Turkish Süper Lig club Samsunspor dismissed head coach Thorsten Fink on Monday following a defeat against Trabzonspor. The decision came after a dismal run that left the club in the relegation zone with just four points from their opening seven league matches of the season.
Relegation Zone Crisis Triggers Dismissal at Samsun
Fink took charge at the Black Sea club in February 2026, succeeding Thomas Reis. In his initial months, the 58-year-old German manager steered the team to a seventh-place finish in the 2025/26 campaign and reached the Round of 16 in the UEFA Conference League. However, momentum vanished in the new season. Samsunspor suffered five consecutive defeats, managing only a single victory across their first seven domestic outings. The club’s hierarchy ultimately pulled the plug after 25 total matches under Fink, during which he maintained an overall point average of 1.48 per game.
Absolut Fussball noted the dramatic irony of the final fixture, as Thomas Reis returned to the Black Sea stadium leading Trabzonspor to a decisive 3–0 halftime lead that sealed Fink’s fate. Despite the mounting pressure, Fink maintained after the match that he wanted to stay, invoking the fighting spirit of his native Dortmund. The club management, however, chose a different path, thanking the former Bayern Munich star in an official statement for his professionalism and his contributions to their European campaign.
Nenad Bjelica Set to Take Over as Head Coach
Samsunspor moved swiftly to stabilize the technical area, reaching a preliminary agreement with Nenad Bjelica to take over the managerial reins. Ligaportal confirmed that the club announced the deal on Instagram, noting that final administrative details remain pending for a contract initially slated to run until the end of the season.
The appointment of the 55-year-old Croatian extends a recent managerial trend at the club. Bjelica becomes the latest coach with German Bundesliga experience to step into the dugout at Samsunspor, following Markus Gisdol, Thomas Reis, and Fink. Bjelica’s most recent stint in the Bundesliga came during the 2023/24 season with Union Berlin, where he averaged 1.09 points per match across 22 competitive fixtures. He subsequently managed Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb until his departure in late 2024 after a three-month tenure spanning 15 games.
Squad Valuation and Financial Context
Samsunspor entered the season as the eighth most valuable squad in the Süper Lig, bolstered by a profitable summer transfer window. According to Transfermarkt, the club generated approximately 27 million euros from player departures while securing a net transfer surplus of 13 million euros. Despite the financial flexibility and roster talent, the team failed to find consistent sporting rhythm, culminating in the drop to 16th place in the league table and prompting the leadership to alter course before the autumn fixture list intensifies.
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