And then there was one

By Türker Tozar

The Turkish Super League stopped for its winter break in December to the sound of a door slamming shut on another foreign coach.

Exception to the rule
The sacking of Romanian Mihai Stoichita by MKE Ankaragücü meant that of the six imported coaches who started the season, only one, Besiktas JK's Mircea Lucescu, remained in his job. Lucescu is the exception to the rule in Turkey, having enjoyed a successful season so far with Besiktas, who retain hopes of success on three fronts: the league, Turkish Cup and UEFA Cup.

Faith short-lived
At the beginning of the season, Fenerbahçe SK, Besiktas, Ankaragücü, Samsunspor, Gaziantepspor and Altay GK had all put their faith in foreign coaches. First to go was the Yugoslavian Miodrag Jesic from Altay only two weeks after his appointment, claiming the board had refused to make the signings he requested.

UEFA Cup blow
Next was Werner Lorant, who resigned at Fenerbahçe in December after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of struggling Diyarbakirspor. The real reason for Lorant's departure was Fenerbahçe's elimination from the UEFA Cup, a tournament in which the Istanbul club had hoped to make a real impact. Fenerbahçe had made some big-money signings - notably Argentinian playmaker Ariel Ortega from CA River Plate - yet the second-round exit against Panathinaikos FC in November prompted severe criticism of the German.

Little patience
Turkish clubs tend to expect instant success and a run of bad results often leads to a change of coach. The Macedonian Giorgi Jovanovski was a victim of this principle after failing to lift Samsunspor away from the relegation zone, but clubs have no more patience for Turkish coaches. However, the subsequent departures of Stoichita from Ankaragücü and Gigi Multescu from Gaziantepsor as the winter break arrived were both unexpected.

Aiming for Europe
Gaziantepspor were in fifth place and on course for UEFA Cup qualification when Multescu resigned. Multescu's only setback had been their Turkish Cup elimination at the hands of Çaykur Rizespor, one of the strongest sides in the second division. In Stoichita's case, Ankaragücü were eighth in the standings but within reach of fifth place given their two games in hand. Europe remained a possibility for Ankaragücü but it seemed the board did not believe Stoichita could produce the run required to make this a reality.

Ghost of Yanal
One factor working against Stoichita was the success his predecessor, Ersun Yanal, has enjoyed since defecting to Ankaragücü's crosstown rivals, Gençlerbirligi, last summer. Yanal had raised expectations at Ankaragücü by earning them a UEFA Cup place last season and this term he has taken Gençlerbirligi to third in the table on the back of some exciting football.

Tradition of imports
Turkish football is well used to foreign coaches. The top clubs, in particular, have a long tradition of bringing people in from abroad: Jupp Derwall, Karl-Heinz Feldkamp and Graeme Souness at Galatasaray; Guus Hiddink, Josef Venglos, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Otto Baric and Zdenek Zeman at Fenerbahçe; and Gordon Milne, Christoph Daum, John Toshack, Hans-Peter Briegel and Nevio Scala at Besiktas.

Homegrown talent
However, Turkish clubs have begun to appreciate the virtues of homegrown coaching talent. Galatasaray's 2000 UEFA Cup victory under Fatih Terim can be counted as a turning point in this respect and when Senol Günes guided Turkey to third place in last summer's FIFA World Cup, he underlined the point.

Reflects trend
Reflecting the trend, Lorant's post at Fenerbahçe has gone to his Turkish assistant, Oguz Çetin, while Tevfik Lav has replaced Stoichita at Ankaragücü. At this rate, Lucescu could remain the only foreign coach in Turkey for some time.