Second Despite The Transfer Ban: How Reis Is Shaking Up The Süper Lig With Samsunspor

Gisdol successor

When you look at the table in the Turkish Süper Lig, one club is particularly surprising: behind leaders Galatasaray, the first pursuer is not Fenerbahce or Besiktas, but last year’s promoted team Samsunspor. The coach is none other than Thomas Reis, who succeeded Markus Gisdol this season. While Gisdol finished last season in 13th place, Reis is on course for the Champions League – but he has to make do without any new additions due to a transfer ban.

A year ago, Samsunspor was given a transfer ban by FIFA until the end of this season because of outstanding salary payments to ex-player Arvydas Novikovas (33). As a result, the Black Sea club will not be allowed to add any more next winter. On paper, the only new names in the professional squad are the homegrown Alper Efe Pazar (19) and Efe Berat Törüz (18), who are playing in the U19.

On the other hand, 17 players have left the club (some for the time being), at least Berlin-born Ahmet Sağat (28; Kocaelispor) generated income of 277,000 euros. This makes Samsunspor one of eight clubs that have a positive transfer record. For comparison: Last season there was a loss of 5.9 million euros, which was only exceeded by Trabzonspor (-9.6 million) and Besiktas (-26 million). Despite the numerous departures, Samsunspor has the largest squad with 33 players. This brings the total value to 29.3 million euros, which puts the club in tenth place in the league comparison – only newly promoted Bodrum FK has a larger difference between the total value and placement in the table.

“Usually teams with a transfer ban are not given much credit. It is all the more surprising that Samsunspor is playing at the top. “That was definitely not to be expected,” says Lara Karacan, Lead of Content at Transfermarkt Türkiye. After eight matchdays, Samsunspor has suffered just two defeats and won six times, most recently four times in a row. He would have “blindly signed” such a dream start, said Reis in a recent interview with “WAZ”.

The 51-year-old clearly found his way around Turkey quickly, although he put on the brakes at the beginning: “Different language, different mentality, different culture, different religion, different distances – I honestly told the players that too at the beginning “I have to get used to it first, I have to get to know everyone.”

Turkey expert: “Gisdol has done good preparatory work for rice”

Before signing with Samsunspor, Reis was without a club for almost a year. With FC Schalke 04 he was relegated from the Bundesliga in 2023 and after eight games in the new season it was over for him. “After my time at Schalke I needed some rest, also to reflect on myself, but at some point I felt the itch again and I really wanted to be back on the line. From the start, I didn’t just focus on Germany; foreign countries were also an issue. In Germany, there were no interested parties to whom I said: This is a 100 percent fit. “An opportunity arose at Samsun,” said Reis.

The fact that the position was vacant was thanks to his predecessor Gisdol himself. The 55-year-old was popular at Samsunspor, after all, he led the club from last place to midfield. He could have extended his expiring contract, but decided not to and is still without a club to this day. Samsunspor wanted a German coach again and continued a tradition with Reis: No other country has sent as many coaches to Turkey as Germany (30). Christoph Daum, Joachim Löw and Werner Lorant, among others, also worked there. As Reis confirmed, he and Gisdol are in contact. After he signed, they talked to each other.

“Gisdol did good preparatory work for Reis. Since not much has changed in the squad due to the transfer ban, Reis was able to work on that. The players are particularly well-adjusted when it comes to discipline,” reports Turkey expert Karacan. But there are differences: “With Gisdol the focus was on long balls and the transition game, whereas Reis wants to build up the game from the back and gain more control. In addition, attacking pressing is a central component.” Area manager Gökhan Yagmur adds: “Despite the transfer ban, the squad is well positioned. It took someone to turn it into a functioning team. And rice does that very well.”

“The guys I have have known each other for a long time, they have a good team spirit,” praised Reis. At Samsunspor he is not alone with his Bundesliga experience: Rick van Drongelen (25), Kingsley Schindler (31) and Landry Dimata (27) once played in the German upper house. Van Drongelen in particular plays an important role under the new coach and is the only outfield player who has not missed a minute. The Dutchman (+300,000 to 1.7 million) is one of ten professionals in the squad who were upgraded in the latest market value update. Despite a loss of 500,000 euros, Arbnor Muja (25) is valued highest at 4 million euros.

“We don’t have the individually best and broadest squad in the Süper Lig, I tell the players that too. But the good start makes them believe in themselves more,” explained Reis. The good start is important “because many clubs in Turkey have completely rebuilt their squad. They will be found over the course of the season.” Expectations would “naturally” increase, but the goal remains to stay in the league. Samsunspor was a permanent guest in the Süper Lig until 2006 and then played mainly in the second division. A season in the upper house (2011/12) was the highest of emotions for a long time, while the two years from 2018 to 2020 in the third division were the lowest point.

On Sunday (6 p.m.) fourth-placed Fenerbahce and José Mourinho will be visiting the Samsun 19 Mayıs Stadyumu. “Mourinho was always one of my idols. He is a completely different type than me, rather very arrogant. “But how he mastered the pressure of always having to become champions fascinated me,” said Reis. The Wertheim native is currently in the lead.