Turkish Football-Soccer by AHMET 'BOB' TURGUT

Farewell to Inonu Stadium

2013-05-11T02:20:00.000-04:00

66 years of adventure at Besiktas's Inonu stadium ends on Saturday night with a last home match this season for Besiktas.

A lot memories there,,,,,

Not only for Besiktas fans, also , Fenerbahce and Galatasaray fans too....

Adventure started back in 1947, when Besiktas host first ever match against Stockholm of Sweden team.

First goal was scored by Besiktas's honorary president Suleyman Seba then player for Besiktas at BJK Inonu stadium , originally named that time the Dolmabahce stadium.

The stadium was inaugurated on May 19, 1947 by second President of Turkey, Ismet Inonu who was a die-hard fan of Besiktas.

In 1952, the stadium was renamed as Mithat Pasa stadium....

Later on, named the Inonu stadium in 1973.....

A lot of history happened there at Inonu stadium...

Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas shared the stadium for long time.....

Galatasaray's Metin Oktay scored the goal would go in to the world records, by ripping the goal nets with his goal.

Back in 1972, I never forget , my late dad who was Besiktas fan took me there for Besiktas match when I was young boy.

The Inonu stadium was iconic for Turkish soccer!

On Saturday night, Besiktas fans and Turkish soccer fans will watch their last match there...

The tickets for Saturday night match against Genclerbirligi sold out within a couple hours.

There was huge demand for tickets......

The Inonu stadium will be demolished and rebuild at same location.

The new stadium will be 40.000 seat stadium and the construction will finish in late 2014.

After Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, Besiktas soccer club will have a brand new stadium in Istanbul.

Until, 2014, it is uncertain where Besiktas soccer team will play their games in Istabul.

On Saturday, there will be a lot of sad faces in the stadium at the end of the match.

A lot of memories will come in front of our eyes , as we say good bye to Inonu stadium,

The new stadium project will start in June of this year.

So, enjoy watching tomorrow's match .....

A win, and who ever scores the last goal in the Inonu stadium ,will be remembered for long time.

Just like , first goal scorer , great Suleyman Seba , Besiktas's player who became president of the club later on and who is honorary president now.

A win for Besiktas , will even up points with Fenerbahce ,before Sunday derby match between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray!

AHMET B TURGUT

Yes,Fenerbahce,Trabzon will meet in Turkish Cup final

2013-05-08T20:36:00.000-04:00

Fenerbahce after beating Eskisehir with penalty kicks, will meet Trabzonspor who also trashed Sivas at home with huge score 6-0 !

The ninety minutes ended with 1-1 draw, after playing two 15 minutes overtimes they went to penalty kicks.

Eskisehirspor missed two of their penalty kick and Fenerbahce advanced to the Turkish Cup final match early hours of Thursday.

Eskisehir scored first with Rodrigo Tello in the 17th minute of the match , Fenerbahce answered it with Webo's goal in the 32nd minute.

Eskisehirspor scored another goal by Necati Ates, and it was called back because of offside call!

It was hard fought match by Eskisehir after 120 minutes of football match and then penalty shoot-out .

But at the end, Fenerbahce playing in Kadikoy in front of home crowd, knew how to finish the penalty shoot- out by putting the balls in to the net and Fenerbahce keeper Volkan Demirel saving the one penalty kick, helped Fenerbahce to get to the Turkish Cup final.

In early match, Trabzonspor beat Sivasspor at home with 6-0 score and advanced first...

After losing the first leg match in Sivas 2-1, Trabzonspor shocked ,Sivaspor and Trabzon fans.

Polish International player Adrian Mierzejewski scored a hat-trick and had a assist!

The other goal scorers were, Olcan Adin, Volkan Sen and Ayku Aygun for Trabzon.

Until today's match ,Trabzon never score this much goal in this season.

Trabzonspor never lost at home in the Turkish Cup matches....

So, Fenarbahce will face Trabzonspor in the final.....

The final match will be on May 22th, 2013 and the location of the city will be announced by Turkish Football Federation later on this week or early next week.

Trabzonspor won the Turkish Cup 8 times while Fenerbahce won it 5 times...

Fenerbahce recently won the Turkish Cup, last season.

Last time Trabzon won the Turkish Cup was in 2009-2010 season, when they beat Fenerbahce 3-1 in Urfa.

Fenerbahce will play their 15th final match in the Turkish Cup on May 23th.

It should be good one.

Will Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor meet in the Turkish cup final ?

2013-05-08T01:13:00.002-04:00

Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor are desperate to win this years Ziraat Turkish Cup .

On Wednesday, in the semi-final second leg matches , Trabzonspor will face Sivasspor at home while Fenerbahce host Eskisehir at home in Kadikoy.

In the first leg matches, Sivasspor beat Trabzonspor 2-1 and Eskisehir tied with Fenerbahce at home with the score of 1-1.

Both of the matches will be hard fought matches!

Fenerbahce after eliminated in the Europa Cup, they have gave up on the league title too....

The only thing left for them this season is to win the Turkish Cup.....

On the other hand , Trabzonspor who has been struggling in the league , wants the peace of the action!

But, it wont be that easy for Trabzonspor.....

They have to beat Sivasspor with clean sheet score and score 2 goals!

Fenerbahce has better chance making the final match in my opinion....

That is if they play as a team!

Last weekend against Buyuksehir ,they looked really bad , after going down to Benfica in Lisbon.

On the other hand Eskisehir, could be dangers with their goal scorers against Fenerbahce.

It is the last domestic cup up grabs for four teams on tomorrow.....

Both matches will be broadcast live by ATV TV.
Trabzonspor vs Sivasspor match will start at 19:00 local Turkish time (12:00 Noon ,ET)

Fenerbahce vs Eskisehir match will start at 21:30 (2:30 ET)

So, stakes are very high on on Wednesday for all four team!

It is higher for Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor ....

Will it be Fenerbahce vs Trabzonspor in the final?

We will find out after tomorrows matches...

Bursaspor President Ibrahim Yazici Died

2013-05-07T11:39:00.000-04:00

BURSASPOR SOCCER CLUB PRESIDENT IBRAHIM YAZICI

The man who brought Championship to Bursa about three seasons ago, died today in Bursa after massive heart failure .

Ibrahim Yazici was 65 years old , even though his Doctor told him not to attend his team matches , He was at Bursaspor last match.

Doctor Nadir Seren from Acibadem Bursa Hospital said, he died of heart failure .

Ibrahim Yazici was born in 1948 in Bursa. He was businessman, politician also was manager and president of Bursaspor soccer club.

Back in 2010 season his team won the Turkish Super League title for the first time of the clubs history.

Former Besiktas player , Ertugrul Saglam was the coach at the time.

Current coach, Hikmet Karaman said , they were shock to receive the sad news.

He said, Bursaspor fans and him self is very sad to see their bosses passing away suddenly.

Coach Hikmet Karaman said, our president will be missed by Turkish Football fans and Bursaspor fans .

Fatih Terim's third spell bring another tittle for Galatasaray

2013-05-06T12:30:00.001-04:00

DROGBA CELEBRATES WITH FATIH TERIM AND THE TEAM AS GALATASARAY WIN THE TITLE

This was Fatih Terim's back to back his second Championship tittle in his third spell with Galatasaray .

Also, it was his sixth, winning the title in Turkey....

That is a record for any coach in Turkey.....

Before, Trabzonspor coach Ahmet Suat Ozyaci did win it, 4 times in Turkey.

Galatasaray won their record 19th Turkish Super League title after beating Sivasspor in front of their fans.

Whether you like Fatih Terim or hate him, there is one thing,you can't regret his success as coach!

Knowing him since his early 1990' coaching days as Turkish National team coach , after with Galatasaray, he has came from long journey with his vision and his hard work.

His first spell was awesome with Galatasaray, won a lot of trophies....

And ,league title for four times and winning the UEFA cup for the first time!

His second term with Galatasaray was failure .....

But, like I said before, with Unal Aysal coming in to the power as a chairman two years ago, Unal Aysal called Fatih Terim to be the coach for third spell!

THE THIRD TIME CHARM........

The third time charm, for Fatih Terim was best and highlights of his career ,in my opinion !

Knowing him for long time, this has to be the best two years of life in his coaching career .

( Fatih Terim and Turkish Football Blogger Ahmet B Turgut in 1997 )

Winning the Turkish Super League title back to back, playing in the Champions League , getting out of the group stages for the first time , beating Manchester United in Istanbul and giving a hell of fight against Real Madrid team in the quarter final in the Champions league!

And, with Unal Aysal vision, coaching world class players like Drogba and Sneijder.....

World's eye catching addition of Sneijder and Drogba fueled Galatasaray's passion for the title.

Fatih Terim, in the beginning of his third spell , made smart moves and transferred , Muslare, Burak Yilmaz and Selcuk Inan.

Top scorer in Turkey Burak Yilmaz was the one of the keys to Galatasaray successes ....

The work horse of Galatasaray team along with other players....

Overall, the third spell for Fatih Terim will be remembered for long time....

Collecting six titles in eight years !

That is excellent .......

You have to give credit where it due.....

It has been great third spell for Fatih Terim with Galatasaray.

**************************

With two weeks remaining in the season, while Galatasaray won , their arrival Fenerbahce lost to Buyuksehir and shock Fenerbahce .

Next weekends, derby match in Kadikoy, could be very interesting for Fenerbahce after they will play a very important Turkish Cup Semi-Final match against Eskisehirspor in the mid week.

With losing to Buyuksehir , Fenerbahce in danger of losing their second place in the league!

In the last two weekends, we could see Fenerbahce compete with Besiktas to finish second place after Galatasaray already clinch the title and guaranteed to go the UEFA's Champions League directly .

Second place team will also get a shot of the Champions League, that is why this race could get very intersting.

On the bottom of the league, Orduspor is the other team will not be in the Turkish Super League next season after Mersin.

The third team is still up in the air , after Buyuksehir win and Akhisar losing in Antalya!

Looks like the fight will go down to the wire......

Will it be Akhisar, Buyuksehir or other teams, still unknown!

AHMET B TURGUT

Galatasaray on the verge of claiming the league title in Turkey on Sunday

2013-05-05T02:32:00.001-04:00

It is title-decider Sunday, in the Turkish Super League !

A win for Galatasaray in front of sell out home crowd could secure the Turkish Super League title, with two weeks to go in the league.

The team they are facing is Sivasspor....

Sivasspor coach Riza Calimbay said, "they will not go down easy against Galatasaray, they will put up a fight against Galatasaray "

Galatasaray who has been superb after Sneijder and Droba joined the team in the mid season has won their last six matches!

If they win on Sunday, Galatasaray will claim the title for the first time when there is two weeks left to play!
That is another record for Fatih Terim and his Galatasaray team.

Galatasaray seven points ahead of second place Fenerbahce and they meet each other in Kadikoy next weekend in the week 33 .

That is why Galatasaray wants to win this match against Sivasspor and ease the tensions for the next weekend.

A win for Galatasaray will bring their 19th Turkish Super League title in Turkey....

Because of the nine game suspension Fatih Terim will not be at the sideline for this and their last home match against Trabzonspor but He will collect his 6th Championship title , after winning back to back four years in his first term as a Galatasaray coach ,he will win his back to back Championship in his third term !

With Unal Aysal coming in power and hiring Fatih Terim as a coach on his third spell was big success overall in Turkey and Europe!

First time in his career Fatih Terim after five tries, came out of group stages and played in quarter finals in the Champions League.

Again, players like Sneijder and Drogba who was bought by Unal Aysal were big help for Fatih Terim's Galatasaray!

There is no question about that.....

Drogba's leadership on and off the field showed character .

His knowledge of the match changed a lot of young Turkish players on the team too.....

There is no question this has to be the best accomplished season for Fatih Terim as a Galatasaray coach/

I only hoped , he would have control his behavior on the sideline better when he was riding this very sucses story this season !

He, him self even regretted what he have done was wrong !

Hopefully, he will learn to control his motions much better from the sidelines in the future.

BURSASPOR CAPTURES THIRD AND ORDUSPOR BITES THE DUST !

On Saturday, Bursaspor beat Orduspor in Ordu 2-4 and captured the third place from Besiktas.

On Sunday, Besiktas must beat Eskisehirspor in Eskisehir if they want to get back on third place.

With Mersin already going down, Orduspor saying good bye on Saturday, the third team who will bite the dust will be Istanbul Buyuksehir, if they don't win on Sunday against Fenerbahce!

That would be huge upset if they beat Fenerbahce...

On the other hand , Akhisar has to win in Antalya to order to breath !

Buyuksehir and Akhisar winning on Sunday, will put pressure teams like ,Elazig, Karabuk , Gazinatep and Sivas too ...

The matches between Karabuk vs Gazinatep and Mersin vs Elazig will be very interesting to see too!

So, there are a lot of good and decider matches in the Turkish Super League on Sunday.

Sit back ,and watch it all!

AHMET BOB TURGUT

Fenerbahce could not use the advantage !

2013-05-03T13:03:00.000-04:00

Benfica advanced to the Europa League final after Oscar Cardozo scored twice Thursday in a 3-1 win against Fenerbahce to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.

The Portuguese club will play on May 15 against Chelsea, which advanced in the other semifinal by beating Basel 3-1 to go through 5-2 on aggregate.

Benfica needed just nine minutes to level the aggregate score in Lisbon when Nicolas Gaitan poked in Lima's cross, canceling out Egemen Korkmaz's goal in Istanbul.

Dirk Kuyt's 23rd-minute penalty after Ezequiel Garay's handball gave Fenerbahce a precious away goal and would have put the Turkish club into its first European final.

But Oscar made it 2-1 with a low left-footed drive from the edge of the area in the 35th, and the Paraguayan netted again in the 66th.

"We knew after Istanbul that we were a better team than them overall," Benfica coach Jorge Jesus said. "They didn't create many problems for us."

Benfica was in commanding form as it fought to make up for the Istanbul loss, and Fenerhabce's defense kept coming apart under pressure from Cardozo and Lima. Benfica had almost 70 percent of possession during the 90 minutes.

Cardozo looked likely to extend Benfica's lead as the Paraguayan striker twice in 10 minutes tested goalkeeper Volkan Demirel.

Gaitan's strike, after charging into the area to meet Lima's cross, compelled Fenerbahce to start taking risks following a cautious start.

Fenerbahce created few chances, Kuyt's probing down the right paid off when the ball ricocheted off central defender Garay's arm and the referee awarded Fenerbahce a penalty.

Cardozo's perseverance produced results when he wrong-footed three defenders to put the ball past Volkan Demirel.

Cardozo kept up the threat in the second half, curling a shot just past the post in the 50th, as the home team pushed forward and Fenerbahce looked ragged.

Source :AP

Head Games :Amsterdam Calling Fenerbahce

2013-05-02T02:58:00.000-04:00

Coach Aykut Kocaman (C) of Fenerbahçe SK speaks to his players
Photo by Getty Images

It is huge and historic match for Fenerbahce on Thursday in Lisbon !

A win or draw will take them to UEFA's Europa League final in Amsterdam....

It is a huge match for both teams....

But, Fenerbahce winning the first match gives a little edge to Fenerbahce

On the other hand, Benfica is unbeaten in their 13 home matches!

Fenerbahce, yet to lose in the last 6 away matches in this tournament...

At the end of the match on Thursday, something is going to give in !

Will that be Fenerbahce or Benfica?

Ninety minutes on Thursday will show us this!

Fenerbahce's coach Aykut Kocaman and his players calm and waiting for the kick of on Thursday.

If Fenerbahce comes out clean from Thursday match,they will reach the European Final for the first time and
they will set a UEFA Europa League record with seven away matches win.

Key player for Fenerbahce : Dirk Kuyt

Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahçe SK)

Dirk Kuyt of Fenerbahçe SK during a training session ahead of the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg against SL Benfica

WHAT THEY SAID....

Aykut Kocaman : "One of the most important in our history .Benfica are a more experienced side and have played many European matches. Even with us being 1-0 up in the tie, the chances are equal for both teams.

"We're facing very strong opponents, we have a one-goal advantage but we're not through yet – we'll only know that after 90 or 120 minutes,"

"In the last training session we worked on penalties, but it's more important to be mentally ready to take them. We didn't play well in the first game, but we played the way we were able to. Benfica are stronger here and have the home support with them, while we have the result on our side. For me we're even."

JORGE JESUS : "Our goal is to turn this tie around – 1-0 is a tricky result, but we know and have the confidence that we can go through. We have European experience in both the Champions and the Europa Leagues and we know what it's like to be at this stage. We are calm and won't change anything. We are very confident and hope our fans can help us to reach the final – that's what we all want.

"It's not the most important match of my career, or Benfica's. It's good to be in a semi-final and it's important for the club's image, but a final is even better. We're just one game away and the first-leg result allows us to believe that it's possible to make it real. I'm not nervous because I'm an experienced person and we all know how is to be here. I feel normal and hope my players are the same. It's a sign of both confidence and that we are ready to achieve our goal."

Fenerbahce ended Benfica's 38-match unbeaten run in all competitions, in Istanbul, On Thursday, if Fenerbahce defeats Benfica , they will ruined their 13 -match home win record too!'

Fenerbahce has to do it without midfielder Mehmet Topal and striker Pierre Webo, who are both suspended, while midfielder Raul Meireles is injured.

The match will be on Fox soccer 2go and the match will start at 2.55 ET

Galatasaray Need a Win This Weekend to Capture the Tittle

2013-04-30T00:37:00.000-04:00

It is all up to this weekend's match against Sivasspor in front of their loud fans at Ali Samiyen Arena Stadium !

After winning this past weekend in Gaziantep with narrow win and Fenerbahce coming back from behind and win it late with a penalty kick,the gap between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce stayed the same..

Galatasaray is ahead of Fenerbahce with 7 points....

This coming weekend Galatasaray host Sivas and Fenerbahce will face the team who is in deep trouble, Istanbul Buyuksehir at Ataturk Stadium....

If Galatasaray wins on Sunday, celebrations will starts at the end of the match!

Defending champions Galatasaray with a seven point gap going in to the last two weeks in the league, will pretty much deserve to celebrate.

But, if Fenerbahce wins and Galatasaray draw or loses, 33th weekend match between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray in Kadikoy will be very interesting!

That could well be the biggest match of the season......

Fenerbahce who are going to face Benfica this coming Thursday, in the Europa League semi-final, second leg match , will come to Istanbul very tired on late Thursday night or early Friday morning.

Fenerbahce is the only Istanbul team who is still competing in three different competition...

Turkish Super League title , Turkish Cup and Europa League Semi-Final !

The most important one for them is playing in the final at Amsterdam ...

After winning at home 1-0 against Benfica, they are focused to eliminate Benfica on Thursday an play in the final match .

Buyuksehir team looks like already trow the towel in the Turkish Super League....

After the last weekend's match, their coach Bulent Korkmaz ,was not happy with his team performance and he said that to the LIG TV reporter!

For Orduspor and Istanbul Buyuksehir, this weekend is going to be do or die weekend....

A draw or loss for both teams will send them to the lower division along with Mersin, this season....

Orduspor will face Bursaspor at home on Saturday while Buyuksehir will host Fenerbahce on Sunday.

There are also three or four teams feelingt the heat from the bottom....

Teams like, Akhisar,Karabuk, Elazig and Gaziantep has to win their games.....
In case of , Orduspor and Buyuksehir winning this weekend , they could still feel the heat....

As long as they win their matches this weekend or draw they should be in good position....

RIZESPOR AND KAYSERI ERCIYES BACK IN THE TURKISH SUPER LEAGUE AGAIN....

Two weeks to go in the Turkish League One, Rizespor and Kayseri Erciyes already promoted to Turkish Super League.
Rizespor will finish on top and Kayseri Erciyes will finish second, in the League one...

The third team who will be promoted to the Super League will come out of the play off at the end of the season.

Playoffs will be between 3rd and 6th place teams at the end of the season.

Back in December, after huge pressure by politicians to Mustafa Denizli, Denizli took over the Rizespor as a coach.

It was risky but he knew what he was getting in to. He did all the winter transfers and got what he wanted.

With quality players coming over to Rizespor and his experience Rizespor wishes came through..

Rizespor tired to do this last year but,they loss that chance during the playoffs......

There were no politicians backing Rizespor, last year!

Anyway, the man who won three championship in the Turkish Super League with three different Istanbul team took a huge risk in his career and won championship in the League one (second division )

I could tell you this, playing in the Turkish Super League and coaching Rizespor won't be same as coaching Fenerbahce, Galatasaray or Besiktas!

The real question is , will Denizli be suspenseful with Rizespsor in the Turkish Super League?

We will find out, won't we!

AHMET B TURGUT

Important Win for Fenerbahce

2013-04-25T20:53:00.002-04:00

EGEMEN KORKMAZ , WHO SCORED FENERBAHCE'S ONLY GOAL.

Lets face it, we saw a Fenerbahce team we have not seen in the Turkish Super League matches,tonight.

As a whole team , they played their hearts out and before the Egemen Korkmaz's goal they hit the woodwork three times including missing the penalty kick by Baroni hitting the post!

But, they never lost the team composure and started the second half of the match with same tone.

Fenerbahce keeper Volkan Demirel made some key saves in the first half.....

In the 72 minute , Egemen Korkmaz header put Fenerbahce up 1-0 .

After the match, Dirk Kuyt thanked Fenerbahce coach Aykut Kocaman, for preparing the team for Benfica clash... he said " our coach told us everything about Benfica and how to play against them and that is exactly what we did on the field tonight "

"That is why I like to thank Aykut Kocaman ", he said.

Kuyt went on to say , "This is great night for Turkish soccer "

Even though 1-0 win is a narrow win, Fenerbahce showed, they could bring down Benfica.

The way Fenerbahce played tonight, they really want to play in the final match.

Exprience player like Dirk Kuyt ,could take Fenerbahce to Amsterdam to the finals.

Aykut Kocaman's game plan and regrouping the players is huge for this match.

After the match, Fenerbahce coach Aykut Kocaman thanked all of his players and said, they played great tonight.

On defense, Gokhan Gonul, Joseph Yoba from Nigaria and Egemen Korkmaz was excellent .

On bad thing about Fenerbahce is, they will be missing a few players for second leg match in Benfica.

Webo and Mehmet Topal will be missed because of 2 yellow card suspensions..

Also injured Meireles will not play due to injury in the second leg match.

At the end,starting with Kocaman,all of the players believed in beating Benfica and they did it.

They did it with Aykut Kocaman's good planing and regrouping his players...

It is not all done yet , but Fenerbahce and Fenerbahce fans could enjoy this huge win tonight.

AHMET "BOB" TURGUT

Fenerbahce Need to Refocus ! Fenerbahce vs Benfica

2013-04-24T01:01:00.000-04:00

www.foxsoccer2go.com

Fenerbahce has to refocus quickly ahead of their UEFA Europa League semi-final match against Benfica.

Aykut Kocaman's Fenerbahce lost for the first time in 11 matches in all competitions on Sunday when they went down 2-0 away to Genclerbirligi in the Turkish Super League!

That put a huge dent to their title hopes in the Turkish Super League!

Thursday's match will be Fenerbahce's first appearance in the final four of a European continental competition and Kocaman will be stressing the importance of winning their home leg.

In the 12 UEFA Europa League semi-final matches since the competition's name was changed from the UEFA Cup, 10 have been won by the home side, suggesting that if Fenerbahce fail to defeat Benfica at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, they will probably miss out on a spot in the final.

Fenerbahce have been led by Brazilian midfielder Cristian Baroni and Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt in their run to the last four.

Baroni, in his fourth season with Fenerbahce, has three goals and three assists in the UEFA Europa League, while Kuyt (three goals, one assist) has also been important for Fenerbahce.

Former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles is also expected to start in midfield, while Joseph Yobo from Nigeria will be on defense.

Benfica will head to Turkey after a 2-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Derby de Lisboa on Sunday.

Benfica are undefeated in the UEFA Europa League this season and last lost a match at the end of February when they were knocked out of the Portuguese League Cup on penalties by Sporting Braga.

Aykut Kocaman will need to warn his defense about Argentine midfielder Eduardo Salvio, who has scored three goals in Benfica's past four matches, including the opener against Sporting.

Meanwhile, Benfica head coach Jorge Jesus will hope his players are inspired by the only previous encounter between the Portuguese club and Fenerbahce.

In the 1975/76 European Cup, Benfica thumped Fenerbahce 7-0 in Lisbon and then held on for a 7-1 aggregate victory after a narrow defeat in the second leg in Turkey.

The match will be broadcast live in the United States by Foxsoccer2go.com

Recent form

Fenerbahce: WDWDL

Benfica: WWWDW

Possible lineups

Fenerbahce: Demirel; Korkmaz, Yobo, Ziegler, Gonul; Meireles, Baroni, Ucan, Erkin; Kuyt, Webo

Benfica: Artur; Almeida, Garay, Luisao, Melgarejo; Gaitan, Matic, Perez, Salvio; Lima, John

Fenerbahce qualified for semi-finals

2013-04-11T19:54:00.001-04:00

Fenerbahce qualified for semi-finals
Lazio: 1 - Fenerbahce: 1

Turkey's Fenerbahce football team qualified for semi-finals in the UEFA Europa League after a 1-1 draw in Rome that earned the Istanbul side a 3-1 win on aggregate against Italy's Lazio in the second leg of a quarter-final game.

Stadium: Rome Olympic Stadium
Referees: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic), Roman Slysko (Slovakia), Martin Wilczek (Czech Republic)
Lazio: Marchetti, Biava, Ciani, Cana, Radu, Hernanes, Ledesma, Lulic, Candreva, Ederson, Kozak
Fenerbahce: Volkan Demirel, Gokhan Gonul, Yobo, Egemen Korkmaz, Ziegler, Selcuk Sahin, Meireles, Kuyt, Cristian, Caner Erkin, Webo
Scorers: min 60 Lulic (Lazio), min 73 Caner Erkin (Fenerbahce)

Source : AA News Agency

First semi-final is very close for Fenerbahce

2013-04-10T10:40:00.000-04:00

Fenerbahce is in very good position to advance to the semi finals for the first time !

After beating Lazio at home 2-0 , Fenerbahce will travel to Rome to play Lazio on Thursday.

Because of Lazoio's suspension by UEFA second leg match will be played behind close doors.

Lazio, beaten UEFA Cup finalists in 1998, are unbeaten at home in the competition this season but will be playing their second home match behind closed doors as a punishment for the poor behavior of their fans, which has marred their campaign.

Fenerbahce, whose most recent appearance in a European quarter-final ended in defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League five years ago, have lost on all six previous visits to Italy.

"I think playing without supporters is a disadvantage for any footballer, because you want to play for the supporters," Fenerbahce forward Dirk Kuyt said.

Dirk Kuyt and Pierre Webo will be Fenerbahce's top guns on Thursday against Lazio ....

Fenerbahce's Sow, will not be on the pitch due to injuries.

Galatasaray vs Real Madrid 3:2 HIGHLIGHTS

2013-04-10T01:50:00.000-04:00

Galatasaray vs Real Madrid 3:2 HIGHLIGHTS

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyvieh_galatasaray-vs-real-madrid-3-2-highlights_sport#.UWT8oqJJOAg

Fatih Terim : " I believed we were going to achieved the comeback !"

2013-04-10T00:53:00.000-04:00

Galatasaray's coach Fatih Terim reacts during their Champions League quarter-final second leg soccer match against Real Madrid in Istanbul April 9, 2013. REUTERS/

What a second half against Real Madrid from Galatasaray team...

After falling a goal behind in the first half , Galatasaray was totally different team in the second half..

Scoring back to to back three goals in the second half of the match made the match very interesting

Until Ronaldo, scored his and Real Madrid's second goal at the very end of the match!

Fatih Terim's boy's put up hell of fight in the second half....

Players like Wesley Sneijder and Drogba shined in the second half....

At the end Galatasaray won the match 3-2 but because of the bad result in the first match they could not advance to the semi-finals in the Champions League,...

But, a good show in the second half , with Eboue , Sneijder and Drogba scoring , gave some thing to smile for Galatasaray fans and Turkish football fans too!

Fatih Terim said "
"I started to think of going through to the semifinals. It had not been the case up until that moment.

Especially just after Drogba's disallowed goal, that was the the moment when we really believed it."

Fatih Terim also thank the fans and also thank to Mourinho who came in to the Galatasaray locker rooms to thank players for a really good match.

He went on to say" When I took this job, I promised to create good and better Galatasaray, Today I saw a good and very talented Galatasaray team out there, "

"That is why I am so happy about keeping and doing my promise to the Galatasaray fans "

Fatih Terim: "Anything is possible in football"

2013-04-09T11:26:00.000-04:00

Fatih Terim still have a faith ........

Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim still say it is not over until it is over!

"Anything is possible in football, but when you are playing against Real Madrid things are not so easy," Terim said during yesterday's press conference He wen on the say "Galatasaray will try everything. I am sure about the ambition and enthusiasm of my players. We have prepared ourselves for any kind of result."

Terim said, Real Madrid is one of the best team in the world, and Mourinho is one of the best coach and he is my friend....

He also said, he is very happy what Galatasaray achieved , Galatasaray fans enjoy this ride and tonights match !

"To play against Real Madrid, you have to come this far , and we are happy to come this far "

Galatasaray will be without Burak Yilmaz and defender Dany.

Possible Lineups

Galatasaray (4-3-1-2): Fernando Muslera; Albert Riera, Hakan Balta, Semih Kaya, Emmanuel Eboué; Selcuk Inan, Felipe Melo, Hamit Altintop; Wesley Sneijder; Didier Drogba, Johan Elmander

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Diego López; Fabio Coentrao; Raphael Varane, Raul Albiol, Michael Essien; Luka Modric, Sami Khedira; Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria; Karim Benzema.

Fenerbahce 2- Lazio 0

2013-04-04T18:20:00.001-04:00

Fenerbahçe dominated its Europa League quarterfinal first leg tie against Italian rivals Lazio on April 4, winning 2-0 in front of its home fans at the Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium in Istanbul.

Fenerbahçe players were desperately unlucky to hit the woodwork on two occasions, but Cameroon international striker Pierre Webo eventually put Fener into the lead with an opening goal from the penalty spot in the 78th minute. Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt doubled the score in the dying minutes of the game with a shot from inside Lazio’s area.

The Italians played nearly the entire second half with 10 men, after Nigerian midfielder Ogenyo Onazi was sent off in the 47th minute.

The host could have found the precious goal much earlier, as they came very close to opening the scoring in the 17th minute, when Gökhan Gönül forced Lazio defender Mickael Ciani into committing an error inside his own area. The ball rolled into the direction of Moussa Sow who found himself unmarked with only Lazio’s goalkeeper Federico Marchetti to beat, but Marchetti denied the potent man of the moment by touching the ball onto the post.

Fenerbahçe dominated possession throughout the match, but Lazio’s disciplined defending left few open spaces for the attacking duo of Sow-Webo.

The second half began with drama after the Romans went down to 10 men, and from that point on Fenerbahçe increased the pressure and started threatening. Two minutes after the sending off, Portuguese star Raul Meireles fired a missile just outside the area, beating the keeper but again hitting the post.

Fenerbahçe’s pressure finally bore fruit when defender Lazio Radu handled the ball inside his area. Webo converted the resultant penalty kick and sent the home crowd into raptures.

Marchetti was then forced to save a dangerous shot from Reto Ziegler in the 88th minute, and the game looked to be drawing to a close. However, in the 90th minute, Kuyt had other ideas, scoring what could ultimately prove to be a crucial goal.

Second leg match will be played in Rome on April 11th , behind close doors .

Source: Hurriyet Daily

Fenerbahce takes on Lazio in Istanbul

2013-04-04T10:19:00.000-04:00

Fenerbahce will host Italian side Lazio in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final tie at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Turkey.

Lazio manager, Vladimir Petković has very fond memories of this stadium – his former team BSC Young Boys defeated the Turkish side in the Europa League qualifying rounds back in 2010-11 season.

Fenerbahce are coming into this match on the back of a convincing 2-0 win last weekend over lowly Akhisar in the Turkish Super League. They are currently in second in the domestic league, just four points behind arch rivals Galatasaray. The Fenerbahce are on a good run of form lately and have lost just thrice in their last 20 games (in all competitions), which includes the 3-2 defeat at the hands of 1461 Trabzon in the cup.

In the last round they scraped past Viktoria Plzen courtesy of Salih Ucan’s strike in the first half of the second leg at home. They have been far from convincing in the knockout rounds so far and will need a great performance at home in the first leg to have any hope of beating Lazio in this tie.

Lazio on the other hand are the only club which is still unbeaten in the competition and are currently the top scorer in Europa League as well. But the Biancazzurri have struggled in the league off late and have lost six of their last nine matches in Serie A –which has dealt a heavy blow to their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season. Lazio are currently fifth in the table and are closely followed by Inter and Roma and if they don’t improve their form, they might as well find themselves out of Europe next season.

But Vladimir Petković’s side are coming into this match on the back of an important 2-1 win over Catania – albeit with a bit of luck. Their form in Europe has been outstanding though. The smashed five goals past Stuttgart over two legs in the last round – courtesy of an outstanding hattrick by Europa League’s top scorer Libor Kozak in the second leg. In fact they also scored five goals against a strong Monchengladbach side in the knockout previous round.

Match date: April 5, 2013 3:00 PM,ET

Sukrü Saracogu Stadium — İstanbul / Turkey

Team Lineups :

Fenerbahçe

Volkan, Gokhan, Bekir, Yobo, Ziegler, Meireles, Selcuk
Kuyt, Baroni, Caner, Sow

Lazio

Marchetti, Biava, Cana, Dias, Radu, Mauri, G’lez, Ledesma, Lulic, Hernanes, Klose

Real Madrid defeats Galatasaray 3-0

2013-04-03T18:07:00.001-04:00

Real Madrid defeats Turkey's Galatasaray 3-0
Spain's Real Madrid defeated Turkey's Galatasaray, 3-0, in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final in Madrid

Spain's Real Madrid defeated Turkey's Galatasaray, 3-0, in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final in Madrid on Wednesday.
The second leg will be played in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu

Referees: Svein Oddvar Moen, Kim Thomas Haglund, Frank Andas (Norway)

Real Madrid: Diego Lopez, Essien, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Coentrao, Khedira, Xabi Alonso, Di Maria (Mn. 85 Pepe), Mesut Ozil (Mn. 79 Modric), Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema (Mn. 65 Higuain )

Galatasaray: Muslera, Eboue, Semih Kaya, Dany, Riera (Mn. 83 Amrabat), Melo, Hamit Altintop (Mn. 78 Umut), Selcuk Inan, Sneijder (Mn. 46 Gokhan Zan), Drogba, Burak Yilmaz

Goals: Mn. 9 Cristiano Ronaldo, Mn. 29 Benzema, Mn. 73 Higuain (Real Madrid)
Yellow cards: Mn. 41 Dany, Mn. 70 Melo, Mn. 74 Drogba, Mn. 78 Burak Yilmaz (Galatasaray), Mn. 84 Essien, Mn. 84 Xabi Alonso, Mn. 90 Sergio Ramos, Mn. 90+1 Modric (Real Madrid)

Source : AA News Agency

Real Madrid vs Galatasaray....

2013-04-03T11:32:00.001-04:00

Are you ready ?

Most of you already biting your nails and waiting this huge match to start!

Underdogs, Galatasaray ready to take on Real Madrid in Spain.....

Since January transfer window, with Sneijder and Drogba, Galatasaray is getting a lot of attention from worlds media and soccer fans around the world.

That is why this match will be watched in 70 countries live ....

Galatasaray and Fatih Terim is in this Elite Eight group in the Champions League for the first time.

So, this match in United States will be broadcast live starting at 2:30 PM< ET on Fox Soccer TV

Casillas ruled out against Galatasaray!

2013-04-01T00:40:00.003-04:00

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has said that Iker Casillas will not even be on the bench for the Champions League quarter-final first-leg against Galatasaray on Wednesday.

The Spanish captain has recently returned to full training after breaking a bone in his hand back in January. However, after another fine performance by Diego Lopez in Madrid’s 1-1 draw with Real Zaragoza on Saturday, Mourinho said it will be difficult for Casillas to regain his place.

“On Wednesday Casillas won’t be a substitute. Against Levante he will be in the squad,” he told a press conference.

“I can never say that a player will start for the rest of the season, but I can say that once more Diego Lopez has played very well and helped the team obtain a result.

“Playing as he has in games with a high grade of difficulty like Barcelona and Manchester United and playing as he is currently playing, he is important for the team.

“In football we have to try and be honest with ourselves and our players. In this form it will be difficult for him to not start in goal.”

Mourinho recognized the problems his side are having at the other end of the pitch after his strikers once again failed to find the net at La Romareda.

“The reality is we are not scoring many goals. It is one of the differences with respect to last season.

“Everyone’s number of goals has reduced and the team feels it. The goals will arrive though, if not in this match then in the next.”

Source :Wires

Third time is the charm for Fatih Terim with Galatasaray

2013-03-31T03:40:00.000-04:00

Fatih Terim and Me ( Ahmet B Turgut ) -1997

His first time was back in 1996 with Galatasaray.....

And it was filled with a lot of achievements!

Winning the European Cup for the first time as a Turkish team and setting records for four years in the Turkish Super League,,,,,,

Winning the Championship for four strait years in the Turkish Super League,,,,,

The most important one was winning the European Cup back in 199 -2000 season!

Before the Galatasaray years, Fatih Terim made his name with Turkish National team back in starting 1995

I met Fatih Terim for the for the first time back in 1990's in New York..........

Fatih Terim came to New York with Senez Erzik at the time he was Turkish Football Federation President...

I also saw him when he came to Toronto, Canada with Turkish National team back in 1995 and when he brought Galatasaray team to USA tour back in 1997........

Terim, got his guiding ship under Sepp Piontek whem he was assistant coach at Turkish National team back in 1990!

With a good generation of players at Galatasaray and in the Turkish National team helped Terim's career to achieve a lot of his goal along with experience players like George Hagi and other Romanian player on the team....

In his first four years at Galatasaray ,Terim had a impressive record!

Winning 133 games out of 204 matches and 44 draw and only 27 loss......

But ,his second time with Galatasaray was not that great!

it was a failure......

His unsuccessful foreigner players transfer cost Galatasaray big time.....

His second term did not less that long at the end of one and half season he resigned!

THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM !'

Fatih Terim returned to Galatasaray for a third term back in may of 2011 , when Galatasaray team was really struggling in the league!

With current Chairman Unal Aysal winning the election , Aysal hired and shook hands with Terim !''

In 2010-2011 season exactly this time Galatasaray was in the 14th place in the Turkish super league when Terim took Galatasaray team!

With Unal Aysal and his committeemen new vision , Galatasaray with Fatih Terim has been the talk of the Turkish Football around the world.!

Nearly bankrupt Galatasaray team manage to pay the debt they owed and got world class players like Drogba and Sneijder at the January transfer window thanks to Unal Aysal's vision ....

Winning games and being in the Champions League tournament helped Galatasaray pay some of those money that they owed!

What ever the case, Galatasaray is on right-track so far with Unal Aysal and Fatih Terim...

They are in the elite eight of the Champions League !

And they will face world's one of the best teams Real Madrid, come Tuesday......

World's top ten, two coaches Mourinho and Terim will be against each other!

They are friends of the pitch but they will fight with their tactics on the sideline this Tuesday ...

On the paper, there is no doubt Real Madrid is much stronger team....

But, Terim's motivation from sildeline and his experience player like Drogba, Sneijder and Hamit Altintop could well cause damage to Real Madrid on Tuesday,,,

Also Galatasaray's goal scoring machine Burak Yilmaz and mastermind at the midfield Selcuk inan could be a factor in this match....

Fatih Terim's dimond at the midfield if it works like he wants it, Real Madrid will be in trouble .....

Galatasaray scoring goals in Madrid will help the second match in Istanbul.....

Biggest problem I see with Galatasaray is their defense !

They have to have a flawless match....

On Tuesday, Galatasaray will be on front of world's eyes, against one of the worlds best team, Real Madrid!

That is good thing for Turkish Football and Turkey.....

CRITICAL WEEKEND IN THE TURKISH SUPER LEAGUE

2013-03-28T12:30:00.001-04:00

Only seven weeks to go in the Turkish Super League and things are getting very critical on top and bottom.

Before big show down in Europe for Galatasaray and Fenerbahce ,this weekend ,could be very painful and stressful .

Galatasaray will travel to play Europe big guns Real Madrid in Madrid and Fenerbahce will host Lazio after this weekend matches....

But first they have to pass the Super league hurdle this weekend....

They both play in Istanbul ....

Galatasaray plays on Saturday at home against Istanbul Buyuksehir while Fenerbahce faces Akhisaspor on Sunday at home.....

Galatasaray and Fatih Terim will face former Galatasaray player now coach at Istanbul Buyuksehir Bulent Korkmaz,

It will be very interesting to see Fatih Terim go against his former player from Galatasaray and Turkish National team !

On the paper, Galatasaray should not have any problem but, will Galatasaray be focused to this match or the Champions League match against Real Madrid?

That is the biggest question!

They have to win against Buyuksehir.....

A draw and loss will bring the gap to very close with Fenerbahce and other teams....

As of now ,before 27th weekend, Galatasaray sits on top with 50 points, Fenerbahce on second with 46 and Besiktas on third with 43 and there are two teams with 40 points Kasimpasa and Bursaspor who will face each other this weekend in Istanbul.

If Fenerbahce wins against Akhisar and Galatasaray lose point or points, this race will be very interesting/

That is why this weekend is very interesting and critical on top as well as on the bottom of the league....

It is so intense, Trabzonspor could find them self in the fire if they lose at home against Antalya this weekend.

There is a huge pressure at the bottom and mid level in the league....

Teams like, Akhisar, Ordu, Karabuk, Elazig, Trabzon,, Gaziantep and Istanbul Buyuksehir, feeling the heat !

Mersin , is pretty much done this year....

But, who will be the other two teams will say good bye to Turkish Super League ?

That is the real question!

It is all win win from now on all the teams who are feeling the heat...

Winners will go on and loser will probably bite the dust at the bottom....

So, in away, this weekend is very critical all around in the league...

27th weekend matches will start on Saturday and end on Monday night....

There will be three matches on Saturday , four matches on Sunday and two on Monday night.

Galatasaray plays on Saturday, Fenerbahce and Trabzspor on Sunday and Besiktas plays on Monday night in Mersin.

Will there be surprises ?

I think so........

Here is the 27th weekend matches .....

March 31
10:00	Gaziantepspor	? - ?	Eskisehirspor
13:00	Galatasaray	? - ?	Istanbul Buyuksehir
13:00	Sivasspor	? - ?	Orduspor
06:30	Kasimpasa	? - ?	Bursaspor
09:00	Trabzonspor	? - ?	MP Antalyaspor
12:00	Elazigspor	? - ?	Genclerbirligi
12:00	Fenerbahce	? - ?	Akhisar Belediye Genclik Ve Spor
April 1
13:00	Karabukspor	? - ?	Kayserispor
13:00	Mersin	? - ?	Besiktas

World Cup Hopes Pretty Much Over for Turkey !

2013-03-26T20:06:00.001-04:00

It was to be or not to be in this group for Turkish National team and coach Abdullah Avci and they could not do it in front of their home turf at Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu stadium.

Although, Turkey went ahead with Burak Yilmaz header first a huge mistake by defender Semih Kaya cost Turkey a win !

Hungary scored with Daniel Bode on Semih Kaya's mistake.......

Turkey's goal came from Burak Yılmaz on 63rd minute while, Bode equalized the score for Hungary on 71st minute.

Hungary had the first chance in the sixth minute, but Adam Szalai hit his shot straight at Turkey goalkeeper Onur Kivrak. Turkey forced a succession of corners and then Alper Potuk shot wide for the home side, who lost the reverse fixture in October 3-1.

With nearly 20 minutes gone Szalai tried another shot from distance, which was again off target, as was Alper Potuk when he shot from long range. But just three minutes later Hungary twice went close to taking the lead, only to be denied by Onur Kivrak.

Balazs Dzsudzsak's free-kick was headed by Szalai but the effort was parried by Onur Kivrak, who also saved Tamas Kadar's follow-up shot. Nuri Sahin shot over the bar and then Selcuk Inan saw his effort blocked by defender Jozsef Varga.

Hungary keeper parried a shot from Arda Turan before Burak Yilmaz shot wide. Turkey should have taken the lead, but Alper Potuk missed the target with a shot from close range and then Kiraly tipped over a 25-yard shot from Nuri Sahin

Burak Yilmaz shot over the bar and Hungary's Tamas Hajnal fired wide as both sides started the second half well. Burak Yilmaz finally made the breakthrough on the hour when he headed in Arda Turan's cross from close range.

Hungary were level with 20 minutes to go when substitute Bode shot home from close range. The visitors nearly took the lead when Vladimir Koman's shot was blocked, but neither side could break the deadlock in a frenetic finish.

In the other matches , Netherlands beat Romania 4-0 while, Estonia defeated Andorra 2-0.

Referees: Milorad Mazic, Milovan Ristic, Dalibor Djurdjevıc (Serbia)

Turkey: Onur Recep Kıvrak, Gökhan Gönül, Bekir İrtegün, Semih Kaya, Hasan Ali Kaldırım, Arda Turan, Selçuk İnan, Nuri Şahin (Min. 90 Kerim Koyunlu), Alper Potuk (Min. 70 Hamit Altıntop), Umut Bulut (Min. 80 Mevlüt Erdinç), Burak Yılmaz

Hungary: Kiraly, Vanczak, Kadar, Varga, Meszaros, Korcsmar (Min. 46 Guzmics), Dzsudszak, Koman, Pinter, Hajnal (Min. 68 Böde), Szalai (Min. 78 Elek)
Goals: Min. 63 Burak Yılmaz (Turkey), Min. 71 Bode (Hungary)

Yellow Cards: Min. 48 Varga, Min. 58 Dzsudzsak, Min. 75 Bode, 90+2 Kiraly (Hungary), Min. 59 Bekir İrtegün, Min. 87 Burak Yılmaz (Turkey)

FIFA 2014 World Cup European Qualifications Group D Standings:

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.NETHERLANDS	6	6	0	0	20	2	18
2.HUNGARY	6	3	2	1	13	8	11
3.ROMANIA	6	3	1	2	10	10	10
4.TURKEY	6	2	1	3	7	7	7
5.ESTONIA	6	2	0	4	3	9	6
6.ANDORRA	6	0	0	6	0	17	0

Turkey needs miracles to go to World Cup 2014 Tournament in Brazil , now !

Abdullah Avci did not serve what he promised , when he took over from Guss Hiddink !

He spoke way too early, in my opinion !

CRUNCH TIME FOR TURKEY !

2013-03-25T11:34:00.000-04:00

Turkish National team coach Abdullah Avci feeling the heat and Turkish National team star player Selcuk Inan at the press conference today .Photo (A.A)

It is to be or not to be for Turkish National team and coach Abdullah Avci on Tuesday!

After losing two very important matches against Hungary and Romania back last October , every match is final for Avci and Turkish National team now...

After winning in away match against amateur looking team Andorra with only 2 goals, Turkish National team did not look good on the pitch!

Where everyone was expecting them to score like 5 , 8 goals , they took very few shot on a goal keeper that was awful !

On Tuesday, against Hungary , Young Turks has to be Hungary for Hungary....

A win, should keep Turkey in the quest for World Cup 2012 !

That is , if they win pretty much every match , including the Tuesday night match....

Who ever plays in goal has to have flawless ,match...

Midfield diamond is very important too

Hamit , Arda and Selcuk for sure will be on the pitch.....

That triangle is very important for Turkey.....

Burak Yilmaz and Umut Bulut will probably play on top against Hungary ..

Turkey loss to Hungary 3-1 ,in Hungary......

A win, will bring Turkish National team within one point with Hungary....

That is why, this match is crunch and clutch match for Turkey and Abdullah Avci !

They could prove this with winning every match in the group....

Remaining matches......

06/09/13 ..... Turkey vs Andorra

10/09/13 ........ Romania vs Turkey

11/10/13 .........Estonia vs Turkey

15/10/13 .........Turkey vs Netherlands