Kardemir Karabükspor
Kardemir Demir Çelik Karabükspor or simply known as Kardemir Karabükspor or Karabükspor is a Turkish sports club based in Karabük. The team was founded in 1969 after a merger between "Karabük Gençlikspor" and "Demir Çelik Spor". The club has in branches in football, wheelchair basketball and volleyball. The nickname of the club is Mavi Ateş; Blue Flame. The nickname comes from unfading blue flame coming out of one of the chimneys of Kardemir iron-steel works which is located in the entrance of the city. As the factory gives its name to the club, the team is cited as a worker's team.[2]
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| Full name | Kardemir Demir Çelik Karabükspor | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Mavi Ateş (Blue Flame) | ||
| Founded | 1969 | ||
| Ground | Dr. Necmettin Şeyhoğlu Stadium, Karabük | ||
| Capacity | 11,378 | ||
| Chairman | Ziya Ünsal[1] | ||
| Manager | Ali Kemal Yılmaz | ||
| League | TFF Second League | ||
| 2019–20 | TFF Second League/Red, 18th | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History
Foundation and early history
In the year 1938, Azmi Tılabar, the head manager of the Turkish iron-steel industry, founded DÇ Gençlik Kulübü; DÇ Youth Club with grey-blue colours. In these times, the trainer of the football team was an English engineer Mr. Lain. The trainer of athletism was Turkish athlete Faik Önen. Moreover, Mersinli Ahmet and Yaşar Doğu were trainers of wrestling. During the 1940s, Karabükspor became a symbol in cycling, tennis and wrestling around Turkey. Starting in the 1950s, the "Karabük Gençlikspor" joined "DÇ Gençlik Kulübü" and finally, the club got its colours as red-blue.
The 1990s
In the last game of the 1993–94 season against Zeytinburnuspor, Karabükspor relegated from the Süper Lig. Karabükspor promoted to the top tier after winning the promotion play-off in the 1996–97 season. Karabükspor finished 8th in 1997–98. The next season, however, was disastrous for them as they again relegated to the second level. Karabükspor relocated to the Second League B Category in the 2001–02 season.
The 2000s
The team was promoted to the TFF First League in the 2007–08 season after a 7–0 win against Erzurumspor in the promotion group. On their 30th game of the 2009–10 season, they won 3–0 against Çaykur Rizespor which meant they were promoted to the Süper Lig after 11 years.
2017-18 Relegation
The 2017–18 Süper Lig season was a disaster for the club and resulted in their relegation. Erkan Sözeri resigned following poor early performances. On 1 October 2017 the club appointed Australian coach Tony Popovic to run the side. His stint in charge lasted 2 months, during which time the entire board quit the club. Popovic was replaced by Levent Açıkgöz, who was himself sacked on 21 March 2018 and replaced by Ünal_Karaman. The coaching changes, financial ruin and poor performances all contributed to the club finishing in last place with only three wins and three draws for the entire season.
Relegation Freefall
With no money and little in the way of talent to sell, the clubs precarious financial position required them to use low paid youth players and this saw Karabükspor suffer back to back relegations. They finished last in the 2018/19 TFF First League, winning no games, drawing only three and suffering a negative 102 goal difference. They finished the season with zero points after a 3 point administrative penalty was assessed on the club. They would have almost certainty been relegated from the 3rd tier TFF Second League in the 2019/20 season, however the Turkish government suspended all the leagues due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Relegations were postponed for a season. The respite is likely to be short lived, as the club remains anchored to the bottom of the league ladder part way through the 2020/21 season. Another relegation would push them down into the Turkish Regional Amateur League system.
Past seasons
Domestic results
Note: In the 2019/20 season all relegations were postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic causing the cancellation of the season, while promotions continued as normal. Additional relegation slots were added to the 2020-21 season to rebalance the size of the leagues for the 2021/22 season.
League participations
- Süper Lig: 1993–94, 1997–99, 2010–15, 2016–18
- TFF First League: 1972–73, 1974–83, 1984–93, 1994–97, 1999–01, 2008–10, 2015–16, 2018–19
- TFF Second League: 1969–72, 1973–74, 1983–84, 2001–08, 2019–
- Amateur Level: 1983–84
European record
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 3Q |  Rosenborg |
0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 (a) |
| PO |  Saint-Étienne |
1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1, 3–4 (pen.) | ||
- Notes
- 3Q: Third qualifying round
- PO: Play-off round
Supporters
The club are sponsored by the Kardemir company and the Iron workers unions from whom they draw a lot of their support, making it a club with true working class identity.[3] Their ultra group is called Mavi Ateş (Blue Flame) and their motto is, Dumanlı kentin puslu çocukları (Sons of the smoky city).[4]
Current sponsors
- Kardemir
- Çelik-iş Sendikası (Labor union of the workers in Kardemir Iron & Steel Works)
Players
Current squad
- As of 16 August 2018[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
- Africa
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- DR Congo
- Gabon
- Mali
- Nigeria
- Europe
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Montenegro
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- South America
- Argentina
Technical staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Levent Açıkgöz |
| Assistant Manager | Ilhan Özer |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Mehmet Varlıer |
| Fitness Coach | Burak Akalp |
| Fitness Coach | Yasin Kurt |
| Match Analyst | Eren Gürsoy |
| Director of Football | |
References
- (in Turkish) Club details
- "Soccer Vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics", PM Press, 2011, Gabriel Kuhn, p.172
- "Soccer Vs. the State: Tackling Football and Radical Politics", PM Press, 2011, Gabriel Kuhn, p.172
- "Karabükspor Profile". turkish-football.com. 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- http://www.kardemirkarabukspor.org.tr/t/a-takim