Bursaspor shock Turkey's big three

Pretty much everyone expected a case of business as usual as the Turkish Super Lig went into its final weekend: Trabzonspor appeared set to remain the only club from outside Istanbul ever to win the national league in its current incarnation. Prior to Sunday’s showdown fixtures, Fenerbahce looked odds-on to maintain the city’s stranglehold on the title.


But 'The Green Crocodiles' from Marmara were to cause a major upset. Bursaspor, briefly top of the standings twice in the latter stages of the season, beat Besiktas 2-1 in a heart-stopping finale and leapfrogged Fener, who were held 1-1 at home by Trabzonspor. The north-western outfit thus claimed only their second-ever national trophy to go with the domestic cup in 1986.

It was also the first time since 1984 that a non-Istanbul based club took the top-flight honours. The big three from the Bosporus boast a total of 44 league titles between them, with a golden Trapzonspor generation providing an element of change on six occasions between 1976 and 1984.

"It's just unbelievable. Obviously, we clung to our hopes, but we’re actually champions now, and it’s fantastic," beamed Bursa boss Ertugrul Saglam in the immediate aftermath of his team’s triumph. Back in March, after watching his Kasimpasa side fall 2-0 to Bursaspor, coach Yilmaz Vural tipped the north-westerners for success. "They’re playing like potential champions," he said, drawing agreement from his director of sport Suha Sidal: "Hopefully Bursa will bring off the revolution."

However, what looks at first glance like the a revolution or shock appears less so on closer examination. The new champions were the league’s top scorers, ran up the most wins (jointly with Fenerbahce), boasted the best goal difference, and had the second-best defensive record. Crucially, they lost only five of their 34 matches, fewer than any other team.