Decline of Eskisehirspor
One of Turkey’s most historic clubs are on the brink
Braian Samudio tried to swap his shirt with Bugra Cagliyan, but the Eskisehirspor player pushed him away.
Having lost 3-0 to Rizespor, the 16-year-old’s actions were not those of a petulant teenager. Nor was he concerned about coronavirus.
“When I saw the video, I thought he did it because he did not have another one”, says Arslan Kurt, an Eskisehir local.
After footage went viral, Eskisehirspor issued a statement asserting they did not have a shortage of shirts. A picture later emerged of Samudio with Bugra’s kit, but many remained unconvinced.
Eskisehirspor are currently in debt to the tune of 234 million Turkish Lira (around €26 million). Players have not been paid for several months. For a while the training ground had no hot water, while vehicles registered in the club’s name were recently revealed to have been bought from a scrapyard.
Their fall is not unique in Turkey. It features all the trademarks of the recent declines of Karabukspor, Mersin and Orduspor: years of financial mismanagement, underperforming foreign recruits and a lack of trust in academy players.
However, Eskisehirspor, founded in 1965, are one of Turkey’s most historic clubs. They were the first to challenge the dominance of Istanbul’s “Big Three”, finishing runners-up in the league three times between 1969 and 1972. They also won the Turkish Cup in 1971, and the following season knocked
Sevilla out of Europe. They are still one of only five clubs to finish in the top two on three occasions. In a country where footballing power is almost completely centralised in Istanbul, the side from Eskisehir are of great significance.
Or at least, they were.
Relegation in 1982 brought about the tumultuous existence the club has endured since. “ES-ES” fell as low as the third tier in the 1990s but recovered to qualify for Europe once again by 2012. What followed was a Europa League qualifier against Marseille, and narrow defeat to Galatasaray in the Turkish Cup final two years later.
Around this time was when problems began. Key players such as Alper Potuk, Erkan Zengin
and Veysel Sari were sold, with replacements disappointing. In 2015-16 Eskisehirspor brought in a remarkable 26 players – including former Celtic midfielder Nadir Ciftci and Greek international Theofanis Gekas – but were relegated from the Turkish Super Lig.
Many point the finger at former president Mesut Hoscan and his Once Guven group. Translating into English as “Trust First” – the slogan they used – this group was entrusted with campaigning for Hoscan. They are accused of money laundering and murky political ties.
“Trust First acted as if they had come to shut the club down”, says Murat Diri, leader of the Nefer ultras and Eskisehirspor Fans Union (ETB). “These people damaged Eskisehirspor. They robbed the club and left. Mesut Hoscan acted with them, he is the black stain of the club.”
Up to 20 players from Hoscan’s presidency have since filed claims against Eskisehirspor for unpaid wages. Ghanaian defender Jerry Akaminko is owed €1m alone. Meanwhile ex-Germany international David Odonkor wants €80,000, despite only spending two weeks at the club and never making a first-team appearance.
Ahead of the 2019-20 season, Eskisehirspor were deducted 15 points for various other financial irregularities. Last season they finished bottom of the second tier, only being spared the drop by COVID-19. At the time of writing, they have only won one league game out of 24 this term.
Epitomising their turmoil, in 2019 they went through four different presidents. The latest man to take the poisoned chalice is Mustafa Akgoren, the owner of an auto-brake shop.
He recently told a press conference: “We aspire to the mission to keep Eskisehirspor alive, to not close the club and save the honour of the city. We struggle day and night to pay for our expenses.”
Akgoren is supported by city governor Erol Ayyildiz. He has promised to fulfil a similar role as Kemal Unakitan, Turkey’s late finance minister, who greatly assisted in the club’s revival during the early 2000s.
However, today the club are under a two-window transfer ban, which was imposed last April as punishment for failure to pay another former player, Belgian goalkeeper Ruud Boffin.
Unable to recruit properly, this season Eskisehirspor have fielded a team with an average age of just 22. During the past six years the club have had 13 managers, with the latest, Ilhan Var, fired after just 88 days.
Akgoren and Ayyildiz do however represent a glimmer of hope for the future. Rumours abound the transfer ban is close to being paid off. The club’s 35,000-seater stadium, opened in 2016, is one of the most modern in Turkey. There are also great expectations for Bugra, the midfielder at the centre of the shirt storm, who is a Turkey Under-16 international.
“If Ayyildiz, who is our only hope, does not protect the team, we cannot live any longer,” Diri says. “But Eskisehirspor has been relegated many times before, we must not give up our fight.”
In a country where footballing power is almost completely centralised in Istanbul, the side from Eskisehir are of great significance. Or at least, they were