MKE Ankaragücü
Full nameMakina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü Spor Kulübü
Short nameAG
Founded31 August 1910 as Turan Sanatkarangücü (113 years, 128 days old)
GroundEryaman Stadium
Capacity20,560
Presidentİsmail Mert Fırat
ManagerEmre Belözoğlu
LeagueSüper Lig
2022–23Süper Lig, 11th of 19
WebsiteClub website

MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈaŋkaɾaɟydʒy]), is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the closure of the Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium.[1]

The club's greatest domestic successes are the Turkish Football Championship title in 1949 and two Turkish Cups won in 1972 and 1981. They also won the second division on two occasions. Regionally, Ankaragücü have won six Ankara Football League titles.[2] The club have a rivalry with Gençlerbirliği.

Ankaragücü also operate cycling,[3] taekwondo, and women's volleyball departments. The women's volleyball team have competed in the Turkish Women's Volleyball League since the 2009–10 season.

History

Early years (1909–1959)

Ankaragücü are based in Ankara, but were founded in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul in 1904 as Altınörs İdman Yurdu. The club competed in the Istanbul Friday League. It is unclear as to the motive behind the uprooting of the Istanbul-based club to Ankara. Another theory is that the club splintered, with some players following Şükrü Abbas and others following Agah Orhan. Şükrü Abbas founded Turan Sanatkarangücü in 1910. In 1938, both clubs merged to form AS-FA Gücü. The club name was changed for one last time in 1948, with both sides settling on Ankaragücü.[4] Ankaragücü have won the former Turkish Football Championship in 1949, the greatest success in their history, and reached the third place before in 1924 under the name Anadolu Turan Sanatkarangücü.

Ankaragücü's classic home kit

1. Lig years and relegation (1959–1981)

The club were one of the original sixteen clubs in the 1959 Turkish National League.[5] They were admitted into the league after finishing second in the Ankara Professional League.[2] The club finished fifth in the Beyaz Grup (White Group) in the first season of the Milli Lig.[5]

Ankaragücü were relegated to the 2.Lig in 1967–68 after finishing second to last place. The club returned to the top league next season. Ankaragücü were again relegated in the 1975–76 season,[6] but promoted to the 1st League next season.[7] Ankaragücü was relegated for the third time in 1977–1978 season.[8]

Back to 1. Lig (1981–2012)

Ankaragücü returned to the 1st League in 1981 due to a political decision, towards which the FIFA was still powerless back then. The Turkish President Kenan Evren and Ankara governor Mustafa Gönül wanted a club from the capital in the 1. Lig and thus saw to that the club gained promotion despite only having finished second in the 2nd division, behind Sakaryaspor. Ankaragücü had won the Turkish Cup too.[9] Ankaragücü has played in the 1st League since then. The club was occasionally successful during the 1990s.

Under Ersun Yanal's managership, the club has seen two successful seasons, becoming sixth in the 2000–01 season and fourth in the 2001–02 season. After Ersun Yanal left the club, Ankaragücü found it in a struggle to be saved from relegation each year and were in full-blown and widespread disarray. The club managed to stay clear of relegation at the last few matches during these years. Consequently, a financial crisis hit the club during the late 2000s.

After the economic crisis, Ahmet Gökçek became the chairman replacing Cemal Aydın. He promised that the club would become a champion in upcoming years. He was formerly (informally) associated with Ankaraspor and TFF objected to the control of two clubs at the same time and relegated Ankaraspor. After the relegation of Ankaraspor, he merged the football squads of two teams, but he did not manage to form a squad that would win a championship.

The congress in which Ahmet Gökçek was elected annulled by Turkish court and Cengiz Topel Yıldırım returned to the chairman position. Due to the economic crisis, Cengiz Topel Yıldırım sold key players of the squad and the team was one of the weakest teams of Turkish Super League. Sami Altınyuva became the next chairman but did not solve the financial problems. Due to the ongoing financial crisis, many players left the club. Later, Bent Ahlat, Atilla Süslü and Mehmet Yiğiner became chairmen but the financial problems were not solved.

More relegations and promotions (2012-present)

Due to financial crisis, the club relegated from Süper Lig in the 2011–2012 season and from PTT 1. Lig in the 2012–2013 season. They returned to the TFF First League after being promoted from the third tier of Turkish football during the 2016–17 season. They got promoted back up to the Süper Lig the following season, where they currently remain.

Ankaragücü finished in the relegation zone in the 2019–2020 Süper Lig, but the Turkish Football Federation voided all relegation due to COVID-19.

On 11 December 2023, MKE Ankaragücü's club president Faruk Koca was arrested after he punched the referee, Halil Umut Meler, who was also kicked repeatedly whilst on the ground; fans also invaded the pitch following a late equaliser by the visiting team, Rizespor. All league football games were suspended in Turkey indefinitely after the incident.[10][11][12][13] The following day, 12 December 2023, Koca resigned as MKE Ankaragücü's club president.[14][15] On 13 December, Meler was discharged from hospital, and it was agreed that games would resume on 19 December 2023.[16][17][18] On 14 December, it was announced that Koca had been issued a permanent ban from football by the Turkish Football Federation, and that Ankaragücü had been fined ₺2 million and ordered to play their next five home games behind closed doors.[19]

Special relationship with Bursaspor

In the early 1990s Bursaspor's ultra group Teksas had a leader called Abdulkerim Bayraktar. He went to study in Ankara, and whilst in the city he started attending Ankaragücü games and started building ties between the two clubs.

However, in 1993, his life was cut short as during his military service he was killed. This tragic event bought Bursaspor and Ankaragücü even closer together. During the first game after his death, Bursaspor organized a tribute to him, the events which happened next cemented the brotherhood between these two teams. A large group of Ankaragücü supporters made their way onto the pitch and unveiled a large banner reading, 'Our brother Abdul will never die, he lives on in our hearts'. The two supporter groups united and hundreds of Ankaragücü ultras attended his funeral. From that day on Bursaspor supporters would chant Ankaragücü's name in the sixth minute of every home game, number six being significant due to it being Ankara's city code.

Ankaragücü supporters in return chant Bursaspor's name during the 16th minute, 16 being Bursa's city code. When the two sides play, the supporters sit together, which is one of the rare occasions in which ultras from opposing teams watch a game together in a mixed environment, they bring "Bursankara" scarfs (a merger of the two clubs names) to the games and create a fantastic atmosphere full of mutual respect.[20]

Stadium

The club currently plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium, opened in 2019. Ankaragücü's former home, the Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, was demolished in 2018. They also currently share the stadium with fellow-Ankara based club and rivals Gençlerbirliği.

Honours

National competitions

Regional competitions

European participations

As of 3 October 2002
Competition Pld W D L GF GA GD
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 6 0 1 5 1 13 –12
UEFA Cup 6 3 0 3 4 8 –4
UEFA Total 12 3 1 8 5 21 –16
Balkans Cup 4 2 1 1 3 1 +2
Overall Total 16 5 2 9 8 22 –14

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:

Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1972–73 1R England Leeds United 1–1 0–1 1–2
1973–74 1R Scotland Rangers 0–2 0–4 0–6
1981–82 1R Soviet Union SKA Rostov 0–2 0–3 0–5

UEFA Cup:

Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1999–2000 QR Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn 1–0 1–0 2–0
1R Spain Atlético Madrid 1–0 0–3 1–3
2002–03 1R Spain Alavés 1–2 0–3 1–5

Balkans Cup:

Season Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1984–85 QF Bulgaria Spartak Varna 2–0 0–0 2–0
SF Greece Iraklis 1–0 0–1 1–1(2–4 p)

UEFA Ranking history:

As of 2004
SeasonRankPointsRef.
1973204 Increase0.500[22]
1974203 Increase0.500[23]
1975203 Same position0.500[24]
1976201 Increase0.500[25]
1977200 Increase0.500[26]
2000152 Increase13.925[27]
2001133 Increase16.987[28]
2002143 Decrease16.362[29]
2003152 Decrease16.495[30]
2004155 Decrease12.656[31]

Players

Current squad

As of 15 September 2023[32]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Poland POL Rafał Gikiewicz
2 DF Turkey TUR Alperen Kuyubaşı
3 DF Turkey TUR Alper Uludağ
4 DF Turkey TUR Atakan Çankaya
5 DF Czech Republic CZE Matěj Hanousek
6 MF Turkey TUR Cem Türkmen
7 MF Greece GRE Anastasios Chatzigiovanis
8 MF Portugal POR Pedrinho
9 FW Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Riad Bajić
10 MF Germany GER Efkan Bekiroğlu
11 MF Cape Verde CPV Garry Rodrigues
16 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Andrej Đokanović
18 DF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Nihad Mujakić
20 MF Austria AUT Enes Tepecik
21 FW Kyrgyzstan KGZ Sirozhiddin Astanakulov
22 DF The Gambia GAM Ali Sowe (on loan from Rostov)
23 MF Turkey TUR Ali Kaan Güneren
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 DF France FRA Enock Kwateng
26 DF Serbia SRB Uroš Radaković
27 DF Turkey TUR Arda Ünyay
29 FW Jamaica JAM Renaldo Cephas
30 MF Turkey TUR Tolga Ciğerci (captain)
32 FW Italy ITA Federico Macheda
41 GK Turkey TUR Doğukan Kaya
45 DF Turkey TUR Mert Çetin (on loan from Verona)
70 DF Greece GRE Stelios Kitsiou
77 DF Turkey TUR Hayrullah Bilazer
80 MF Romania ROU Olimpiu Moruțan
94 FW Turkey TUR Arda Kumru
95 DF Turkey TUR Mert Can
96 DF Turkey TUR Yusuf Eren Göktaş
97 MF Turkey TUR Onur Efe Ekri
99 GK Turkey TUR Bahadır Han Güngördü

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Turkey TUR Atakan Dama (at Ankara Demirspor until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Senegal SEN Lamine Diack (at Nantes until 30 June 2024)
— FW Turkey TUR Mervan Yiğit (at Bandırmaspor until 30 June 2024)

See also

Club officials

Position Staff
ManagerTurkey Tolunay Kafkas
Assistant ManagerTurkey Ismail Serbest
First-Team CoachTurkey Emre Belözoğlu
Goalkeeper CoachTurkey Nihat Yüksel
Fitness CoachSpain Miguel Peiró
Turkey Mehmet Kale
Head of Academy CoachingTurkey Ümit Turmuş
Match AnalystTurkey Coskun Özdemir

References

  1. ↑ tff.org (in Turkish), accessed 23 May 2010
  2. 1 2 Sivritepe, Erdinç Before the Turkish Leagues – Ankara Archived 2010-02-18 at the Wayback Machine turkish-soccer.com. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  3. ↑ Ankaragücü Cycling Team in international area
  4. ↑ Tarihçe Archived 2010-07-23 at the Wayback Machine ankaragucu.org.tr (in Turkish), accessed 23 May 2010
  5. 1 2 1959 Milli Lig turkish-soccer.com. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  6. ↑ "1975–1976". Angelfire.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  7. ↑ "1976–1977". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  8. ↑ "1977–1978". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  9. ↑ 1980–1981 Türkiye 2. Ligi turkishsoccer.com, accessed 23 May 2010
  10. ↑ "Turkish football leagues suspended after attack on referee". Hurriyet Daily News. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "Turkish football club president arrested for punching referee on the field". Al Jazeera. 12 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Fraser, Suzan (12 December 2023). "Turkish club president arrested and league games suspended after referee is punched at match". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Turkey referee punched: Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca arrested after attack". BBC Sport. 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "Faruk Koca, Ankaragücü başkanlığından istifa etti - Sözcü Gazetesi". Sözcü (in Turkish). 2023-12-12. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  15. ↑ Fraser, Suzan (12 December 2023). "Turkish club president arrested and league games suspended after referee is punched at match". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  16. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/12/13/referee-attack-halit-umut-meler/3b0465b2-99b0-11ee-82d9-be1b5ea041ab_story.html
  17. ↑ "Turkish football referee discharged from hospital in wake of attack". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  18. ↑ "Turkish referee Halil Umut Meler leaves hospital after attack from Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca | Super Lig matches to resume on Tuesday". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  19. ↑ "Koca given permanent ban for referee punch". BBC Sport.
  20. ↑ www.turkish-football.com Archived 2011-10-17 at the Wayback Machine|
  21. ↑ The league was named 2. Lig until 2001. However, the 2. Lig today is the third division in the Turkish football league system.
  22. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 1973". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  23. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 1974". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  24. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 1975". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  25. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 1976". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  26. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 1977". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  27. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2000". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  28. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2001". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  29. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2002". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  30. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2003". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  31. ↑ Bert Kassies. "UEFA Team Ranking 2004". Xs4all.nl. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  32. ↑ "A TAKIM". Retrieved September 3, 2019.
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