NEWS

28.01.2005

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Rıza Çalımbay, the unforgettable captain of the legendary team which undersigned firsts and records for a time period in Beşiktaş, returned home. Çalımbay, who had his name etched in our glorious history in gold letters, had major successes in his career as a coach as well.

Our Atomic Ant
Rıza Çalımbay, the national level player nicknamed “Atomic Ant” of the legendary roster which undersigned one of the golden periods of our Beşiktaş, was born in Sivas on February 2, 1953. Çalımbay, who started soccer in the junior teams of Beşiktaş which was moved to the A Team roster in the 1980-81 season, managed to become one of the players who won the hearts of our stands in a short time. He was the “Atomic Ant” of our supporters with his inexhaustible energy and his studiousness on the pitch.
He Undersigned Firsts
Rıza Çalımbay, who played in the right wing of mid field, was a task-oriented player. Thus he was indispensable for our coaches like Miliç, Stankoviç and Milne who were committed to discipline. The “Atomic Ant”, who won the hearts of everyone, biased or neutral, with his gentlemanliness outside the pitch, also won the title of becoming the soccer player who played the most number of games in the 1st League history of our team in Black and White. He was also among those who were part of a team that was unbeaten in 48 consecutive games.
Only in Black and White
Rıza Çalımbay, who served as captain of the team for long years, wore Beşiktaş jersey for 16 years and took part in 494 league games and scored 41 goals. One of the most significant characteristics of Çalımbay which made him one of the unforgettables of Beşiktaş, was his wearing only the Black-White jersey of Beşiktaş during his career. He had a major share during those 16 years in Beşiktaş’s winning 6 League titles, 3 Turkey Cups, 4 Presidential Cups, 1 Prime Ministry Cup and 6 TSYD Cups.
An Honorable Career
He wore the national team’s jersey 51 times, 37 of which was at A level, 8 at under-21 and 6 at junior levels. He was the captain of our national A level soccer team for 3 years. He scored our only goal from a penalty kick in the game against Irish Republic which we lost 3-1 on November 3, 1991. Rıza, who scored 6 goals against Fenerbahçe and 1 goal against Galatasaray, was the favorite of our fans with his superior performance in derby games. Çalımbay, who played in the World Team in the game organized by UNICEF in 1992 and who played against the German National Team, was the first Beşiktaş player who gained this honor.
Applauded as a Coach as well
Rıza Çalımbay, who made his farewell to the green pitches in a jubilee under Beşiktaş uniform in 1995-1996, was never broken away from soccer and continued his career as a coach. Rıza Çalımbay, who served as the coach of the Under-21 National Team for 2 years, was the assistant of Coach Mustafa Denizli in the National A Level Soccer Team of Turkey, which was among the top 8 teams in Europe in the 2000 European Championship. After participating in a coaching course for 3 months in England, Rıza Çalımbaş served in Beşiktaş as Christoph Daum’s assistant in the 2000-2001 season. After coaching Göztepe for a while, Çalımbay made his mark with the successes he achieved with Denizlispor. He took Denizlispor which was in 5th place from the bottom of the league when he started, up to the 4th round of the UEFA Cup the next season. Rıza Çalımbay, who continued with his successful career in Ankaragücü and at the beginning of this season with Çaykur Rizespor, said the following in his interview on the October 2003 issue of Beşiktaş Magazine:
”If I served for Beşiktaş some day, of course this would make me very happy because I experienced everything in Beşiktaş. Beşiktaş is totally different for me and all other players. I believe that the spirit of working at Beşiktaş would be different.”
In the announcement he made to our official web site today (January 27), Rıza Çalımbay stating that he was very happy, said; “I am aware that I have taken a great responsibility. I am very happy. I will do everything I can to bring Beşiktaş to the places they deserve with our team.”
 

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