Ankaragücü
Encyclopedia
MKE Ankaragücü (ˈankaɾaɟydʒy; full name Makina Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü) is a professional Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 football club located in the city of Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

. The club wears a yellow and navy kit and play their home matches at Ankara 19 Mayis
Ankara 19 Mayis Stadium
Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium is the home venue for three of Ankara's Süper Lig football clubs: Ankaragücü, Gençlerbirliği and Hacettepe. It was built in 1935 and is part of the 19 Mayıs Sports Complex, which is located in the Ulus district. The stadium has a capacity of 19,209...

.

The clubs greatest domestic success were two Türkiye Kupası trophies in 1972 and 1981. They also won the second division on two occasions. Amateur-wise, the club won five Ankara Football League
Ankara Football League
Ankara Football League was founded as regional league for Ankara based clubs in 1922.The name of the league changed later and became Ankara Professional Football League in 1954-55 season.Gençlerbirliği hold the record with 10 titles.-Champions:...

 titles. The club has a rivalry with Gençlerbirliği
Gençlerbirligi
Gençlerbirliği Spor Kulübü is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Ankara, which is the capital of Turkey. Formed in 1923, Gençlerbirliği are nicknamed Ankara Rüzgârı . The club colours are black and red. They play their home matches at Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium.Domestically,...

.

Ankaragücü also operates cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

, taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...

 and women's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

 branches. The women's volleyball team have competed in the Turkish Women's Volleyball League
Turkish Women's Volleyball League
The Turkish Women's Volleyball League , is the highest professional women's volleyball league in Turkey. It is run by the Turkish Volleyball Federation...

 since the 2009–10 season.

Early years (1909–1959)

Ankaragücü is based in Ankara, but was originally founded in Zeytinburnu
Zeytinburnu
Zeytinburnu is a working class neighbourhood, municipality and district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, on the shore of the Marmara Sea just outside the walls of the ancient city, beyond the fortress of Yedikule...

, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 in 1904 as Altin Örs Idman Yurdu. The club competed in the Istanbul Friday League
Istanbul Friday League
The Istanbul Friday League was founded in 1912, and replaced the Istanbul Sunday League in 1915. Seven clubs took part in the league when it was first found in 1912: Anadoluspor, Darülfünun, Terbiye-i Bedeniye, Türk İdman Ocağı, Mümaresatı Bedeniye, Şehremini, and Fenerbahçe S.K.-Champions:-Past...

. It is unclear as to the motive behind the uprooting of the Istanbul based club to Ankara. However, two separate theories are accepted by the club. The first theory entails that the club moved from Istanbul to Ankara because of the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

 (1919–1923).

Another theory is that the club splintered, with some players following Şükrü Abbas and others following Agah Orhan. Şükrü Abbas founded Turan Sanatkaragücü 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.

1. Lig Years and Relegation (1959–1981)

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

Ankaragücü were relegated to the 2.Lig
TFF First League
The TFF First League is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2000 after it was separated from the Turkish Second League Category B during reorganizing Second League, who was second level of Turkish league between 1963–2001...

 in 1967–68 after finishing second to last place. The club returned to the top league next season. Ankaragücü was again relegated in 1975–1976 season, but promoted to the 1st League next season. Ankaragücü was relegated for the third time in 1977–1978 season.

Back to 1. Lig (1981–2000)

Ankaragücü returned to the 1st League in 1981; Turkish president Kenan Evren
Kenan Evren
Ahmet Kenan Evren was the seventh President of Turkey; a post he assumed by leading the 1980 military coup. He was also the last president to be born in the Ottoman Empire.- Biography :...

 and the Ankara governor Mustafa Gonul changed the status of the league so that the club gained promotion to the 1. Lig, after winning Turkish Cup, despite having placed second to Sakaryaspor
Sakaryaspor
Sakaryaspor is a Turkish football club, formed in 1965 after the merger Yıldırımspor, Idmanyurdu, Güneşspor and Ada Gençlik....

 in the second league. Ankaragücü has played in the 1st League since then. The club was occasionally successful during the 1990s.

Ersun Yanal Period (2000–2002)

Under Ersun Yanal
Ersun Yanal
Ersun Yanal is a Turkish football coach and former coach of the Turkish national football team.-Early years:...

's managership, the club has seen two successive seasons, becoming 6th in the 2000–2001 season and 4th in the 2001–2002 season.

The Disarray Years (2002–2009)

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 dissa. The club luckily managed to stay clear of relegation at the last few matches during these years. Consequently, a financial crisis hit the club during late 2000s.

Ahmet Gökçek's Presidency (2009–2011)

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.

Crisis (2011)

The congress in which Ahmet Gökçek was elected annulled by Turkish court and Cengiz Topel Yıldırım returned to the chairman position. Due to economic crisis, Cengiz Topel Yıldırım sold key players of the squad and the team is one of the weakest teams of Turkish Super Leauge.

Special relationship with Bursaspor

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

In 1993 however, his life was cut short, during his military service he was martyred by terrorists. 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 Ankaragucu ultras attended his funeral. From that day on Bursaspor supporters would chant Ankaragucu's name in the 6th minute of every home game, 6 being significant due to 6 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, its one of the rare occasions in which ultra 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.

Stadium

The club currently play their home matches at Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium. The stadium is shared with fellow-Ankara based clubs and rivals Gençlerbirliği
Gençlerbirligi
Gençlerbirliği Spor Kulübü is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Ankara, which is the capital of Turkey. Formed in 1923, Gençlerbirliği are nicknamed Ankara Rüzgârı . The club colours are black and red. They play their home matches at Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium.Domestically,...

. The stadium has a fully seated capacity of 19,209.

European participations

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...

:
Season Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1972–73 1R   Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

1–1 0–1 1–2
1973–74 1R   Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

0–2 0–4 0–6
1981–82 1R   SKA Rostov
FC SKA Rostov-on-Don
FC SKA Rostov-on-Don is a Russian association football club based in Rostov-on-Don. The club's rich history includes becoming runners-up of the Soviet Top League in 1966 and winning the Soviet Cup in 1981.-History:...

0–2 0–3 0–5


UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League:
Season Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1999–2000 QR   B36 Tórshavn
B36 Tórshavn
B36 Tórshavn or F.C. Tórshavn is a Faroese football club, based in the capital, Tórshavn...

1–0 1–0 2–0
1R   Atlético Madrid 1–0 0–3 1–3
2002–03 1R   Alavés
Deportivo Alavés
Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D., usually abbreviated to Alavés, is a Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque Country. Founded in 1921, it plays in Segunda División B, holding home matches at the 19,500-seater Estadio Mendizorrotza....

1–2 0–3 1–5

Current squad

As of 23 January 2011.

Honours

  • Türkiye Kupası:
    • Winners (2): 1972, 1981
    • Runners-up (3): 1973, 1982, 1991
  • 2.Lig
    TFF First League
    The TFF First League is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2000 after it was separated from the Turkish Second League Category B during reorganizing Second League, who was second level of Turkish league between 1963–2001...

    :
    • Winners (2): 1969, 1977
  • Turkish Football Championship
    Turkish Football Championship
    The Amatör Futbol Şampiyonası was an inter-city football championship between teams from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir in Turkey. It was created by Türkiye İdman Cemiyetleri İttifakı in 1924. The first competition was in 1924 but was held for the following two years. Then the competition was not held...

    :
    • Winners (1): 1949
  • Ankara Football League
    Ankara Football League
    Ankara Football League was founded as regional league for Ankara based clubs in 1922.The name of the league changed later and became Ankara Professional Football League in 1954-55 season.Gençlerbirliği hold the record with 10 titles.-Champions:...

    :
    • Winners (5): 1935–36, 1936–37, 1951–52, 1955–56, 1956–57
    • Runners-up (4): 1938–39, 1943–44, 1954–55, 1958–59

External links

English Ankaragücü and Turkish news site | Ankaragücü's official web site
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