After the resounding European collapse: Trabzonspor surprises its coach
There is no room for sentiment
Turkish club Trabzonspor, whose ranks include Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, failed to qualify for this season's Europa League following a heavy 4-0 defeat to Hungary's Ferencvaros in the second leg of the qualifiers for the league phase, on Thursday evening, after losing 1-0 at home in the first leg.
Coach Fatih Tekke tendered his resignation live on air after that heavy defeat, ending a tenure that had run since March 2025 and included a Turkish Cup triumph last season.
The club had other ideas. Despite the mauling and their drop into the Europa Conference League, Trabzonspor issued an official statement on Friday confirming that the board had rejected Tekke's resignation. They renewed their confidence in him and in his leadership from the dugout for Monday's top-flight clash against Umitspor.
Trabzonspor put the decision down to the "intense emotional pressure" that followed the heavy defeat in Budapest, where the Turkish side finished the match with only nine men after Ruslan Malinovskyi and Sydney Lopes Cabral were both sent off.
Speaking after the defeat, in remarks reported by the Turkish newspaper "Fanatik", Tekke said: "Bad luck and exceptional weather are things that can be accepted, but I cannot accept this performance. I cannot sleep with this feeling, and I ask everyone to forgive me. We gave it our all."
All this follows the club's signing of Salah on a two-year contract after his departure from Liverpool. Trabzonspor were busy this summer, bringing in Ukraine international Malinovskyi from Genoa and Cabral from Benfica, along with Brazilian Fabinho, the former Liverpool player, on a free transfer after leaving Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad.
Third place in the Turkish league last season, eight points behind champions Galatasaray, earned Trabzonspor their spot in the Europa League qualifiers before they lifted the Turkish Cup. The club boast seven domestic league titles, the most recent coming in the 2021-2022 season.
