Having qualified for the UEFA Youth League as champions of last season’s U19 Elite A League, Trabzonspor entered the tournament through the Domestic Champions Path. In the second round, they knocked out Montenegrin side Budućnost Podgorica with convincing 3–1 and 5–2 wins. In the third round, they faced Sarajevo from Bosnia and Herzegovina. After a 2–2 draw away, they routed their opponents 6–1 in Trabzon to advance. In the round of 32, Trabzonspor hosted Italian giants Juventus and came away with a 1–0 victory, earning a spot in the final 16. Next, they were drawn against another Italian side, Atalanta. The game at Şenol Güneş Sports Complex was decided by a penalty shootout, with Trabzonspor emerging victorious once again. In the quarterfinals, yet another Italian team awaited: Inter Milan. Trabzonspor hosted the game and won 1–0, securing a historic place in the semifinals. That game was attended by 40,368 fans—breaking the all-time UEFA Youth League attendance record. In the semis, Trabzonspor defeated Salzburg 2–1, becoming the first Turkish team to reach the final (see: https://www.tff.org/default.aspx?pageID=267&ftxtID=47396). In the final, however, they unfortunately lost 4–1 to Barcelona and finished as runners-up. Despite the loss, Trabzonspor earned widespread acclaim for knocking out several of Italy’s top clubs.
Was This Success a Coincidence?
Absolutely not. Since its founding, Trabzonspor has made major contributions to Turkish soccer. The club has consistently produced national team players and became a dominant force during a golden 10-year period from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s—winning 6 league titles and finishing second 3 times. And they’ve always remained competitive throughout their history. They’ve lifted the Turkish Cup and Super Cup on multiple occasions and most recently won the league title in the 2021–22 season. Since 1985, they’ve also finished as league runners-up five times—two of which, many argue (myself included), were lost under questionable circumstances.
Ultimately, Trabzonspor is the most successful club in Turkey outside the “Big Three” from Istanbul—Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Beşiktaş. It’s the only team that has consistently stood up to these giants. The club has become a symbol of resistance and relentless perseverance.
As someone with maternal roots in Trabzon, I find these qualities of Trabzonspor especially admirable. After Galatasaray, it’s the team I always support.
The Secret Behind Big Success on a Modest Budget
So how does Trabzonspor manage to achieve all this with a far more modest budget than the Big Three?
The answer is simple: their youth academy. In my opinion, Trabzonspor has the best youth development system in Turkey. The club consistently promotes players from its academy to the senior squad, drawing from various departments within its infrastructure. Occasionally, even foreign clubs—including those in Europe—sign players from Trabzonspor’s youth system.
Why is it that Trabzonspor can consistently develop young talent, while most other Turkish clubs can’t?
Key Factors Behind Trabzonspor’s Success
There are several reasons for this:
- As a city, Trabzon is deeply committed to sports—especially soccer.
- Trabzonites—and people from the Black Sea region in general—are genetically strong. They’ve lived for thousands of years in a challenging geography, surviving with traditional methods passed down through generations. The hardships they’ve endured have shaped them into resilient individuals with a natural aptitude for sports. As a result, Trabzon boasts a rich pool of athletic talent.
- Trabzon has long managed this human potential successfully, which has led to achievements in a variety of sports. These successes, in turn, attract promising young athletes with superior physical traits from across Turkey—especially from the Black Sea region.
- The people of Trabzon wholeheartedly support their athletes. From a young age, athletes are treated like superstars in the city and are showered with admiration and love. This kind of affection gives athletes—especially soccer players—a significant motivational boost.
- Players in Trabzonspor’s youth system know that even if they don’t make it to the senior squad, they can still play for many clubs in Turkey—or even abroad. This awareness fuels their confidence and drives them to keep working hard without interruption.
- Trabzonspor’s history lights the way for its future. The sheer number of successful athletes to have emerged from Trabzon’s youth system—and their achievements on both national and international stages—means that today’s youth have numerous role models to look up to. This boosts their self-confidence and helps them set clear goals for themselves.
- Most importantly, even during its weakest periods in the league, Trabzonspor has never abandoned the system that brought it success in the past. The club remains faithful to that model regardless of its position in the standings.
What Needs to Be Done Systematically
Speaking of systems, this is precisely where a philosophy emerges that all sports clubs in Turkey should take to heart. Here’s a list of what needs to be done:
1) First and foremost, identifying and recruiting young athletes with natural ability, physical strength, and an inclination for sports is absolutely essential. This requires the establishment of a professional scouting team that operates with complete objectivity. That team must function strictly based on merit. In other words, favoritism like “so-and-so’s kid” or “someone’s relative” has no place in the system. Only those who truly deserve to play in a given position should be recruited and developed in the academy.
After saying all that, let’s take a quick look at how Ajax—one of the world’s top youth academies in the Netherlands—recruits and integrates young talent into its system:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJCvA5_OgRh/?igsh=MTVqeG5yZTdlY2tvbQ%3D%3D
2) Once you’ve brought talented kids into the youth system, properly developing them is just as critical. This requires a comprehensive approach:
a) Kids need to be equipped with a solid technical foundation in soccer. They must be trained in game awareness, tactical understanding, and striking techniques—like crossing and shooting. These fundamentals should be drilled repeatedly until they’re second nature. With enough repetition, positioning, plays, and strikes will become automatic.
b) Their physical development is also essential. Training, nutrition, and sleep must all be managed under professional guidance to improve performance and ensure healthy growth.
c) These young players should also receive proper academic education. They need to attend quality schools, be exposed to different fields of learning, and ideally complete a university education. Every child should be fluent in at least one foreign language. Naturally, English should be the top priority from an international standpoint.
d) If the parents are involved in the process, they should also be educated—so they can better support and positively contribute to their children’s development.
3) Lastly, Facilities Are Critical
It’s essential to provide these young athletes with access to proper facilities where they can train, spend time, and develop both physically and mentally. This isn’t just about physical infrastructure—like soccer fields, locker rooms, or fitness centers. The professionals working in these environments must also be top-tier experts in their fields. Head coaches, trainers, strength and conditioning specialists, psychologists—all of them need to work together in perfect harmony with one shared goal: to help these kids reach their highest potential.
Success in Sports Elevates a Nation
In Germany, with a Turkish population of 3.5 million, dozens of players emerge each year who go on to achieve success on the international stage. In Turkey, by contrast, the numbers are significantly lower. Aside from clubs like Trabzonspor and Altınordu in the past, very few teams are doing meaningful work when it comes to developing young talent. Even the players that are developed often plateau at a certain age—they simply stop progressing.
If we want to break this cycle and achieve success in soccer and other sports, the suggestions I’ve outlined above need to be implemented. Lest we forget: sports are not just sports. They are also a reflection of a country’s level of development and a symbol of national stature. The countries that dominate in international sports are, for the most part, those with strong economies and high levels of prosperity. Sporting success also boosts morale and self-confidence across the entire nation.
My hope is that the steps I’ve emphasized here will be put into action—and that Turkey will become one of the world’s top 10 most successful countries in sports.
Tag: personal story
