Rıza Çalımbay

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Rıza Çalımbay
Çalımbay in 2023
Personal information
Full name Rıza Çalımbay
Date of birth (1963-02-02) 2 February 1963 (age 61)
Place of birth Sivas, Turkey
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7+12 in)
Position(s) Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1996 Beşiktaş 494 (43)
International career
1980–1981 Turkey U18 6 (0)
1981–1984 Turkey U21 8 (0)
1981–1992 Turkey 38 (1)
Managerial career
2001 Göztepe
2002–2003 Denizlispor
2003–2004 Ankaragücü
2004–2005 Çaykur Rizespor
2005 Beşiktaş
2005–2006 Ankaraspor
2007 Çaykur Rizespor
2008–2010 Eskişehirspor
2010–2013 Sivasspor
2013–2014 Çaykur Rizespor
2014–2015 Mersin İdmanyurdu
2015–2016 Kasımpaşa
2016–2017 Antalyaspor
2017–2018 Trabzonspor
2018 Konyaspor
2019–2023 Sivasspor
2023 Beşiktaş
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rıza Çalımbay (born 2 February 1963) is a Turkish UEFA Pro Licensed football manager and former player who most recently served as the head coach of Beşiktaş.

Under his leadership, Sivasspor won the 2021-22 Turkish Cup, the first major trophy in the club's history. He has also coached other Turkish clubs including Konyaspor, Trabzonspor, and Antalyaspor. He holds the record for the highest number of matches played by any manager in the Süper Lig, with a total of 622 games as a coach.

Çalımbay was nicknamed 'Atom Ant' (Turkish: Atom Karınca) due to his determination and hard work both as a player and coach.[1]

Playing career[edit]

Rıza Çalımbay began his football career in the academy of Beşiktaş, one of the biggest clubs in Turkey. He was promoted to the A team squad in the 1980/1981 season, where he played as a midfielder on the right side. However, he also proved to be a versatile player who could play in other positions such as central midfield and right-back. In his 16 seasons with Beşiktaş A Team, he played 494 league matches and scored a total of 41 goals. He received the title of the Beşiktaş player with the most appearances in the history of the 1st League. Throughout his football career, he only played for Beşiktaş and served as captain for many years.

During his time at Beşiktaş, Çalımbay won 6 leagues, 3 Turkish Cups, 4 Presidential Cups, 1 Prime Minister's Cup, and 6 Turkish Sports Writers' Association Cups. After 16 seasons, he retired from active football in July 1996 with a jubilee farewell match.[2]

International career[edit]

Rıza Çalımbay played for the national team 37 times and also played for the Under-21 (Ümit) team 8 times and the Youth (Genç) team 52 times. His sole senior international goal came on 13 November 1991, when he converted a penalty in a match against Ireland, which was lost 3–1. Additionally, in 1992 he was selected to play for the World Team against Germany in the UNICEF World Mixed match.

Managerial career[edit]

Early career[edit]

After retiring from football, Rıza Çalımbay pursued a career in coaching and completed manager courses in England. He then served as an assistant manager for Christoph Daum at Beşiktaş in 2001 but resigned shortly after to take over as the manager of Göztepe, Denizlispor, and Çaykur Rizespor.

At Denizlispor, he led the team to the latter stages of the 2002-03 UEFA Cup season, where they eliminated teams such as Sparta Prague and Olympique Lyonnais. However, their UEFA Cup dreams were crushed by the Porto side of José Mourinho in an 8-3 aggregate loss. In the 2004–05 season, Çalımbay returned to Beşiktaş as manager after Vicente Del Bosque was sacked. Despite a rough start to the season with bad results and a demotivated squad, Çalımbay helped turn the team's fortunes around. He reverted to the team's traditional 3-5-2 formation and implemented a playing style that brought results such as a 4–3 win over rivals Fenerbahçe at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

However, the following season was not as successful, and Çalımbay resigned after a 0–0 draw against Kayserispor in the 9th week of the season. He then coached Ankaraspor for a brief period before returning to Çaykur Rizespor for a 1.5 year contract. Despite options to coach abroad in Iran and Germany, Çalımbay chose to continue his tenure with Çaykur Rizespor. He later coached Eskişehirspor, Sivasspor, Mersin İdmanyurdu, and Kasımpaşa.

On 10 October 2016, Çalımbay signed a two-year contract with Antalyaspor,[3][4] but they parted ways on September 19, 2017. He then became the manager of Trabzonspor in the ninth week of the 2017-18 Super League season and led the team throughout the season. Under his leadership, the team played 26 league and 5 cup matches, finishing in 5th place with 13 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses in the league. However, they were eliminated by Konyaspor in the last 16 round of the Turkish Cup. After his contract expired at the end of the season, he left the job.

Sivasspor[edit]

On 10 June 2019 Çalımbay began his second stint as Sivasspor manager. Upon his arrival, Çalımbay implemented a new tactical style that emphasized defensive organization and quick, incisive attacking play. Çalımbay's philosophy brought a new level of energy and optimism to the club. Under Çalımbay's leadership, Sivasspor experienced a resurgence of form, and the team made significant strides towards becoming a major force in Turkish football. The 2021–22 season proved to be a historic one for the club, as they won the Turkish Cup for the first time in their history.[5]

In the 20 March 2023 match between Sivasspor and Ankaragücü, Çalımbay made history by becoming the coach with the most matches played in the history of the Süper Lig.[citation needed] Çalımbay played his 622nd game in the Süper Lig during the Ankaragücü struggle, breaking the previous record held by Samet Aybaba, who had overseen 621 matches. [6]

Career statistics[edit]

Player[edit]

As of 7 May 2017[7][8]

Club[edit]

Club Season 1.Lig Cup[a] Europe[b] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Beşiktaş 1980–81 13 0 4 0 17 0
1981–82 32 1 8 0 40 1
1982–83 34 1 10 0 2 0 46 2
1983–84 31 0 13 0 44 0
1984–85 32 2 11 1 1 0 44 3
1985–86 36 9 10 1 46 10
1986–87 36 10 5 3 4 1 45 14
1987–88 36 6 7 0 2 0 45 6
1988–89 33 3 12 1 2 0 47 4
1989–90 34 3 5 1 2 0 42 4
1990–91 30 5 5 0 2 0 37 5
1991–92 30 1 6 0 2 0 38 1
1992–93 29 0 9 2 2 0 40 2
1993–94 29 1 9 0 4 0 42 1
1994–95 32 1 4 0 4 0 40 1
1995–96 27 0 4 0 2 0 33 0
Career total 494 43 122 9 29 4 645 53

International[edit]

Turkey
Year Apps Goals
1981 1 0
1982 3 0
1983 3 0
1984 1 0
1985 1 0
1987 5 0
1989 2 0
1990 5 0
1991 10 1
1992 7 0
Total 38 1
# Date Venue Opponent Goals Result Competition
1 13 November 1991 BJK İnönü Stadium,  Republic of Ireland 1–1 1–3 UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying

Manager[edit]

As of 21 December 2023
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L Win %
Göztepe Turkey 15 June 2001 19 December 2001 19 7 6 6 036.84
Denizlispor Turkey 3 January 2002 28 April 2003 58 21 16 21 036.21
Ankaragücü Turkey 17 November 2003 31 May 2004 24 10 4 10 041.67
Rizespor Turkey 3 August 2004 28 January 2005 19 9 5 5 047.37
Beşiktaş Turkey 28 January 2005 17 October 2005 30 18 7 5 060.00
Ankaraspor Turkey 10 November 2005 23 January 2006 6 1 2 3 016.67
Rizespor Turkey 26 December 2006 19 June 2007 18 6 4 8 033.33
Eskişehirspor Turkey 4 July 2008 27 September 2010 84 29 23 32 034.52
Sivasspor Turkey 25 October 2010 31 May 2013 115 43 30 42 037.39
Rizespor Turkey 31 May 2013 9 February 2014 22 5 7 10 022.73
Mersin İdman Yurdu Turkey 3 June 2014 31 May 2015 45 18 10 17 040.00
Kasımpaşa Turkey 7 July 2015 16 September 2016 39 15 10 14 038.46
Antalyaspor Turkey 10 October 2016 18 September 2017 34 17 8 9 050.00
Trabzonspor Turkey 18 October 2017 19 May 2018 31 16 8 7 051.61
Konyaspor Turkey 2 August 2018 13 October 2018 14 5 5 4 035.71
Sivasspor Turkey 6 June 2019 26 June 2023 191 79 52 60 041.36
Beşiktaş Turkey 10 November 2023 Present 7 3 1 3 042.86
Total 739 302 198 239 040.87

Honours[edit]

Player[edit]

Beşiktaş

Individual

  • Beşiktaş Team of the Century[9]

Records

  • Beşiktaş All-Time Appearance Maker: 645 games
  • Beşiktaş All-Time Appearance Maker in Süper Lig: 494 games

Manager[edit]

Sivasspor

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Türkiye'deki ilk UEFA Pro-Lisans Güncelleme kursu başladı". Turkish Football Association. 25 December 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Biyografi" (in Turkish). bjk.com.tr. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Antalyasporumuz Rıza Çalımbay'a Emanet" (in Turkish). antalyaspor.com.tr. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Çalımbay imzayı attı" (in Turkish). mackolik.com. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Sivasspor Teknik Direktörü Rıza Çalımbay Ziraat Türkiye Kupası şampiyonluğunu değerlendirdi". Fotomaç.
  6. ^ "Rıza Çalımbay rekor kırdı!". Habertürk.
  7. ^ "Rıza Çalımbay" (in Turkish). mackolik.com. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Rıza Çalımbay / National Football Teams" (in Turkish). national-football-teams.com. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  9. ^ "İşte Beşiktaş'ta yüzyılın 11'i..." Milliyet.

External links[edit]