Rıza Çalımbay

Rıza Çalımbay (born 2 February 1963) is a Turkish UEFA Pro Licensed football manager and former player who most recently served as the head coach of Beşiktaş.

Under his leadership, Sivasspor won the 2021-22 Turkish Cup, the first major trophy in the club's history. He has also coached other Turkish clubs including Konyaspor, Trabzonspor, and Antalyaspor. He holds the record for the highest number of matches played by any manager in the Süper Lig, with a total of 622 games as a coach.

Çalımbay was nicknamed 'Atom Ant' (Atom Karınca) due to his determination and hard work both as a player and coach.

Playing career
Rıza Çalımbay began his football career in the academy of Beşiktaş, one of the biggest clubs in Turkey. He was promoted to the A team squad in the 1980/1981 season, where he played as a midfielder on the right side. However, he also proved to be a versatile player who could play in other positions such as central midfield and right-back. In his 16 seasons with Beşiktaş A Team, he played 494 league matches and scored a total of 41 goals. He received the title of the Beşiktaş player with the most appearances in the history of the 1st League. Throughout his football career, he only played for Beşiktaş and served as captain for many years.

During his time at Beşiktaş, Çalımbay won 6 leagues, 3 Turkish Cups, 4 Presidential Cups, 1 Prime Minister's Cup, and 6 Turkish Sports Writers' Association Cups. After 16 seasons, he retired from active football in July 1996 with a jubilee farewell match.

International career
Rıza Çalımbay played for the national team 37 times and also played for the Under-21 (Ümit) team 8 times and the Youth (Genç) team 52 times. His sole senior international goal came on 13 November 1991, when he converted a penalty in a match against Ireland, which was lost 3–1. Additionally, in 1992 he was selected to play for the World Team against Germany in the UNICEF World Mixed match.

Early career
After retiring from football, Rıza Çalımbay pursued a career in coaching and completed manager courses in England. He then served as an assistant manager for Christoph Daum at Beşiktaş in 2001 but resigned shortly after to take over as the manager of Göztepe, Denizlispor, and Çaykur Rizespor.

At Denizlispor, he led the team to the latter stages of the 2002-03 UEFA Cup season, where they eliminated teams such as Sparta Prague and Olympique Lyonnais. However, their UEFA Cup dreams were crushed by the Porto side of José Mourinho in an 8-3 aggregate loss. In the 2004–05 season, Çalımbay returned to Beşiktaş as manager after Vicente Del Bosque was sacked. Despite a rough start to the season with bad results and a demotivated squad, Çalımbay helped turn the team's fortunes around. He reverted to the team's traditional 3-5-2 formation and implemented a playing style that brought results such as a 4–3 win over rivals Fenerbahçe at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

However, the following season was not as successful, and Çalımbay resigned after a 0–0 draw against Kayserispor in the 9th week of the season. He then coached Ankaraspor for a brief period before returning to Çaykur Rizespor for a 1.5 year contract. Despite options to coach abroad in Iran and Germany, Çalımbay chose to continue his tenure with Çaykur Rizespor. He later coached Eskişehirspor, Sivasspor, Mersin İdmanyurdu, and Kasımpaşa.

On 10 October 2016, Çalımbay signed a two-year contract with Antalyaspor,  but they parted ways on September 19, 2017. He then became the manager of Trabzonspor in the ninth week of the 2017-18 Super League season and led the team throughout the season. Under his leadership, the team played 26 league and 5 cup matches, finishing in 5th place with 13 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses in the league. However, they were eliminated by Konyaspor in the last 16 round of the Turkish Cup. After his contract expired at the end of the season, he left the job.

Sivasspor
On 10 June 2019 Çalımbay began his second stint as Sivasspor manager. Upon his arrival, Çalımbay implemented a new tactical style that emphasized defensive organization and quick, incisive attacking play. Çalımbay's philosophy brought a new level of energy and optimism to the club. Under Çalımbay's leadership, Sivasspor experienced a resurgence of form, and the team made significant strides towards becoming a major force in Turkish football. The 2021–22 season proved to be a historic one for the club, as they won the Turkish Cup for the first time in their history.

In the 20 March 2023 match between Sivasspor and Ankaragücü, Çalımbay made history by becoming the coach with the most matches played in the history of the Süper Lig. Çalımbay played his 622nd game in the Süper Lig during the Ankaragücü struggle, breaking the previous record held by Samet Aybaba, who had overseen 621 matches.

Player
Beşiktaş
 * 1.Lig: 1981–82, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95
 * Turkish Cup: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94
 * Turkish Super Cup: 1986, 1989, 1992, 1994
 * Chancellor Cup: 1988
 * TSYD Cup: 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996

Individual
 * Beşiktaş Team of the Century

Records
 * Beşiktaş All-Time Appearance Maker: 645 games
 * Beşiktaş All-Time Appearance Maker in Süper Lig: 494 games

Manager
Sivasspor
 * Turkish Cup: 2021–22