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   » » Wiki: Kocaelispor
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Kocaelispor (, ), is a Turkish professional football club based in İzmit, . Founded in 1966, the club competes in the Süper Lig, the top tier of the Turkish football league system. Kocaelispor plays its home matches at the 34,829-capacity , and its traditional colours are green and black.

Kocaelispor has spent several spells in the Süper Lig, most notably between 1980 and 1988, 1992 and 2003, and during the 2008–09 season. The club's highest league finish came in the 1992–93 season, when they placed fourth. Kocaelispor has won the twice, in 1997 and 2002.

Nicknamed the Körfez'in Şimşekleri ( Thunderbolts of the Gulf), the club enjoys a strong local following in İzmit and the surrounding Kocaeli region. Their main rivalry is with , contested in the heated Körfez Derbisi ( Gulf Derby).

After a period of financial turmoil and successive relegations during the 2010s, Kocaelispor descended into the amateur leagues. However, a sustained rebuilding effort led to a series of promotions. In the 2023–24 season, they reached the play-offs after finishing sixth. The following year, they secured promotion to the Süper Lig with three matches remaining in the 2024–25 season, marking their return to the top division after a 16-year absence.


History

Foundation
Prior to establishment of Kocaelispor, the executive board representatives of Baçspor, a local football club, had demanded a new plat from İzmit Municipality to assure a place for training the sports in 1957. Osman Gencal, city mayor at the time, had been interested in finding a place for training due to his sportive background as a former sportsman and a member of Baçspor. Kocaelispor Official Website Therefore, the municipality had given a wide plat to Baçspor, as the plat had been sold for a symbolic cost of 1 .

Baçspor had sold the plat for 283,000 Liras and had a new place in Baç district of İzmit; and begun to a new construction. In 1964, Baçspor club board planned to found a new team at professional level and compete in 2nd Division. However, federation regulation of that time was stating that it was required to compound at least 3 teams and have appropriate facilities. Then, in 1966, three teams which are Baçspor, İzmit Gençlik and Doğanspor had come together, combined and founded Kocaelispor. Three club boards had consensus on every subject and embraced the green and black as the club colours. Then, it had been held a club congress in common and the new club board had been elected. Kocaelispor had spent 175,000 Liras to gather their first squad ever to compete in 2nd Division in 1966.

Kocaelispor was promoted to the 1st Division for the first time in 1980. They competed 8 seasons consecutively until their relegation in 1988. However, during this phase, the club has relegated once in 1986–87 season and come back after a Turkish Council of State verdict.


1992–93 season: Legendary roster
After being relegated in 1988, Kocaelispor narrowly avoided a further drop to the third tier in 1990 while was relegated instead. The club made a return to Turkey's top-flight football, the 1st Division, in 1992. Following this comeback, Kocaelispor achieved its best league performance to date. The team began the 1992–93 season in remarkable form, defeating Kayserispor with a 7–2 scoreline on the opening matchday. They collected 25 points in the first 10 weeks, finishing the first half of the season as league leaders. However, a series of consecutive defeats in the latter stages saw them ultimately finish 4th in the league standings for the 1992–93 season. This strong performance earned Kocaelispor qualification to represent Turkey in the UEFA Cup the following season.

The team was managed by Güvenç Kurtar, and the squad featured a number of notable and respected players. Fahrudin Omerović, a former substitute goalkeeper for the Yugoslavia national team, provided valuable experience in goal. Defenders Stevica Kuzmanovski and Mirko Mirković (who later acquired Turkish citizenship under the name Mert Meriç) strengthened the back line, bringing further quality from the Yugoslav football school.

In attack, Bülent Uygun played as a forward alongside Turkish international striker Saffet Sancaklı, forming a prolific offensive partnership. Uygun went on to become the league's top scorer while at Fenerbahçe, while Sancaklı initially transferred to Galatasaray before returning to Kocaelispor in 1995, later also joining Fenerbahçe. Other notable members of the squad included Bülent Baturman, Halil İbrahim Kara, Melih Erdem, and Ergun Kula, all of whom contributed to what is remembered as one of the most successful and celebrated seasons in Kocaelispor's history.


Recent history
Kocaelispor achieved another successful league position in the 1995–96 season, finishing as the 5th-best team and qualifying for the UEFA Intertoto Cup the following season. The club has won the prestigious twice, in 1997 and 2002, marking the greatest honours in its history. In the 1997 final, Kocaelispor defeated over two legs to claim their first major trophy. Five years later, they secured their second title by overcoming Beşiktaş in the 2002 final. These victories remain historic milestones for the club and its supporters. However, following the 2002–03 season, Kocaelispor was relegated after finishing last in the Süper Lig. After spending five seasons in the TFF First League, they won the 2007–08 championship and earned promotion back to the Süper Lig. This return lasted only one season due to financial difficulties, and the club was relegated again after losing 3–1 at home to on 9 May 2009 in Round 31, finishing 17th. The following season, after a 2–1 away defeat to Kartalspor on 4 April 2010, Kocaelispor was relegated to the TFF Second League, the third tier of Turkish football.

During the 2007–08 season, Kocaelispor were managed by three different coaches: Fuat Yaman (weeks 1–10), Kayhan Çubuklu (weeks 11–31), and Engin İpekoğlu (weeks 32–34). They returned to the Süper Lig as champions of the TFF First League, but consecutive relegations followed. The club was demoted to the TFF Second League in the 2010–11 season, and then to the fourth tier in 2011–12 after finishing last in the White Group of the Second League. Finally, they were relegated to the Turkish Regional Amateur League in 2014, after losing 1–0 away to İstanbulspor with four rounds remaining, concluding their season on 6 April 2014.

In the 2014–15 season, Kocaelispor competed with clubs such as Tekirdağspor, Çengelköyspor, and Arnavutköy Belediyespor for promotion to the TFF Third League. They led the league for several weeks but ultimately finished 4th in Group 11, with Tekirdağspor achieving promotion after 11 seasons. The following season, Kocaelispor won their group and defeated Sultangazispor, the champions of Group 11, in the promotion play-offs. They secured a 2–0 victory in Eskişehir on 24 April 2016, with goals from Sinan Pektemek and Hamza Mutlu, returning to professional football after two years.

In the 2023–24 season, Kocaelispor finished 6th in the TFF First League, earning a place in the play-off quarter-finals but were eliminated by Çorum. In the 2024–25 season, one day before their away match against , Fatih Karagümrük's 1–0 loss to ensured Kocaelispor's promotion by securing 1st place in the league with three weeks remaining. Thus, the club achieved promotion to the Süper Lig after 16 years.


Crest and colors
Kocaelispor's crest features a traditional shield shape with vertical black and green stripes, which represent the club's official colors — green and black. Prominently displayed in the center are the intertwined white initials "K" and "S", standing for Kocaelispor, along with the club's founding year 1966 at the bottom.

In the upper left corner of the crest, a blue silhouette represents the Gulf of İzmit (İzmit Körfezi), symbolizing the city's connection to the sea. Adjacent to it is a yellow sun, symbolizing energy and hope. On the right side of the crest, three yellow stars are aligned diagonally, typically symbolizing achievements and aspirations of the club. The green and black color scheme has been consistently used by the club since its founding, with green symbolizing nature and vitality, and black representing determination and strength.


Supporters
Kocaelispor commands one of the most dedicated provincial followings in . Its core ultra collective, Hodri Meydan, was founded in 1989 as the successor to the “Çılgınlar” and “Eski Tüfekler” crews; the name was borrowed from journalist Uğur Dündar’s TV debate programme while supporters were travelling to a away match, and the group has occupied the Maraton stand ever since. Academic work on the club shows that even when Kocaelispor slid into the amateur divisions identification among local fans remained “high,” making the club a textbook case of civic loyalty over glory-hunting. That loyalty translates into gates most top-flight teams would envy: in the 2024–25 1. Lig season Kocaelispor drew 246 898 ticket-paying spectators at an average of 13 716 per home game, the highest in the division. The fan base extends well beyond İzmit, with sizeable pockets across the wider and Black Sea regions. Match-day culture revolves around continuous ninety-minute chanting, industrial drums, large-format tifos and the slogan “Burası Hodri Meydan,” all presented in the club’s green and black colours. The group has also shown a capacity for self-policing: after member Serhat Boz was murdered en route to an Altay fixture in March 2017, Hodri Meydan voluntarily withdrew from the terraces for the remainder of the campaign and issued a public apology to the city, citing fatigue with violence. Their fiercest enmity remains the regional clash with , known as the Marmara or Gulf Derby, which has produced some of the collective’s most elaborate choreographies and occasional unrest. Başkan Serhan Gürkan'dan, muhalefete 'Hodri meydan


Rivalry with Sakaryaspor
The Marmara Derby—also known as the Gulf Derby or, colloquially, the Green-Black Derby—is the football rivalry between Kocaelispor and , two neighbouring clubs from the provinces of and . It has been regarded as the most significant fixture for both teams since their first official meeting on 6 January 1974, which ended in a 1–0 victory for in Adapazarı. As of 2025, the two clubs have faced each other in 42 competitive matches, with leading the series with 17 wins to Kocaelispor’s 15, along with 10 draws. The largest margin of victory belongs to Kocaelispor, who won 6–2 on 8 March 1992. 

What keeps the derby white-hot is less the league table than the combustible mix of geography—barely fifty kilometres separate the Gulf cities—and two ultra cultures, Hodri Meydan and Tatangalar, whose confrontations regularly push the fixture onto high-risk list. Flash-point moments include the 5–1 match of 8 May 2011 when Kocaelispor’s Gökhan Bozkaya deliberately scored an own goal to avoid a 4–1 scoreline that would have echoed Kocaeli’s “41” licence-plate code, the earthquake-relief friendly of 22 February 2023 that still saw flares and scuffles despite both clubs donating gate receipts to AFAD and the Red Crescent, Kocaelispor’s first away win in for forty-two years on 10 November 2024, and their 3–1 home victory on 31 March 2025 in front of a full .


Stadium
In 2017, Kocaelispor moved to the newly built (also known as İzmit Stadium), replacing the İzmit İsmetpaşa Stadium. The modern venue, located approximately 7 km from the city center of İzmit, has a total capacity of around 34,000 and meets UEFA and Süper Lig standards.


Statistics

Results of League and Cup Competitions by Season
2025–26Süper Lig14th000000000


League participations
  • Süper Lig: 1980–88, 1992–2003, 2008–09, 2025–
  • TFF 1. Lig: 1966–1980, 1988–92, 2003–08, 2009–10, 2021–22, 2023–25
  • TFF 2. Lig: 2010–12, 2020–21, 2022–23
  • TFF 3. Lig: 2012–14, 2016–20
  • Amateur League: 2014–16


Honours
    • Winners (2): 1996–97, 2001–02
  • TFF 1. Lig
    • Winners (4): 1979–80, 1991–92, 2007–08, 2024–25
  • TFF 2. Lig
    • Winners (1): 2022–23
    • Promotion (1): 2020–21
  • TFF 3. Lig
    • Winners (1): 2019–20
  • Turkish Regional Amateur League
    • Winners (1): 2015–16


Kocaelispor in Europe
Kocaelispor is one of the Turkish clubs that has represented Turkey in European competitions organized by . The club has played a total of 18 matches in European competitions: 4 matches in the UEFA Cup (now known as the UEFA Europa League), 4 matches in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and 10 matches in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. In these matches, Kocaelispor recorded 5 wins, 5 draws, and 8 losses, scoring 15 goals and conceding 23.


Summary
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup421142+2
UEFA Cup401307–7
UEFA Intertoto Cup103341114–3


Results
1993–94R10–00–20–2
1996UEFA Intertoto CupGroup 11Uralmashalign=center0–24th
CSKA Sofia1–3align=center
Strasbourgalign=center1–1
Hibernians5–3align=center
1997–98Cup Winners' CupR1Național București2–01–03–0
R2Lokomotiv Moscow0–01–21–2
1999UEFA Intertoto CupR22–01–13–1
R30–30–00–3
2000UEFA Intertoto CupR10–11–01–1, 4–5 (p)
2002–03R1Ferencváros0–10–40–5


UEFA Ranking history


Players

Current squad


Out on loan

Notable former players
The following players are among those who represented Kocaelispor in national and international competitions and have gained recognition:


Non-playing staff

Administrative Staff
Recep Durul
Veli Başkurt
Ahmet Arık
Gürhan Darcan
Fazile Ayşe Özkurt
Osman Çakır
Ramazan Daş
Kadir Genç
Serkan Akpolat
Engin Arat
Ahmet Şahin
Kamil Sert
Serkan Bulut
Mert Kavşut
Orhan Dönmez
Zeynel Abidin Akyol
Serkan Bozbağ
Rafet Kırgız
Okan Yıldırım
Source:


Coaching staff
Selçuk İnan
Source:


Former head coaches
30 Mar 1968
1 Feb 1969
30 Jun 1971
30 Jun 1973
30 Jun 1974
2 Jan 1976
30 Jun 1976
30 Jun 1977
30 Jun 1977
30 May 1978
30 Jun 1979
30 Jun 1980
12 Apr 1982
30 Jun 1982
19 Oct 1982
30 Jun 1983
30 Jun 1984
28 Oct 1985
30 Jun 1986
8 Dec 1986
26 Apr 1987
30 Jun 1987
30 Jun 1988
30 Jun 1989
30 Jun 1991
20 Jan 1994
30 Jun 1994
28 Sep 1996
21 Jan 1997
30 Jun 1998
29 Aug 2000
27 Nov 2000
8 Oct 2002
30 Jun 2003
21 Nov 2003
26 Mar 2004
12 Oct 2004
30 Jun 2005
4 Oct 2005
7 Mar 2006
22 Jun 2006
27 Oct 2006
9 Feb 2007
30 Jun 2007
28 Oct 2007
23 Apr 2008
25 Sep 2008
22 Jan 2009
30 Jun 2009
5 Feb 2010
16 Feb 2010
22 Apr 2010
22 Apr 2011
11 Oct 2011
2 Dec 2011
30 Jun 2012
30 Jun 2013
19 Apr 2013
3 Oct 2013
30 Jun 2014
30 Jun 2015
18 Jun 2016
18 Sep 2017
11 Dec 2017
30 Jun 2019
22 Oct 2019
23 Sep 2020
15 Jan 2021
24 Jan 2022
11 Apr 2022
30 May 2023
19 Feb 2024
12 May 2024
20 Dec 2024
30 Jun 2025
present


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