Since the Süper Lig's inception in 1959, only two clubs outside Istanbul have ever won the title. Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and İstanbul Başakşehir have combined for 58.
It makes sense when you consider Istanbul's standing as the most populated of Turkey's 81 provinces, and the most populous European city, at 15,519,267 — almost three times more than Turkey's capital city and second-most populated Ankara.
Bursaspor, out of the fourth-most populated province of Bursa, most recently disrupted the Istanbul hegemony in 2009-10 with its first and only to date. But it's Trabzonspor, out of the 27th largest province of Trabzon, that's most frequently challenged the Istanbul clubs with seven Süper Lig titles.
However, until clinching the 2022 crown on April 30 with a 2-2 draw against Antalyaspor, Trabzonspor hadn't captured the title since 1984.
The capacity crowd at the 40,782-seat Medical Park Stadyumu immediately poured onto the pitch to celebrate with its heroes, including captain Uğurcan Çakır, a rising star at goalkeeper, Danish striker Andreas Cornelius, who scored 15 goals this campaign, and 34-year-old midfield veteran Marek Hamšík, who joined the club last summer.
Bitiş düdüğüyle beraber yaşanan coşku! Trabzonspor'da taraftarlar ve futbolcular şampiyonluğu kutluyor! #SporTotoSüperLig pic.twitter.com/812VDdNh2X
— beIN SPORTS Türkiye (@beINSPORTS_TR) April 30, 2022
The scenes in Trabzon, a beautifully historic port city on the Black Sea coast in the northeast of Turkey, were pure ecstasy and elation after the 38-year wait.
Yeniden yapalım bunu pic.twitter.com/AgB5o2PkTL
— Trabzon Büyükşehir Belediyesi (@TrabzonBelTr) May 2, 2022
Trabzonspor fans celebrating the club’s first league title in 38 years
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 1, 2022
You know that scene in The Matrix Reloaded when all the machines are about to enter Zion and murder everyone, so the citizens decide to have a massive rave? This is the closest humanity has ever come to recreating that scene.
Turkish side Trabzonspor won the league for the first time in 38 years and their fans and residents of Trabzon went ALL OUT last night. Incredible scenes (via @yunusemresel) pic.twitter.com/TD03167wAg
— Luis Miguel Echegaray (@lmechegaray) May 1, 2022
Ne geceydi ama!
Övgülerin en büyüğü sana Trabzon!pic.twitter.com/5R9wZt3i4f— Trabzonspor (@Trabzonspor) May 2, 2022
Güvenlik güvende :) pic.twitter.com/49NtW5dCIt
— Yunus Emre Sel (@yunusemresel) May 1, 2022
Trabzon'da parti devam ediyor! #SporTotoSüperLig pic.twitter.com/5mEf5w6XpK
— beIN SPORTS Türkiye (@beINSPORTS_TR) April 30, 2022
The celebrations went as far as the Netherlands, where police officers joined in.
Hollanda’da şikayet üzerine Trabzonspor taraftarlarının yanına giden bir polis taraftarlarla üçlü çekti.
— Sabah Spor (@sabahspor1) May 1, 2022
Here's some more Hamšík content. After going so close to a league title during his 12 years with Napoli (finishing Serie A runner-up four times), this must've felt particularly good for the eight-time Slovak Footballer of the Year.
⚡️ Marek Hamsik, sahada olduğu gibi kutlamalara da öncülük ediyor! pic.twitter.com/6h4AS7rEzL
— Sabah Spor (@sabahspor1) April 30, 2022
Grande pic.twitter.com/RTkMBj1OPH
— Miko (@mikail_6161) April 30, 2022
Marek Hamsik, Trabzonsporlu taraftarlarla iç içe şampiyonluğu kutluyor...pic.twitter.com/48vYwfPhC1
— Sabah Spor (@sabahspor1) April 30, 2022
Bayern Munich has to go to Ibiza to party like this. Trabzonspor just has to step out the back door.
