Rıza Çalımbay

Rıza Çalımbay — Biography

Born on 2 February 1963 in Sivas, Rıza Çalımbay is a former Turkish international footballer who spent his entire playing career at Beşiktaş and later became one of Turkish football's most prominent managers. His relentless work rate as both player and coach earned him the nickname 'Atom Karınca' (Atom Ant).

Promoted to Beşiktaş's first team in 1980 and soon named club captain, Çalımbay made 494 league appearances over 16 seasons, more than any other player in the club's official-match history, and lifted 20 trophies including six league titles. Capped 38 times for Turkey from 1981 onward and a longtime national-team captain, he retired with a testimonial match in July 1996.

He began his coaching career as an assistant to Christoph Daum at Beşiktaş before taking his first head-coaching job at Göztepe in 2001. After spells at Denizlispor, Ankaragücü and Rizespor, he took charge of Beşiktaş in 2005, then managed a series of Anatolian clubs. In 2019 he returned to his hometown club Sivasspor, leading it into European competition for three consecutive seasons and winning the 2022 Turkish Cup, before a brief second spell at Beşiktaş in late 2023. Çalımbay holds the record for the most matches managed in the Süper Lig, and reports emerged in mid-2026 that he was in talks over a possible return to management.