After just three months managing in Sweden, Trebor Mahtal’s stock was apparently on the rise as third-tier Turkish club Ískenderunspor lured him to the far east of Europe. The Zambian manager enjoyed a 16-fold wage increase as his new side paid him a relatively princely £250 a week.
Who Are Ískenderunspor?
İskenderunspor Sportif Faaliyetler Anonim Şirketi is a professional football club based in the city of Ískenderun in the Hatay Province in southern Turkey. Ískenderun was originally named Alexandria to commemorate the city’s founder Alexander the Great’s victory over Darius III in 333 BC. It was also heavily damaged by earthquakes and subsequent aftershocks in February 2023.
Ískenderunspor was founded in 1978 but lingered in amateur leagues until gaining promotion to the fourth-tier TFF Third League in 2014. It then enjoyed a takeover in 2021, which saw a restructuring before gaining promotion to the third-tier two-division TFF Second League, in which it competes in the 2. Lig Kirmizi Group.
The club offers slightly improved facilities with 6 youth facilities, 5 junior coaching, 3 training facilities and 1 youth recruitment, with a 2-star National reputation. And it plays at the 12,390-capacity all-seater Ískenderun 5 Temmuz Stadyumu. But Mahtal walks into another potential relegation fight as, nine games into their 36-game season, Ískenderunspor are three points clear of the relegation zone in 12th place. However, the media have tipped them to finish 7th.
Player-wise, Ískenderunspor looked like a significant step up. The best player for Mahtal to hang his hopes is midfielder Abdurrahman Canli. There’s also centre back Ali Keten, midfielders Muhammad Demirci and Göktan Isilak, centre back Kutay Yokuslu, goalkeeper Ömercan Avci and striker Ahmet Sivri. Having assessed the players available, Mahtal opted for a narrow 4-4-2 diamond.
Straight Into Turkish Football
Mahtal was thrown straight into the thick of things as his first game at Ískenderunspor was on the same evening he was hired! And his first impression of Turkish football was… violence. Midfielder Ender Aygören came flying through the back of his opponent to get sent off for a shocking challenge after 16 minutes. But Mahtal stayed on the front foot and his team rewarded him as Demirci’s penalty and a Ahmet strike earned a crucial 2-0 win over Isparta 32 Spor.
That was followed by a crazy game at Denizlispor in which they shared 36 shots and eight goals thanks to 36-year-old striker Ergin Keles’ injury-time header earning Ískenderunspor a point. Another lively game saw 30 shots and an impressive comeback as striker Hamza Kücükköylü earned a 3-2 victory at home to 8th-place 24Erzincanspor. But a far calmer game saw them go to Etimesegut and win 1-0 through substitute Ergin’s late header.
Mahtal’s impressive start continued with two more 2-0 wins over Arnavutkÿ Bld and Düzcespor to move into the top six. And they stayed there heading into a winter break at the halfway point of the season.
2024 began with midfielder Bertul Kocabas’ powerful strike nicking a 2-1 at Inegölspor before Ahmet bagged back-to-back braces in a 4-3 win over Menemen and a 3-1 win at bottom-side Usakspor. That took Ískenderunspor all the way up to 2nd ahead of a huge game against leaders Amed Sportif. Ískenderunspor came out flying as Ahmet scored again before his strike partner Hamza doubled the lead. The visitors scored their first shot but Ahmet restored the two-goal lead, and Mahtal killed the game after the break for a huge victory. Ískenderunspor were suddenly in a title fight!
Title Race Heats Up
A 2-2 at 3rd-place Igdir while Sportif drew with Denizlispor saw the top five separated by just three points after 24 games. And a 2-0 win at home to 9th-place Sariyer took Ískenderunspor top of the league for the first time. The leading pack jumped around over the next few games but a 1-0 loss at 24Erzincanspor dropped them to third and maintained the three-point gap between the top five with six games remaining.
Ískenderunspor lost both starting strikers to injury but old man Ergin bagged a brace and laid on 21-year-old Yigit Deniz’s first senior goal in a 4-0 thrashing of Etimesgut. And with four games to go, they trailed Igdir on goal difference with Ameda point back and Menemen and Karaman in striking distance.
Game 1 – Düzce Cam Düzcespor (8th, home): Ískenderunspor began the run-in well with a dominant performance as a rare Göktan goal and Demirci’s penalty sealed a 2-1 victory. Igdir won 3-0, Amed beat Menemen 4-2 and Karaman won 2-0.
Game 2 – Fethiyespor (15th, away): A less comfortable game saw the hosts go in front after nine minutes with a nonsense penalty. But Ískenderunspor dominated the play and another Ergin brace sealed a huge comeback win. And that saw a huge shift in their favour as Igdir lost 2-0 at Mememen, Amed drew 2-2 at 18th-place Usakspor and Karaman lost 3-2 at Derincespor.
Game 3 – GMG Kastamonuspor (8th, home): Those slip-ups meant Ískenderunspor could technically win the league with a victory if Igdir slipped up in their games in hand. They started brightly, took advantage as Ahmet won a dubious penalty that Demirci cheekily panenka’d, and totally bossed the first half with 14 shots to one. They were wasteful but eventually made a chance count as Yigit swept home to secure a 2-0 win. Igdir also won, which meant the final day would be a battle between the top two.
Game 4 – 68 Aksaray Bld. (13th, away): Ískenderunspor only needed a point to lift the title. But Igdir had a much better goal difference so could nick it if they won at Amed. A very cagey affair saw nothing happen until Ergin headed home after 34 minutes, but they imploded to allow Aksaray to score their first two attacks. It got even worse as they conceded a penalty on 70 minutes and Amed missed a penalty, before Demirci grabbed a penalty of his own. They couldn’t get an equaliser so all eyes turned to Igdir’s game… and they bottled it too!
Ískenderunspor won TFF 2. Lig Kirmizi Grup!
Ískenderunspor won the title by 2 points, finishing on 75 points after 23 wins, 6 draws and 7 defeats, scoring 71 and conceding 42.
Celebrating An Unexpected Promotion
In 10 months of management, Mahtal had led VMA IK to the brink of survival then spearheaded Ískenderunspor’s promotion to the second tier of Turkish football. He also secured his National B licence and just started studying towards his National A licence, so he was definitely a manager on the up.
The excellent Demirci led the way with a club-high 19 goals and 9 assists from his position behind the strikers. Goals-wise, he was followed by strikers Ahmet (15), Hamza (14) and Ergin (9) while Göktan and left back Cagtay Kurukalip got 7 assists followed by right back Onur Ural and Ender (6).
Next season would see Mahtal go from the Swedish fourth tier up to Turkey’s second tier in under a year, which was quite the rise! But they could have their work cut out with the step up in quality.
Could Mahtal build a squad capable of survival in Trendyol 1. Lig? Or would his achievements attract another move? Join us next Friday to find out!
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