Trabzonspor have appointed Thomas Reis as their new head coach. The 52-year-old German takes charge after the club failed to reach an agreement with Stefano Pioli, who demanded a long-term contract.
Reis arrives from Bulgarian side Ludogorets, where he averaged 2.56 points per game over nine league matches. He travelled to Trabzon on a private plane with club president Ertuğrul Doğan and has signed a deal for the current season, with an extension possible based on achievements.
His career began at Bochum, where he led the club to the 2. Bundesliga title in the 2020-21 season, securing promotion to the Bundesliga after an 11-year absence. He later had a successful spell in Turkey with Samsunspor before moving to Ludogorets.
Reis is known for strong team organisation and effective pressing. Club official Yunus Emre Sel said, "His team organisation is strong," adding, "He implements pressing and tempo football well."
He is bringing two trusted assistants from Ludogorets: 66-year-old Dutchman Ton Lokhoff and 39-year-old Austrian Danijel Zenkovic. Existing staff members Hüseyin Çimşir, Metin Aktaş, Ergin Keleş and Osman Kul will continue in their roles.
Trabzonspor currently sit 9th in the Süper Lig with 7 points from 5 games. Their recent form reads LWLLW, with a 1-0 away defeat to Konyaspor on 12 September their last outing. Reis's first match in charge will be at home against 6th-placed Kocaelispor on 21 December. The team's top scorer this season is Mohamed Salah with 4 goals in 5 appearances.
Reis prefers an attacking 4-3-3 formation and demands maximum effort from his players, emphasising physical confrontation. He will take his first training session with the squad today.
The report in full is at Fotomac
