Dogan's run

By Türker Tozar

The end, when it came, was almost an anticlimax. In this weekend's penultimate games of the Turkish season, Christoph Daum's Fenerbahçe SK took the title with a 4-0 win at Denizlispor after their nearest rivals, Trabzonspor, lost 4-2 at home against Galatasaray SK.

Brave finale
It was an untimely end to a brave battle by Trabzonspor, who had made a late bid for the championship despite being on to their third coach of the campaign. Samet Aybaba and Turgay Semercioglu had both left the club before Ziya Dogan took charge for the 20th game of the season.

Dismal start
Eliminated in the first round of the UEFA Cup in October by eventual semi-finalists Villarreal CF, Trabzonspor's season seemed to be over before it had begun. By February they had rallied to third place in the league, but were still 12 points behind reigning champions Besiktas JK.

Unlikely sprint
However, it was in February that their unlikely sprint for the title began. Dogan's men won eleven successive matches from 22 February - a run that only ended with defeat by Galatasaray - outstripping a wilting Besiktas to chase Fenerbahçe all the way to the finish line.

Dogan's run
Former Istanbulspor AS and Konyaspor coach Dogan showed his mettle last season by guiding Malatyaspor to the UEFA Cup, where they were knocked out on the silver goal rule by FC Basel 1893. At Trabzonspor, the 43-year-old instituted an attack-minded policy that has taken the club to the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round and won them the Turkish Cup.

Attacking formation
Dogan's 4-4-2 system is effectively a four-man attack with strikers Fatih Tekke and Mehmet Yilmaz being supported by Gökdeniz Karadeniz from the left wing and Ibrahim Yattara from the right. Wing backs Volkan Bekiroglu and Emrah Eren were also encouraged to attack as Trabzonspor went for broke.

Sparkling season
Gökdeniz, in particular, enjoyed a sparkling campaign with 14 goals, Fatih Tekke scored eleven, Mehmet Yilmaz was less prolific but equally spectacular while Guinean international Yattara was the 'king of the assist' with his deadly accurate balls from the wing.

Crucial players
Less celebrated but equally crucial were Hüseyin Çimsir, who established the link between midfield and defence, Belarussian Maxim Romaschenko, who provided creativity in midfield and defender Tolga Seyhan, a mid-season signing from Malatyaspor whose great displays earned him an international call-up.

Positive points
While the disappointment of falling short in the title race may still be clouding Trabzonspor's thinking, they will take plenty of positives into the final game of the season against Gençlerbirligi SK - the side they beat 4-0 in the Turkish Cup final on 5 May.

Coaching credo
"I am stubborn, ambitious and I have self-confidence," Dogan had said when he took up his post at the club in early February. "We are planning to do our best this season but our target for next season is to fight for the title."

Awesome prospect
Few expected them to come so close to winning the league or to claim a place in the Champions League. However, if Dogan's men can replicate the kind of form that they have shown in recent weeks, the title could be theirs for the taking next season.