Trabzonspor has rehired Ziya Dogan as head coach following the mutual termination of Brazilian Sebastiao Lazaroni's contract, the club announced Thursday. Vice president Yusuf Simsek told reporters the team had failed to achieve satisfactory results under Lazaroni.
Dogan previously guided Trabzonspor from 2003 to 2005, winning the Turkish Cup and securing a second-place league finish in 2004. He had since coached Genclerbirligi and Malatyaspor before returning to the Black Sea club.
Lazaroni had signed a three-year deal with Trabzonspor, taking over from Vahid Halilhodzic after a fourth-place league finish last season. The Brazilian also previously coached Fenerbahce, AC Fiorentina, AS Bari, and the national teams of Brazil and Jamaica, among other clubs.
Trabzonspor collected only four points from their first four Super League matches under Lazaroni, frustrating supporters who have gone 22 years without a seventh league title. The club sat 11th heading into Sunday's match at Besiktas in Istanbul.
Trabzonspor also face Spanish side CA Osasuna in the UEFA Cup first round the following week, though the home leg will be played without spectators as a penalty for crowd incidents during their earlier tie against APOEL FC.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.