Trabzonspor Retains Coach Fatih Tekke After Europa League Exit
Trabzonspor have turned down head coach Fatih Tekke’s resignation after a bruising Europa League exit, insisting the decision was made in the heat of the moment.
The Turkish side, who stunned Europe by signing Mohamed Salah in the summer, were thrashed 4-0 by Ferencvaros in Hungary on Thursday night, losing their play-off 5-0 on aggregate. It was a humbling collapse for a team that finished third in the Super Lig last season and arrived in Europe with serious ambition.
Tekke offered to walk away in the aftermath of the defeat, rocked by the scale of the collapse. By Friday morning, though, the club had pushed back. In a statement, Trabzonspor said the 48-year-old’s resignation was driven by the “intense emotional impact” of the Europa League elimination and made clear they wanted him to stay.
So he stays. For now, at least.
Europa Conference League
Europa League dreams are over, but Europe is not. Trabzonspor will drop into the Europa Conference League this season and will discover their six league-phase opponents on Friday, a different stage but still a platform for a squad built to compete.
Summer Signings
And what a summer it has been in Trabzon.
The seven-time Turkish champions have raided the Premier League, bringing in title winners Salah and Fabinho to headline an aggressive recruitment drive. Andre Onana has also returned to the club on loan from Manchester United, adding further star power to a dressing room suddenly packed with big names and big expectations.
Salah’s move stunned the game. At 34, the Egypt forward chose Trabzonspor last month after mutually agreeing to terminate his Liverpool contract at the end of last season. He leaves Anfield as a modern great: the third-highest scorer in Liverpool’s history, with 257 goals in 442 appearances since arriving from Roma in 2017, behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.
He has wasted little time making his mark in Turkey. Salah scored his first two goals for Trabzonspor in a 2-1 win over Istanbul Basaksehir on Saturday, a glimpse of the cutting edge the club hope will define their season.
But that optimism met harsh reality in Budapest.
A 5-0 aggregate defeat is not the script anyone at Trabzonspor had in mind when they built a squad around Salah, Fabinho and Onana. Tekke’s instinct was to fall on his sword. The board’s response was to hand it back and tell him to fight.
Now the question is simple: with their coach retained, their pride wounded and their star signing already scoring, can this rebuilt Trabzonspor turn a European setback into the start of something more dangerous in the Conference League?
