Fatih Tekke Resigns as Trabzonspor Head Coach

Fatih Tekke’s second spell at Trabzonspor is over, and it has ended exactly as it began: with emotion running high.

The club announced on Wednesday that they had accepted the resignation of their head coach, days after initially trying to talk him out of walking away in the wake of a bruising European exit.

Tekke, 48, had offered his resignation after Trabzonspor were dismantled 5-0 on aggregate by Ferencvaros in the Europa League play-off round. The scale of the defeat cut deep. For a club that measures itself against continental nights and domestic trophies, crashing out in that fashion left scars.

On Friday, the hierarchy tried to hold the line. They rejected his request, suggesting Tekke had acted under the “intense emotional impact” of the Europa League elimination. The message then was clear: cool heads, not hasty decisions.

Four days later, the stance changed.

In a carefully worded statement, Trabzonspor confirmed they had reached a “mutual understanding” with Tekke and agreed to part company “in line with Trabzonspor’s interests and long-term objectives”. The emotional impulse had become an official separation.

The club did not let him go without underlining what he had delivered. Over roughly 18 months in charge, Tekke guided Trabzonspor to a third-place finish in the Super Lig last season and, crucially, brought the Turkish Cup back to the club’s museum. That trophy win ensured his name remains etched into the club’s modern history.

Trabzonspor highlighted not only the results but the broader picture: his role in developing the players brought into the squad, and the “important sporting and financial gains” he oversaw during his tenure. For a club constantly balancing ambition with economic reality, that mattered.

The statement carried a telling line about Tekke’s own stance. The coach, it said, had made clear he would “never allow his presence to harm Trabzonspor in any way”. From there, both sides concluded that “drawing a new roadmap, prioritising the club’s interests above all else, had become unavoidable”.

So the club and one of its notable modern figures now go their separate ways, with thanks rather than recriminations. Trabzonspor closed by expressing gratitude for his “efforts, his dedicated work, the successes he delivered, and the value he added”.

The Turkish Cup is in the museum. Third place is in the record books. The Europa League exit is still fresh. The question now is simple: who leads the next chapter in Trabzonspor’s search for stability and silverware?