# Altay S.K.

Altay Spor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in the city of İzmir.
Formed in 1914, Altay are nicknamed Büyük Altay (Great Altay). The club colors are black and white, and they play their home matches at the Alsancak Mustafa Denizli Stadium.
Domestically, the club has finished third place for the Süper Lig three times and have won the Turkish Cup twice. They hold the record for most İzmir Football League titles with 14. They are the most successful İzmir-based club with 16 championships in various competitions.
Collecting 24 points in the first half of the 1969–70 season in undefeated 15 games with 9 wins and 6 draws, Altay SK is one of three non-champion clubs that topped the first half of 1. Lig table, along with Kocaelispor in 1992–93, and Sivasspor in 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2019–20.

## History

Altay was founded in 1914 in İzmir as İstiklal. The initial aim of the club was to unite Turkish youth under sporting activities and to encourage them, because in the 1910s minorities dominated sporting activities in İzmir. Under Ottoman rule, Turkish footballers were unable to compete. Altay was supported by many prominent Turkish politicians of the era. Former Turkish President Celal Bayar worked very hard in founding the club and gave his full support.
Altay has an important place in Turkey's football history. The club had a key role in uniting the Turkish community during the Turkish War of Independence. Many players and supporters of Altay SK lost their lives in the Turkish War of Independence. After the Surname Law was adopted, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gave General Fahreddin Pasha the surname of "Altay". Altay plays in the İzmir Alsancak Stadium first built in 1929 and was rebuilt in 2021.

## Honours
### National Championships

* Süper Lig
** Third place (3): 1956–57, 1969–70, 1976–77
* Turkish Football Championship
** Runners-up (2): 1934, 1951
* TFF First League
** Winners (1): 2001–02
** Runners-up (2): 1983–84, 1990–91
* Turkish Football Federation Cup
** Winners (1): 2006–07
** Runners-up (1): 1963–64

### National Cups

* Turkish Cup
** Winners (2): 1966–67, 1979–80
** Runners-up (5): 1963–64, 1967–68, 1971–72, 1978–79, 1985–86
* Super Cup
** Runners-up (2): 1967, 1980
* Prime Minister's Cup
** Runners-up (3): 1972, 1979, 1986
* Organ Doğan Cup
** Runners-up (18): 1936, 1937, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1961, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1984, 2004, 2005, 2021
* Ayçilek Doğan Cup
** Runners-up (2): 1973, 1978
* Tore Doğan Cup
** Runners-up (1): 1976
* Aydin Doğan Cup
** Runners-up (3): 1963, 1964, 1986

### Regional competitions

* İzmir Professional League
** Winners (2): 1956–57, 1957–58
* İzmir Football League
** Winners (14) (record): 1923–24, 1924–25, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1940–41, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1950–51, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1957–58
$^1$Altay won the championship as "Üçok" (Three arrows), an alliance between Altay, Altınordu, and Bucaspor.

## League participations

* Super League: 1958–83, 1984–90, 1991–2000, 2002–03, 2021–2022
* TFF First League: 1983–84, 1990–91, 2000–02, 2003–11, 2018–21, 2022–2024
* TFF Second League: 2011–15, 2017–18, 2024–
* TFF Third League: 2015–17

## European record

    As of 25 July 1998
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 12 | –6 |
| UEFA Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | –1 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup$^1$ | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | +1 |
| UEFA Total | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 27 | –6 |
| Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | –11 |
| Intertoto Cup$^2$ | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 9 | –3 |
| Balkans Cup | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 23 | –17 |
| Non-UEFA Total | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 46 | –31 |
| Overall Total | 32 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 36 | 73 | –37 |
$^1$ UEFA edition.
$^2$ non-UEFA edition.
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
| Season | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1967–68 | First Round | Standard Liège | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 |
| 1968–69 | First Round | Lyn | 3–1 | 1–4 | 4–5 |
| 1980–81 | Preliminary Round | Benfica | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–4 |
UEFA Cup:
| Season | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1977–78 | First Round | Carl Zeiss Jena | 4–1 | 1–5 | 5–6 |
UEFA Intertoto Cup:
| Season | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1974$^1$ | Group Stage (Group 10) | CUF | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3rd |
| 1974$^1$ | Group Stage (Group 10) | Landskrona | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3rd |
| 1974$^1$ | Group Stage (Group 10) | Hammarby | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3rd |
| 1998 | First Round | Shamrock Rovers | 3–1 | 2–3 | 5–4 |
| 1998 | Second Round | Diósgyőr | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 1998 | Third Round | Bastia | 3–2 (aet) | 0–2 | 3–4 |
$^1$ The tournament was founded in 1961–62, but was only taken over by UEFA in 1995.
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup:
| Season | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1962–63 | First Round | Roma | 2–3 | 1–10 | 3–13 |
| 1969–70 | First Round | Carl Zeiss Jena | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
Balkans Cup:
| Season | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1971 | Group Stage (Group B) | Panionios | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3rd |
| 1971 | Group Stage (Group B) | Steagul Roșu Brașov | 0–0 | 0–3 | 3rd |
| 1977 | Group Stage (Group A) | Slavia Sofia | 0–3 | 0–6 | 3rd |
| 1977 | Group Stage (Group A) | Politehnica Timișoara | 2–4 | 2–5 | 3rd |
UEFA Ranking history:
    As of 1982
| Season | Rank | Points |
| 1968 | 168 | 0.500 |
| 1969 | 103 | 1.500 |
| 1970 | 89 | 2.000 |
| 1971 | 86 | 2.000 |
| 1972 | 87 | 2.000 |
| 1973 | 112 | 1.500 |
| 1974 | 203 | 0.500 |
| 1978 | 157 | 1.000 |
| 1979 | 155 | 1.000 |
| 1980 | 155 | 1.000 |
| 1981 | 153 | 1.000 |
| 1982 | 149 | 1.000 |

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 3 February 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | TUR | Ozan Evrim Özenç |
| 3 | DF | TUR | Yusuf Tekin |
| 4 | DF | TUR | Hikmet Çolak |
| 5 | DF | TUR | Sefa Özdemir |
| 6 | MF | TUR | Ceyhun Gülselam |
| 7 | FW | TUR | Eren Erdoğan |
| 11 | FW | TUR | Murat Uluç (captain) |
| 13 | GK | TUR | Ulaş Hasan Özçelik |
| 17 | DF | TUR | Salih Sarıkaya |
| 20 | MF | TUR | Enes Yetkin |
| 21 | MF | TUR | Ali Kızılkuyu |
| 23 | MF | TUR | Murat Demir |
| 24 | FW | TUR | Erdem Özcan |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | DF | TUR | Tugay Gündem |
| 26 | MF | TUR | Ege Parmaksiz |
| 28 | MF | TUR | Mehmet Gündüz |
| 30 | MF | TUR | Caner Baycan |
| 32 | MF | TUR | Arda Gezer |
| 34 | MF | TUR | Enes Öğrüce |
| 44 | DF | TUR | Kuban Altunbudak |
| 45 | GK | TUR | Mustafa Çalışkan |
| 63 | FW | TUR | Deniz Kadah |
| 77 | DF | TUR | Onur Efe |
| 88 | DF | TUR | Özgür Özkaya |
| 99 | FW | TUR | Nurettin Küçükdeniz |