After three consecutive league games without a win, Thomas Reis and Samsunspor had reason to celebrate again last Sunday.
After three consecutive league games without a win, Thomas Reis and Samsunspor had reason to celebrate again last Sunday.

Things are simply going well for Thomas Reis at Samsunspor. Last season, he sensationally led his club to third place in the Turkish Süper Lig, thereby reaching the Europa League play-offs. And this season has also gotten off to a successful start: after six match days, the former coach of Schalke 04 and VfL Bochum is in fourth place with Samsun.

Samsunspor has eleven points to its name, with only the undefeated leaders Galatasaray (18 points) and Göztepe and Fenerbahce (both twelve points) having made a better start. Samsun celebrated two wins right at the start, but then suffered a slight dip in form with two draws against Trabzonspor and Kasimpasa and a defeat against Antalyaspor.

Reis’s team also narrowly failed to qualify for the Europa League play-offs after losing 2-1 in the first leg and drawing 0-0 in the second leg against Greek club Panathinaikos Athens, meaning that Samsun will “only” be competing in the Conference League this season. There, their opponents in the league phase will be Legia Warsaw, Dynamo Kiev, Hamrun Spartans, Breidablik Kópavogur, AEK Athens, and Mainz 05. Anthony Musaba scored the winning goal in the third minute of stoppage time. The club from the Black Sea region will now travel to Gaziantep FK for an away game before their first Conference League match in Warsaw on October 2 (9 p.m.).

Identification figure Reis had to leave Schalke early in the season

In September 2023, the now 51-year-old was dismissed after only seven points from the first seven games in the 2nd Bundesliga and a total of only 31 games on the sidelines at Schalke.

Instead of backing Reis, who was still considered a strong figure after the team’s relegation from the Bundesliga, he was quickly let go. It was a decision that many S04 fans still consider a mistake. On the one hand, even without Reis, the poorly assembled team was stuck in a relegation battle until almost the end of the season and only managed to avoid relegation with great difficulty under Reis’ successor, Karel Geraerts.

On the other hand, Reis identified fully with his role at the Royal Blues. After his dismissal from VfL Bochum, which he led back to the Bundesliga in 2021, he even paid part of the transfer fee himself in order to join the miners.

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Things are simply going well for Thomas Reis at Samsunspor. Last season, he sensationally led his club to third place in the Turkish Süper Lig, thereby reaching the Europa League play-offs. And this season has also got off to a successful start: after six match days, the former coach of Schalke 04 and VfL Bochum is in fourth place with Samsun.

Samsunspor has eleven points to its name, with only the undefeated leaders Galatasaray (18 points) and Göztepe and Fenerbahce (both twelve points) having made a better start. Samsun celebrated two wins right at the start, but then suffered a slight dip in form with two draws against Trabzonspor and Kasimpasa and a defeat against Antalyaspor.

Reis’s team also narrowly failed to qualify for the Europa League play-offs after losing 2-1 in the first leg and drawing 0-0 in the second leg against Greek club Panathinaikos Athens, meaning that Samsun will “only” be competing in the Conference League this season. There, their opponents in the league phase will be Legia Warsaw, Dynamo Kiev, Hamrun Spartans, Breidablik Kópavogur, AEK Athens, and Mainz 05. Anthony Musaba scored the winning goal in the third minute of stoppage time. The club from the Black Sea region will now travel to Gaziantep FK for an away game before their first Conference League match in Warsaw on October 2 (9 p.m.).

Identification figure Reis had to leave Schalke early in the season

In September 2023, the now 51-year-old was dismissed after only seven points from the first seven games in the 2nd Bundesliga and a total of only 31 games on the sidelines at Schalke.

Instead of backing Reis, who was still considered a strong figure after the team’s relegation from the Bundesliga, he was quickly let go. It was a decision that many S04 fans still consider a mistake. On the one hand, even without Reis, the poorly assembled team was stuck in a relegation battle until almost the end of the season and only managed to avoid relegation with great difficulty under Reis’ successor, Karel Geraerts.

On the other hand, Reis identified fully with his role at the Royal Blues. After his dismissal from VfL Bochum, which he led back to the Bundesliga in 2021, he even paid part of the transfer fee himself in order to join the miners.