8 years since death of Ilhan Cavcav, longtime chair of Ankara football club Genclerbirligi

by Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL

Ilhan Cavcav, who passed away on Jan. 22, 2017, was a pivotal figure in Turkish football, serving as the chairman of Turkish football club Genclerbirligi for 37 years.

His tenure was marked by a unique management style that left a lasting impact on the sport.

Cavcav, born in Türkiye’s capital Ankara in October 1935, could not stay away from football in the final days of his life, despite his health issues.

Ignoring doctors’ warnings, he continued to watch matches at the stadium, wrapped in a blanket on cold days, while also battling age-related illnesses.

He died at 81.

Never far from controversy with the leaderships of other clubs, Cavcav first served Genclerbirligi as a player, later becoming a “legend president” for 37 years.

Cavcav kicked off as a board member of Genclerbirligi in 1977 and became the club’s president one year later, in 1978.

He left the Ankara club for a short time when he disagreed with the other board members but was reelected as chairman in 1981.

Under his presidency, Genclerbirligi was promoted to Turkey’s top-tier football division in 1983.

Additionally, during his management, the club finished third in the Turkish League in 2003, qualifying for the UEFA Cup, and won the Turkish Cup twice, in 1987 and 2001, adding both titles to their trophy collection.

Genclerbirligi advanced to the fourth round of UEFA Cup – last 16 – in 2004 and UEFA.com named the club as the “surprise team of the year” for 2004.

Transforming financial structure

During Cavcav’s tenure, Genclerbirligi built modern youth academy facilities – an important step in getting young talent on the field in the coming years.

His transfer strategy mainly focused on finding and recruiting young players at low costs and selling them to other teams at much higher prices, which led to the development of a successful financial structure in the club.

Having built a reputation as a “selling club” in Türkiye, Cavcav’s Genclerbirligi sold 34 players to the Turkish Super Lig title holders, Fenerbahce, Besiktas, Galatasaray, and Trabzonspor.

The legendary chairman had a dominant personality with his unique management style and even followed amateur league matches to recruit young talented players.

Turkish midfielder Tarik Dasgun, who started his career at Genclerbirligi’s youth academy, was one of the most expensive signings in the Turkish league when he transferred from Genclerbirligi to Fenerbahce in 1995.

Cavcav’s Africa adventure in transfer season

Cavcav signed many foreign players from African countries with lower transfer fees, with Genclerbirligi becoming one of the first Turkish clubs to discover the African transfer market to recruit young, talented and less costly players from the continent.

The Cameroonian international Nijtap Geremi was one of Cavcav’s famous sales after he inked a contract with La Liga club Real Madrid for €5 million ($5.5 million) in 1999.

Real Madrid offered $2 million for Geremi. However, Cavcav wrote $5 million on paper, put it on the table and told his lawyer, “Get up, we’re leaving!” This determination convinced Real Madrid, and Geremi was transferred to the world giant for €5 million.

Geremi’s transfer to Real Madrid went down in history as one of the most remarkable transfers made directly from the Super League to the top of world football.

Cavcav was also an iconic character in Turkish football, who became famous for constantly changing managers.

Over the span of 37 years, he worked with 42 different managers, hiring them a total of 56 times.

Working for Turkish clubs’ financial future

Besides being a major figure in the rise of Genclerbirligi, Cavcav took the initiative to solve the problems of Turkish football by helping establish the Turkish Union of Clubs.

He was head of the union in 2000-2002, 2004-2005 and 2013-2014 seasons and was later awarded the position of honorary presidency.

In addition, he played an important role in creating the “pool model”, through which broadcast revenues were distributed to Turkish clubs.

Genclerbirligi miss ‘old but good days’

Genclerbirligi was relegated from the Turkish Super Lig at the end of the 2017-2018 football season, after having played in the top-tier football division for 29 consecutive years.

The Ankara club is currently competing in the Turkish second division, sitting 12th with 27 points.

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