This means men are banned from İstanbul’s Fiyapı İnönü Stadium on Sunday evening, when Beşiktaş entertains Trabzonspor in week 29, but women and children under 12 have been invited en masse to come and watch the match for free.
Trabzon and İstanbul may be 1,083 kilometers apart, but any match between Trabzonspor and the İstanbul “Big Three” -- Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş -- is called a “derby” by the local sports media, most probably because the Black Sea side used to be the only Anatolian team capable of taking the İstanbulites by the horns.
But the fact that Trabzonspor, aka the Black Sea Storm, last won the league championship in 1982-83 -- almost three decades ago -- raises more doubts about the wisdom of still referring to Trabzon-İstanbul encounters as derbies.
The Storm and the Black Eagles experienced contrasting fortunes last Thursday. Trabzonspor was ousted by Dutch giant PSV Eindhoven, while Beşiktaş sent Portuguese powerhouse SC Braga packing. The two teams, however, lost their week 28 matches in the Super League last Sunday. The Storm crashed 3-2 at home against newcomer Mersin İdman Yurdu and the Eagles were beaten by the score away by Galatasaray in an İstanbul derby.
The Storm has won one and drawn one in its last three matches and the Eagles also have a similar record.
Trabzonspor pulverized Gaziantepspor 4-0 at home in week 26, drew 3-3 on the road with Kayserispor in week 27 and lost 3-2 at home to Mersin in week 28 last Sunday. As for Carlos Carvalhal’s Eagles, they drew 1-1 away with Sivasspor in week 26, beat Gençlerbirliği 4-2 at home in week 27 and lost 3-2 away to Galatasaray in week 28. Sunday’s game is therefore of crucial importance to Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor, and no side can afford to lose.
Looking at this season’s report card, the Storm seems to have no chance on Sunday since it has not scored a single goal in the three matches against the “İstanbul Three” this season, let alone win. Şenol Güneş’s men were beaten 1-0 at home by Beşiktaş in week 12, crushed 3-0 at home by Galatasaray and went down 1-0 away to Fenerbahçe in week 16.
Portugal midfielder Manuel Fernandes, the best player on the Beşiktaş team, was suspended last week and the Eagles duly lost to Galatasaray in the İstanbul derby. And to prove how important this Fernandes is, he was voted the most popular figure in sports pages last month.
Fernandes will join the other members of the Beşiktaş “Portuguese gang” comprising playmaker Ricardo Quaresma, winger Simao Sabrosa and striker Hugo Almeida. But star-defender Egemen Korkmaz, who was acquired by Beşiktaş from Trabzonspor this season, limped off the pitch with a groin injury last Sunday and will be absent on Sunday.
Carvalhal, after losing with a last-gasp Galatasaray goal last Sunday, does not want to hear the word defeat again. “We will be playing Trabzonspor at İnönü [on Sunday] in front of our home fans and will therefore have to exploit our advantages to the barest minimum,” he underlined.
Coach Şenol Güneş and the Storm will be relying again on star striker Burak Yılmaz, who leads the goal-king race with 29 goals to his credit, to produce the goods against Beşiktaş.
If Burak can find his rhythm, the Storm may have a chance, but if he doesn’t, then Trabzonspor could be in serious trouble over 1,000 miles away from home.
Another upbeat star in the Trabzonspor team is midfielder Olcan Adın, who earned his maiden call-up for the senior Turkish national team against Slovakia in Bursa on Wednesday. Even though Turkey lost, former junior international Olcan has now become a household name in the land.
Güneş wants to do the talking on the pitch on Sunday, but Trabzon’s secretary-general, Hasan Yener, did the talking for him off the pitch. “We are going to İstanbul for victory,” he said. “Now that our energy will no longer be sapped in Europe, we will be focusing all our attention on the league. We definitely want to make the playoffs and will also take the Turkish Cup seriously,” he added.