Süleyman Seba

Süleyman Seba (Abkhaz: Шәлиман Цыба; 5 April 1926 – 13 August 2014) was a Turkish football player of Abkhazian origin and was the longest presiding chairman of the Istanbul-based multisports club Beşiktaş.

Süleyman Seba (Abkhaz name Tsiba) was born on 5 April 1926 in Soğuksulu, a village in the Sakarya Province of Turkey.

He also tried to obtain a degree in geography but he couldn't attend the exams when Beşiktaş was invited to play some friendlies in the United States.

[7] Seba went down in Turkish football history when he scored the first ever goal at the BJK İnönü Stadium against the Swedish side AIK during the inaugural match of the venue in 1947.

Although the squad was strengthened by some additions from Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş obtained the right to use the Turkish flag in their emblem, and it is still being used by the club today.

[12] During this election Seba received the support of the all-time Beşiktaş legend "Baba" (Father) Hakkı Yeten.

Beşiktaş lost the league championship on goal difference but Seba decided to continue with Stanković.

At the end of 1985–86 season, Stanković's Beşiktaş won the Turkish Super League championship on goal difference.

When Seba brought in British coach Gordon Milne, no one knew that Beşiktaş was set for years of dominance in the Turkish Super League.

With a strong team of young players like "Atom Karınca" (Atom Ant) Rıza Çalımbay (team captain), Feyyaz Uçar, "Sarı Fırtına" (Blonde Storm) Metin Tekin, Ali Gültiken, Gökhan Keskin, Mehmet Özdilek and Sergen Yalçın, Beşiktaş won three League titles in a row between 1989 and 1992.

He worked with several world famous trainers like Christoph Daum, John Benjamin Toshack, and Karl Heinz Feldkamp.

The 2014–15 season of the Süper Lig, which began less than a month after Seba's death, was officially dedicated to him by the Turkish Football Federation.