsamico site {click here / translated, click here},  for the many links to posts of mine.   Thanks to Ugur at PCLion FC blog for help in selecting the lists of players in the two galleries.

Turkish Cup fixtures and results.  {Click here}.

2008-2009 Turkiye Kupasi page on Wikipedia  {Click here}.

Turkcell Super Lig table {Click here}. 

The 8 clubs still alive in the competition…

Ankaraspor. Relatively new club (est. 1978), with 5 seasons in the top flight.  No major titles,  but are currently 4th in the league.

Antalyaspor.  Classic yo-yo club, with 5 spells in top tier in last 36 years; 14 seasons in 1st division.  No major titles.

Besiktas.  One of the Big 3.  Founded in 1903,  Besiktas Jimnastik Kulübü are the oldest Turkish club (which was formed by Turks).  Their name is pronounced Be-shik-tash. Besiktas have been drawing very good crowds in the last few years (around 26,000 per game).  Nicknmed Kara Kartaller (the Black Eagles),  Besiktas have won 12 National Titles (their last in 2003),  and 7 Turkish Cups (last in 2007).

Bursaspor.  Bursa {see this} is the fourth largest city in Turkey,  known as Green Bursa for it’s many parks and gardens.  Bursaspor have the fourth biggest fan base in Turkey,  drawing around 16,000 per game.  40 seasons in the top flight.  Bursaspor won the 1986 Turkish Cup.

Denizlispor.  18 seasons in the first division.  No major titles.

Fenerbahce.  Founded in 1907,  Fenerbahce Spor Kulubu are located on the Asian side of the Bosporus Strait,  in the Kadikoy District of Istanbul  {see this}.  The name Fenerbahce means lighthouse garden,  and their crest features an oak acorn leaf.  Fenerbahce are tied with Galatasaray for the most championships.  The club has the highest average attendance in Turkey by far…around 39,000 last season,  making them the 34th highest-drawing club in Europe  {see this list from Wikipedia: Top average attendances of European Football Clubs}.   Fenerbahce have won 17 National Titles (their last in 2007),  and 4 Turkish Cups,  but none in half a century:  their last Cup win was in 1983.

Galatasaray.  Current league champions.  Formed in 1905,  by students at the elite Galatasaray Lycee,  in Istanbul.  This school was established,  as Galata Palace,  way back in the Middle Ages,  in 1481,  to train civil servants  (palace is Sarary in Turkish).  By the 1840’s,  the school bergan training Health Service personnel,  and by the 1870’s,  it expanded to include training for law,  literature,  and political science.  After the Turkish Republic was established,  under Kemal Ataturk,  circa 1923  {see Wikipedia’s page on Ataturk here},  the school changed it’s name to Galatasaray University,  and expanded it’s curriculum to encompass the ideals of the new Republic (ie,  goodbye Dark Ages,  hello democratic,  secular nation-state).  

Galatasaray SK are affectionately known as ’Cim-Bom’ (pronounced Jim-Bom;  the origins of the nickname are cloudy),  and are also nicknamed the Lions.   Galatasary will be moving into a giant new state-of-the-art stadium in late 2009  {see this (computer rendering of the new stadium);  see this (Wikipedia’s page on the under-construction Turk telecom Arena) }.   Galatasaray Spor Kulubu  have the most silverware of any Turkish club,  with 17 National Titles,  and  14 Turkish Cups (their last in 2005).   Official Galatasaray site,  {Click here}.  General Galatasaray information… http://www.cimbom.org/general/

Sivasspor.  Sivas is in the eastern part of the central Anatolian region {Click here,  for a random, but beautiful photo from the region (from Beth at Picasa) }.  Known as Yigidolar (Bravemen),  Sivasspor are in just their 4th season in the first division.  This is a club that really looks like it is going places.  Sivasspor finished fourth last season,  and they currently lead the league,  at exactly the halfway mark of the season.   A telling statistic is that versus the Big 3 last season,  Sivasspor managed only 3 points out of a possible 18;  but this season,  they have taken 7 points out 9 so far,  including a 2-0 win over Galatasaray on Saturday.  If Sivasspor do manage to hold the lead,  it would be a huge accomplishment,  as no club outside the Big-3-plus-Trabzonspor has ever won the Turkish crown.  Here is a write-up from a Fenerbahce blog, posted on Monday, 26th Januar …{Click here (Fenerbahce Worldwide.org) }.  Sivasspor’s leading scorer is Mehmet Yildiz.  Leading scorers in Turkey can be seen  {here (SoccerBot) }.  Here’s what my favorite Turkish player,  Villarreal’s Nihat Kahveci,  has to say about Sivasspor  {Click here (SABAH newspaper, English edition, from New Year’s day) }.   

Thanks to Ugur,  for information,  graphics,  and links,  at PCLion FC Blog {Click here}.   Thanks to David Goldblatt,  for his book “The Ball Is Round,  A Global History of Football“,  originally published in 2006,  by Penguin Books, Ltd.,  London.   Thanks to the Albiuon Road site,  for info I couldn’t find in other places  {Albion Road/ Turkish Super Lig:  Click here (the page features a nice Google Earth map of the clubs in the league}.   Thanks to the contibutor’s to the relevant pages at Wikipedia  {SuperLig page,  Click here}.

Teams play all four other teams in their group,  with the top two advancing to the 4th Round,  which is a standard knockout competition.

In this season’s 3rd Round,  there are 6 clubs from the lower leagues,  including 2 clubs that are in the 3rd Level (which is called the TFF Second League):  Tokatspor and Alanyaspor.  

Four clubs are from the the 2nd Level,  which is known as the TFF First League,  but is officially called the Bank Asya 1. Lig.    Altay SK of Izmir,  has won the Cup twice,  the last time in 1980. 

Here is Wikipedia’s page on the Turkiye Kupasi,  which includes a list of all the clubs that have won the Turkish Cup  {Click here}.

Cup holders are the central Anatolian club Kayserispor.  One interesting sub-plot in the Turkish Cup is the perennial failure of giants Fenerbahce to win the Cup,  for 25 years running.  In 2005,  Fenerbahce was demolished by Galataaray 5-1.  Fenerbahce then lost the next year to Besiktas,  3-2 in AET.   A Galatasaray supporter sent me this image of his fellow fans mocking Fenerbahce’s cup history,  the inference being that they haven’t won the Cup since the Stone Age  {see this}.

Thanks to the pclion fc site  {Click here},  for information and images.

Thanks to the Soccerway site for fixtures and results  {Click here}.

The Big 3 of Turkey are all clubs from Istanbul… 

Fenerbahce plays on the Asian side of the Bosporus Strait.  Their name means “lighthouse garden”.  The club draws extremely well (39,500 in ‘07),  and are a fixure in the Champions League.  Their manager , since 2006,  has been Brazilian great Zico.  In the 07/08 CL,  Fenerbahce finally advanced to the 2nd Round,  where they beat Sevilla;  they then lost to Chelsea in the Quarter-Finals.  {Click here, for Wikipedia’s page on Fenerbahce.}  

Galatasaray and Besiktas are both on the European side of the Bosporous.   Besiktas draws much higher than Galatasaray (in 06/07, Besiktas drew 26,200;  Galatasaray drew 16,300).   But Galatasary are the more successful club.  Their 17 titles equals Fenerbahce for the most in Turkey.   The only other club to win the crown is the Black Sea club Trabzonspor,  from northeast Anatolia.  But they last won the title in 1984. 

Below are two charts,  both originally from Wikipedia.  I added a column for the last year the club won the title.  I kept the clubs’ names in Wikipedia’s font,  so the ligatures could be seen in the letters in the names of clubs such as Fenerbahce, Besiktas, and Genclerbirgli  (my keyboard doesn’t have this capability). 

The winner of the Turkish Cup gets to play in the UEFA Cup 1st Round.   The cup final is a two-legged affair;  the 3rd round is grouped into a round-robin style.   

The 2008 Turkish Cup was won by the central Anatolian club Kayserispor.   They defeated Ankara-based Genclerbirgli on penalties, 11-10,  to win it.   [One note: In 1967,  Altay SK won the cup over Goztepe SK via a coin toss.]

Here is the Turkish Super Lig table {Click here (Soccer Stats site) }.

Here is a site called Turkey (Turkiye) football (soccer) Column and News {Click here}.   The Thursday, September 18 post covers the 4 Turkish clubs currently playing in Europe…Fenerbahce in the Champions League;  and Galatasaray,  Besiktas,  and Kayserispor in the UEFA Cup. 

Thanks to the site,  http://kizilyildiz.blogspot.com/,  which links up to this site.

Thanks to the European Football Statistics site {Click here}, for the attendance figures,  such as they are.  Hopefully, there will be some gate figures reported for this season,  so I can make a more up-to-date attendance map next spring.  

Turkey will now face Croatia, in a Quarter-Final match, on Friday 20th June, in Vienna, Austria.

The map includes the 12 largest cities in Turkey (500,000 population, or more).  {Click here, for the full list of Turkish cities (Mongabay site.) 

{Click here, for modern history/ demographics/info on the country of Turkey {CIA World Fact Book site}.}

Thanks to the UEFA site, for the Turkish Team kits.