Sivasspor taking firm steps to be Turkish champions

Turkey's top-tier football division 'Süper Lig' underdogs Demir Grup Sivasspor are targeting their first-ever major title.

A modest club with limited monetary resources, Sivasspor maintained their heroic run to rule the Süper Lig's first half.

This summer, the club signed 13 players on free transfer to strengthen the squad.

Sivasspor earned 37 points in 17 matches to feel safe and secure before the second part of this season.

The nearest opponents in the league table, Medipol Başakşehir from Istanbul, are chasing Sivasspor with 33 points. Trabzonspor come third with 32 points.

One of the 'Big Three', Fenerbahçe are currently in fourth spot with 31 points in the standings.

Beşiktaş are hot on Fenerbahçe's trail as they earned 30 points in the first half.

Title contenders in late 2000s

Sivasspor have never tasted the joy of being Turkish champions in history, but it's not the first time that they have become title contenders.

They joined the Süper Lig's title race in the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 football seasons.

In the spring of 2008, Sivasspor completed the league in fourth place with 73 points, but Galatasaray became Turkish champions. The Lions had 79 points to clinch the league title.

Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş earned 73 points each to hold on to the competition that season.

After ending the Süper Lig in fourth place, Sivasspor became one of the teams-to-beat in the division.

They were the league runners-up the following year, with 66 points.
But Beşiktaş became the 2009 Turkish winners with 71 points. So their two-year-long steady march in the domestic league was ended.

In 2016, Sivasspor were relegated to a lower division, which meant a collapse...