TURKISH CUP THIRD ROUND DRAW

The Third round in Ziraat Turkish Cup matches announced today in Istanbul....

14 winner teams from second round will join 15 teams from Turkish Super League and three teams from the Banka Asya league that was promoted to Turkish Super League,,,..

The third round matches will be only match....

Losers will be eliminated from Turkish Cup...

Winners will go on....

The third round matches will be played on January 10th, 11th and 12th of 2012....

Here is the full draw...

FIRST TEAMS ARE HOME TEAM........

MKE ANKARAGÜCÜ vs KASIMPAŞA

ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR A.Ş vs GAZİANTEPSPOR

BURSASPOR vs Ş.URFASPOR

BUGSAŞ SPOR vs MANİSASPOR

TRABZONSPOR A.Ş. vs İST.GÜNGÖRENSPOR

GAZİOSMANPAŞA vs M.P. ANTALYASPOR

BEŞİKTAŞ A.Ş. vs GAZİANTEP B.Ş. BLD.SPOR

ADANASPOR A.Ş. vs BÜYÜKŞEHİR BLD.SPOR

FENERBAHÇE A.Ş. vs KONYA TORKU ŞEKERSPOR

EYÜPSPOR vs ESKİŞEHİRSPOR

K.D.Ç. KARABÜKSPOR vs ÜNYESPOR

AKHİSAR BELEDİYE G. vs KAYSERİSPOR

GALATASARAY A.Ş. vs ADANA DEMİRSPOR

BOLUSPOR vs GENÇLERBİRLİĞİ

SAMSUNSPOR vs ORDUSPOR

MERSİN İDMAN YURDU vs SİVASSPOR

Galatasaray finishes on top at end of the half, In Turkey

From being bad to good..........

Galatasaray and Fatih Terim's boys, earned that, at the end of the Turkish Super League 2011-2012 season first half of the season!

"Third time charm" really working for Fatih Terim, this time, so far....

If you remember after very successful first time with Galatasaray, his second coming was a bust, at Galatasaray!

But, mature Fatih Terim, with the help of bunch of good players are without doubt, are the best team in Turkey, at the end of the first half....

As of matter fact, first time in 10 years ,Galatasaray finished on top at the end of first half!


Galatasaray team finished the 2011, on top with 37 points in Turkey....

On the other hand, the team who has been talked about, off the pitch, with Turkish match-fixing scandal, Fenerbahce, finished first half, in second place with 35 points only two points behind Galatasaray, after not winning their last match in Antalya...


The delayed of starting league, which caused to have very busy fixture in the league was another huge reason why the league is congested this season!

That is why the winter brake in the league won't be one month long!

The second half of the season will start on January 3,2012.....

The teams and players are getting only five days with their families this time!

But, focused Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim said he will not take time of and he said he will still be at Galatasaray's "FULYA" headquarters and work during the brake,,,,,,,



The third place finisher Besiktas made a big stride and captured the third place at the very end of the first half of the season...

Perhaps,Besiktas could be the another best team,in the first half,while they finished third in Turkey, Besiktas finished on top in their group in the Europa League, ahead of Stoke city after they beat Stoke in Istanbul...


Besiktas with care taker coach Carlos Carvalhal,has done well, despite the criticizes by Turkish media!


On the other hand, the team who beat Inter twice in the Champions League, this year, Trabzonspor is doing very poorly in the Turkish Super League!

After finishing second in the last season, they are in eighth place with 24 points and 13 points behind Galatasaray at the half!

It will be very hard for them to make it on top four, for the play off at the end of the regular season, if they don't shape up..

There last match against Orduspor at home, was morale boost for them!

Not only they won it with big score their top score and top scorer in the Turkish Super League Burak Yilmaz had hat trick and one of their player better player Halil Altiontop scored too!

Halil Altintop should play in that position by Senol Gunes, all the time....

First time in a long time I saw Halil Altintop played in that position!

I hope Senol Gunes saw that after Orduspor match,,,,,,,


Any way, after playing weekdays and weekends, the 17 rounds of football,ended this past Thursday..

The second half of the season will start soon and the matches will be played in snow, rain and cold!

Plus, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Trabzonspor will lose their African players to African cup matches in January!

Galatasaray will have a problems when Emmanuel Eboue leaves for African cup!

If Sabri Sarioglu does not get better,Fatih Terim might have a problem on the right side....

On the other hand Trabzonspor and Fenerbahce will miss their important players too...

For Fenerbahce defender Joseph Yobo and Issiar Dia ,striker Henri Bienvenu , for Trabzonspor Didier Zokora will be missed...

*****************************
Finally, around the league news,,,,,,,,

* German coach Skibbe left Eskisehir and Ersun Yanal took over the job just yesterday ....

On the other hand, Ankaragucu hired Hakan Kutlu as their new coach and Orduspor went all out and got world famous coach Hector Cuper....

One of the best coaches in Turkey who has not coached in over a year, Miusfa Denizli surprised everyone including his current place of work LIG TV, and took the coaching job in Iran!

Mustafa Denizli will be coaching Persepolis team in Iran for the second time...

My biggest question is why Mustafa Denizli, decide to go Iran to coach!

I know Eskisehir team offered him a job and I know other clubs did too...

I just got a bad feeling, even Denizli, was fed up with all the negative things were happening in the Turkish football!

Mustafa Denizli at the press conference in Iran said "I believe this team can succeed more. I am so happy to be here with these people. My economic condition in Turkey was better,but Persepolis supporters’ wishes for me were more important. I am offered the same money as I was taking from my TV program in Turkey "

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

MY "DARK HORSE" OF THE FIRST HALF...ESKISEHIRSPOR AND GENCLERBIRLIGI
MY "BIGGEST FLOP TEAMS" OF THE FIRST HALF.....BURSASPOR....KARABUKSPOR,,,,GAZIANTEPSPOR....
MY "BEST TEAM" OF THE FIRST HALF,,,,,,,,,GALATASARAY AND BESIKTAS.....
MY "BEST COACH" OF THE FIRST HALF........FATIH TERIM

Now, for all the teams on top, goal is to finish in first four for the play offs!

And who will be the fourth team to join Istanbul big three ?

Or, Could big three finish in top three at the end of the regular season?
And most important one, what will happened to the team who is under match-fixing scandal?

Will the number 56 by law will be changed by Turkish football FA ?

Those are the biggest questions, that we don't have the answers yet!

We shall see......

Follow me on Twitter...@Turkishsoccer

STANDINGS AT THE HALF ......

1 Galatasaray 17 11 4 2 27-11 37
2 Fenerbahce 17 10 5 2 24-14 35
3 Besiktas 17 9 5 3 25-17 32
4 Eskisehirspor 17 9 3 5 19-15 30
5 Genclerbirligi 17 8 4 5 25-20 28
6 Mersin 17 7 6 4 20-16 27
7 Kayserispor 17 8 1 8 21-17 25
8 Trabzonspor 17 6 6 5 24-21 24
9 Buyuksehir 17 6 6 5 21-20 24
10 Manisaspor 17 6 6 5 16-16 24
11 Sivasspor 17 6 6 5 26-29 24
12 Antalyaspor 17 5 6 6 13-16 21
13 Bursaspor 17 4 7 6 18-18 19
14 Orduspor 17 4 5 8 14-21 17
15 Gaziantepspor 17 3 7 7 14-18 16
16 Karabukspor 17 3 3 11 18-27 12
17 Samsunspor 17 2 6 9 12-22 12
18 Ankaragucu 17 1 4 12 15-34 7

WEEK 17, RESULTS....

21 Dec 2011
FT Antalyaspor 0 : 0 Fenerbahce
FT Galatasaray 1 : 0 Manisaspor
FT Kayserispor 3 : 0 Ankaragucu
FT Mersin 0 : 0 Eskisehirspor
FT Sivasspor 3 : 2 Samsunspor
22 Dec 2011
FT Besiktas 1 : 0 Karabukspor
FT Gaziantepspor 2 : 2 Bursaspor
FT Genclerbirligi 4 : 0 Buyuksehir
FT Trabzonspor 4 : 1 Orduspo

TURKISH SUPER LEAGUE WRAP: GALATASARAY AND FENERBAHCE KEEPS WINNING!

16 down, one week to go, before the short winter brake in the Turkish Super League...

Yes, it was fast and jam packed 16 rounds in the Turkish Super League...

After playing matches on the weekend and weekdays, Turkish Super League's first half will be over after this Wendsday and Thursday...

Yes,the last weekend matches in the first half will take place on Wendsday and Thursday!

Weekend,(week 16),started with Orduspor vs Galatasaray match and Galatasaray had no problem beating Orduspor!

Orduspor, who has no coach at helm, is still shopping for a big name coach in Europe!

They are talking about bringing, Hector Cuper!

Under Turkish coach, in the first seven weeks they earned 14 points in the league and once they reached to third place!

After a couple of weeks with bad score , they sacked their coach Metin Diyadin!

Why?

When are we going to see a team will go full season with their coaches, wheather they are doing good or bad?


Same thing happened at Karabuk too....

And now they are talking and wanting Ertugrul Saglam heads in Bursa too!

How absurd is that?

Any way, looking back to week 16th and recapping in short , Galatasaray and Fenerbahce kept winning and Besiktas loss blood in Samsun with a draw and Trabzonspor still big disappointed!

Like I said in my early blog articles, I see Eskisehir is the fourth play off, team in the Turkish Super League!

There is if,coach Sikibbe, and player DEDE does not leave,Eskisehir!

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

In the match if the week, Fenerbahce beat Trabzonspor with only one goal!

Trabzonspor defense caught of guard on Alex's corner where goal came by Mehmet Topuz on a header!



Referee Cuneyt Cakir made a huge mistake on a red card to Trabzonspor player Aykut!

That left Trabzonspor with ten man in the match...

This loss kept Trabzonspor on tenth place with 21 points...

Karabuk vs Mersin match was the most goal score match in the week 16...

Mersin Idman Yurdu, scored five goal while Karabuk scored three goals...

I think, this was the most goal score match in the first half of the season!

Like, I said,last week,Karabuk,Bursaspor and Gaziantep are the biggest disappointments,in the league!

The point differences on top and bottom is not that huge in the Turkish Super League..

So every match for every team is very important the league.....
*******************


Looking at last weekend in the league, the most important match will be played in Antalya!

Where Antalya will host Fenerbahce on Wendsday ...


Galatasaray and Besiktas will be at home...

Galatasaray host Manisa and Besiktas will face Karabuk....

Galatasaray might have problem against Manisa!

Genclerbirligi vs Buyuksehir and Eskisehirspor vs Mersin matches will be very interesting too!

If Mersin wins they could surpass Eskisehir and Gencler vs Buiyuksehir match will be fight for sixth place.....


Overall, there will be a lot of good matches in the last weekend of the Turkish Super League!

I think, Galatasaray will close the the year 2011 , on top of the Turkish Super League...

Galatasaray under Fatih Terim, has been the best team of the first half....

The third time for Fatih Terim, could be charming!


Follow me on Twitter for daily updates and latest news from Turkish football or Turkish soccer...

WEEK16; RESULTS......
16 Dec 2011
FT Orduspor 0 : 2 Galatasaray
17 Dec 2011
FT Ankaragucu 0 : 0 Gaziantepspor
FT Bursaspor 0 : 0 Antalyaspor
FT Eskisehirspor 1 : 0 Kayserispor
FT Karabukspor 3 : 5 Mersin
18 Dec 2011
FT Buyuksehir 1 : 1 Sivasspor
FT Fenerbahce 1 : 0 Trabzonspor
FT Manisaspor 0 : 1 Genclerbirligi
FT Samsunspor 1 : 1 Besiktas



WEEK 17 MATCHES.......

21 Dec 2011
17:00 CET Antalyaspor ? : ? Fenerbahce
17:00 CET Kayserispor ? : ? Ankaragucu
17:00 CET Mersin ? : ? Eskisehirspor
19:30 CET Galatasaray ? : ? Manisaspor
19:30 CET Sivasspor ? : ? Samsunspor
22 Dec 2011
17:00 CET Genclerbirligi ? : ? Buyuksehir
17:00 CET Trabzonspor ? : ? Orduspor
19:30 CET Besiktas ? : ? Karabukspor
19:30 CET Gaziantepspor ? : ? Bursaspor


STANDINGS....

1 Galatasaray 16 10 4 2 26-11 34
2 Fenerbahce 16 10 4 2 24-14 34
3 Besiktas 16 8 5 3 24-17 29
4 Eskisehirspor 16 9 2 5 19-15 29
5 Mersin 16 7 5 4 20-16 26
6 Genclerbirligi 16 7 4 5 21-20 25
7 Buyuksehir 16 6 6 4 21-16 24
8 Manisaspor 16 6 6 4 16-15 24
9 Kayserispor 16 7 1 8 18-17 22
10 Trabzonspor 16 5 6 5 20-20 21
11 Sivasspor 16 5 6 5 23-27 21
12 Antalyaspor 16 5 5 6 13-16 20
13 Bursaspor 16 4 6 6 16-16 18
14 Orduspor 16 4 5 7 13-17 17
15 Gaziantepspor 16 3 6 7 12-16 15
16 Karabukspor 16 3 3 10 18-26 12
17 Samsunspor 16 2 6 8 10-19 12
18 Ankaragucu 16 1 4 11 15-31 7

Besiktas beat Stoke and win Group E

I said, it could be done and Besiktas did it!

Besiktas beat, unbeaten Stoke City 3-1 and claim the top spot in the group E and earned a spot in the round 32 of Europa league..

They,prett much did the damege to Stoke in the second half, after going down in the first half....

Ricardo Fuller score for Stoke City, in the 29th minute.

In the second half ,Besiktas put the pressure and in the 59th minute,

Matthew Upson was shown a red card for bringing down Hugo Almeida in the box and Manuel Fernandes scored the PK for Besiktas....


With a man down and Besiktas with the help of rowdy Besiktas fans Besiktas put the clutch on and help of the subs in the second half started to click!

The second goal came in the 74th minute from Mustafa Pektemek who came in to the match for Holosko in the begining of second half and another substitute Edu added some gloss to the scoreline eight minutes later.

With this win,Besiktas finish on top of the Stoke in the group E..

This was first in Besiktas's history to advance as group leader in the Europa League,,,,


After the match Stokek city coach Tony Polis said "We won't be complaining to anyone. We're Stoke and we don't complain,"

During the match, Ricardo Fuller and Jermaine Pennant, as he prepared to take a corner, had items directed at them inside the Inonu Stadium.

Despite the defeat, Stoke progressed to the round 32 of the competition.

After the match Besiktas coach Carvahal said, "As I said in my previous press conference, we wanted a victory tonight, and no other result would be acceptable. We played an attacking football and took some risks at the back, but everything came out the way we planned in the end.

I believe the victory was well deserved, and I thank my players for their amazing fighting spirit and total commitment. Now, we are looking forward to the next round."


TEAMS QUALIFYING FOR EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 32

Ajax, Anderlecht, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Besiktas,
Bruges, FC Twente, Hannover, Lazio, Legia Warsaw, Lokomotiv
Moscow, Manchester City*, Manchester United*, Metalist Kharkiv,
Olympiacos*, PAOK, Porto*, PSV Eindhoven, Red Bull Salzburg,
Schalke, Sporting Lisbon, Standard Liege, Steaua Bucharest,
Stoke, Trabzonspor*, Valencia*, Viktoria Plzen, Wisla Krakow.

Besiktas host Stoke City in Istanbul

After mix-up in the air Stoke City finally made to Istanbul late on Tuesday night!

They landed at the wrong airport .....

Stoke City's plane ended up on the Asian side of Istanbul Sabihan Gokcen airport rather than the European side,Ataturk International airport!

After getting stuck on the runway there one hour, they made it to Ataturk International airport....

Stoke city cme to Istanbul without their stars...

Stoke boss Tony Pulis left Striker Jon Walters at home...

They have already qualified but they need at least one point to clich the top spot in the group...

Tony Pulis is expected to play a second-string side against Besiktas in Istanbul.

Besiktas on the other hand will be missing Quarisma who is out with injury..

A win against Stoke, could put Besiktas on top of the group...

Besiktas is already is in the last 32 in Europa league...

But a win in Istanbul in front of their rowdy fans, could be morale boost for the team..

According to reports Besiktas coach Tayfur Havutcu who was realesed from jail yesterday pending a probable trial in February on charges of match-fixing, will be attending the match also..

Tayfur Havutcu,will not be coaching any time soon....

Portuguese coach Carlos Carvalhal will be in charge....


German midfileder for Besiktas Fabian Ernst said "I think our chances are good. We played a good away match at Stoke but lost a bit unluckily so we are looking forward to revenge.''

Stoke city is on top with 11 points while Besiktas is on second with 9 points..

A win will put Besiktas on top and a draw will be good for Stoke to stay on top!

With the help from 12th man(Besiktas fans) Besiktas just might surprise Stoke City!

The match will start 20:00 local Turkey time(13:00)ET

Follow me on Twitter for updates all the time....
https://twitter.com/turkishsoccer

TURKISH SUPER LEAGUE WRAP: GALATASARAY GOES ON TOP

The busy week ended with a change on top only with goal difference....

Galatasaray perhaps is the best team of the week, in my opinion....

They have beat, two important opponents in four days, last week...

Galatasaray scored six goals and only allowed only one goal...

First they beat Fenerbahce in the Turkey's derby match then four days later they trashed Trabzonspor in Trabzon!

Galatasaray wounded Trabzonspor with former Trabzonspor boys too..

Former Trabzonspor players Selcuk Inan and Ceyhun Gulselam scored in the match!


This was the first win against Trabzonspor for Galatasaray in three in half years....

After 58 weeks, Galatasaray captured the first place in Turkey....

Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are dead luck at the top with 31 points and Galatasaray is in first place because of goal difference....

On Monday night, Fenerbahce beat struggling Bursaspor in Bursa with net score 0-2

Fenerbahace's captain Emre Belozoglu and Cristian argument started on the pitch and went on, in the locker room.

After the match Fenerbahce coach, told Turkish media he was not happy what he witness on filed and of filed...

Today, Fenerbahce suspended Emre Belozoglu indefinitely.......


The third place team Besiktas after beating Manisa in the week 14 mid-week match they draw with Istanbul Buyuksehir in Istanbul!

Besiktas will host Stoke City on Wendsday in the Europa League match..

Besiktas along with Stoke is going to the last 16 party in Europe....


Besiktas is only three points behind Galatasaray and Fenerbahce....

As I have been saying on Twitter, Trabzonspor is losing blood....

They will face Genclerbirligi this Wendsday ,in the postponed match...

This match and this weekend match against Fenerbahce in Istanbul will be very crutial for Trabzonspor!

A loss of points from these two matches, will hurt Trabzonspor playoff chances!

WHO IS UP..... WHO IS DOWN.....

UP.....GALATASARAY...FENERBAHCE... BESIKTAS...ESKISEHIR

DOWN...BURSASPOR....ORDUSPOR....GAZIANTEP...KARABUKSPOR....

If Bursaspor and Karabukspor does not shape up, they will say good bye to Turkish Super League!

two weeks to go to winter brake, this coming weekend matches will be very crucial for teams on top and the bottom too...


Week 16, will start on Friday with Orduspor vs Galatasaray match and will end on Sunday with Fenerbahce vs Trabzonspor match...

The match of the weekend will be Fenerbahce vs Trabzonspor match....

There are two coaches has been sacked in the Turkish Super League...

Orduspor ,before very important Galatasaray match on Friday , sacked their coach Metin Diyadin, after losing their five strait matches...

On the other hand, Ankaragucu sacked their coach Ziya Dogan too..

For daily updates and news from Turkish football and more follow me on twitter...

https://twitter.com/turkishsoccer

WEEK 16......

16 Dec 2011
19:00 CET Orduspor ? : ? Galatasaray
17 Dec 2011
12:00 CET Ankaragucu ? : ? Gaziantepspor
12:00 CET Karabukspor ? : ? Mersin
15:00 CET Eskisehirspor ? : ? Kayserispor
18:00 CET Bursaspor ? : ? Antalyaspor
18 Dec 2011
12:00 CET Buyuksehir ? : ? Sivasspor
12:00 CET Manisaspor ? : ? Genclerbirligi
15:00 CET Samsunspor ? : ? Besiktas
18:00 CET Fenerbahce ? : ? Trabzonspo

STANDINGS.,....

1 Galatasaray 15 9 4 2 24-11 31
2 Fenerbahce 15 9 4 2 23-14 31
3 Besiktas 15 8 4 3 23-16 28
4 Eskisehirspor 15 8 2 5 18-15 26
5 Manisaspor 15 6 6 3 16-14 24
6 Buyuksehir 15 6 5 4 20-15 23
7 Mersin 15 6 5 4 15-13 23
8 Kayserispor 15 7 1 7 18-16 22
9 Trabzonspor 14 5 6 3 19-17 21
10 Sivasspor 15 5 5 5 22-26 20
11 Genclerbirligi 14 5 4 5 18-19 19
12 Antalyaspor 15 5 4 6 13-16 19
13 Bursaspor 15 4 5 6 16-16 17
14 Orduspor 15 4 5 6 13-15 17
15 Gaziantepspor 15 3 5 7 12-16 14
16 Karabukspor 15 3 3 9 15-21 12
17 Samsunspor 15 2 5 8 9-18 11
18 Ankaragucu 15 1 3 11 15-31 6

Besiktas coach and seven others released from jail in match-fixing probe

Good news to Besiktas fans and some others ....

Besiktas Deputy Chairman Serdar Adalı, Besiktas protocol and security chief Ahmet Ates, coach
Tayfur Havutcu, İstanbul Büyüksehir Belediyespor (İBB) players Ibrahim Akın and İskender Alın,

Sivasspor goalkeeper Korcan Celikay and Diyarbakırspor player Abdurrahman Yakut, who were released.

But, this does not mean they are of the hook ,just yet!

They are still suspect in the Turkish football scandal...

They will wait for their day in the court...

The trials will start on February 14,2012!

However, the suspects have been prohibited from traveling outside of the country.

After Turkish president Abdullah Gul, signs the new Law , there will be more releases from custody pending trial....

Parliament passed a law at the weekend reducing prison sentences for match-rigging from a maximum 12 years to three years!

There are now 23 jailed suspects out of a total of 93 suspects in the investigation, and 14 players stand accused for their alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal.

What is so interesting , European football's ruling body UEFA has yet to comment on the latest developments in the case!

WE are waiting......

Trabzonspor did it, Inter did not!

Let me say this before I say anything...

Trabzonspor and Trabzonspor fans will never forget Inter Milan!

The score came out of Milan in the last minutes of the match, against CSKA Moscow ,really hurt Trabzonspor and their fans...

Let's not forget ,Trabzonspor is the only team who got four points from Inter in this group...

Maybe just because of that, Inter Milan did not want Trabzon in Champions League anymore!

Going down to CSKA in the very last minutes was not pleasant!


On the other hand, I wrote it here, before the match, a lot of pundits in Europe thought , Lille was going with Inter !

They were fooled by Trabzonspor and Inter too.....

But, Trabzonspor had a Turkish wall with Tolga Zengin guard in the goal!

Lille, could not go through that Turkish wall.......

Goalkeeper Tolga Zengin made some huge saves as Trabzonspor scraped a 0-0 draw at Lille that put Trabzonspor and Lille out of the Champions League.


Lille finished bottom of Group B and failed to even qualify for the Europa League,while Trabzonspor earned a spot in the Europa League!


Tolga Zengin kept out attacks from Moussa Sow and Eden Hazard, and it looked like Trabzonspor was heading into the next round until CSKA's late goal secured a 2-1 win at Inter.


That was bad news for Trabzonspor and Trabzonspor fans!


But, I could say this being there for the first time, Trabzonspor did well..

After Manchester teams and some of the Europe big names eliminated from Champions League, I think , Trabzonspor will have a better competition in the the Europa League..

After all, Trabzonspor still in Europe.....

Trabzonspor or Lille?

A lot of pundits in Europe are saying Lille will join Inter Milan to reach last 16 in the champions league!

That could well be on paper, but, they could well be wrong too!

Trabzonspor, could well surprise Lille in France and join Inter Milan!

Players like Halil Altintop and Burak Yilmaz, could well make a diffrence in this match.


*If this match ends as a draw, Trabzonspor will qualify for the last 16 and Lille for the Europa League as long as CSKA do not win against Inter.

*If the game ends as a draw and CSKA do beat Inter, Trabzonspor will make the Europa League while Lille will be eliminated from Europe.


Trabzonspor-Lille game will take place at the Lille Metropole and kick off at 20.45 hours (French local time).




FC Internazionale Milano 5 10
Trabzonspor AS 5 6
LOSC Lille Metropole 5 5
PFC CSKA Moskva 5 5

TURKISH SUPER LEAGUE WRAP: TOP THREE..FENERBAHCE, GALATASARAY AND BESIKTAS

After the week 13, in the Turkish Super League, we have a new top three in the standings!

While Fenerbahce and Galatasaray kept their place in the standing ,after Manisaspor could not win away match in Mersin, Besiktas captured the third place after they beat Orduspor, Monday night in Antalya, Turkey.

Besiktas made the biggest jump from sixth place to third place...

This was huge win for Besiktas!

In the week 13, there were two teams, that won their away matches...

Galatasaray won in Ankara against Genclerbirligi and Eskisehir won in Bursa...


With a win,Galatasaray kept second place and Eskisehir moved ahead of Bursa,Mersin and Orduspor


BUSY WEEK,,,,,,,,,,

This will be another week and weekend, we will see matches played almost every day until Monday!

Another jam-packed week with Turkish football and more.....

As you know on Wendsday, Trabzonspor will play agaiinst LIlle in the Champions league matches...

Week 14, matches will be played on this coming Wendsday and Thursday and on the weekend we will see, week 15, matches starting on Saturday and ending on Monday night in Turkey..

Perhaps, the most important match of the week 14, will be Turkey's derby match between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce...

The derby match, will be on Wendsday night at 19:30 Local Turkey time.......

Two hours later, Turkish football fans will watch Trabzonspor vs Lille match same night!

There will be three matches on Wendsday and five matches on Thursday in the week 14...

Two days later, week 15 ,will take a start on Saturday and will end on Monday night...

There will be one match on Saturday(10 Dec 2011 ), five matches on Sunday and three matches on Monday night...

So, get ready watch and follow a lot of Turkish football this week and this weekend and more!

This week and this weekend could be very crucial for Turkey's top teams , Fenerbahce and Galatasaray!

After playing the derby match on wendsday they have very difficult matches on the weekend..

Both of them will travel and play in away matches!

While Fenerbahce travel to Bursa , Galatasaray will have a longer journey...

They will travel to Trabzon to play Trabzonspor...

Both of these matches will be on Sunday(11 Dec 2011)....

Besiktas and Manisa also will compete for third place and more this week and this weekend!

Besiktas will face Manisa in Manisa on Thursday and than Besiktas will host Buyuksehir at home on Sunday while Manisaspor will travel to Sivas on this coming Monday...

These matches will be playing in the mid-week and weekend could well change a lot of things on top and the bottom...

At the end of the week 13, Fenerbahce have a three point cushion on top but, the match on Wendsday against Galatasaray is very important...

A win, could open the gap on top but a draw will keep the gap same with Galatasaray..

In a case of Manisa or Besiktas winning their match in the week 14, could put them in a good position for first place....

On next Monday night(12 Dec 2011), after Bursaspor vs Fenerbahce match, we could well see whole different top three in the Turkish Super League,,,,,,,,

Lastly, it has been long time, we haven't seen Istanbul big guns(Fenerbahce,Galatasaray, Besiktas) in the top three in Turkey!

Could they stay there?

Time will show..........




WEEK 13 RESULTS/////

02 Dec 2011
FT Sivasspor 2 : 2 Trabzonspor
03 Dec 2011
FT Fenerbahce 4 : 2 Ankaragucu
FT Gaziantepspor 1 : 0 Samsunspor
FT Genclerbirligi 0 : 1 Galatasaray
04 Dec 2011
FT Antalyaspor 2 : 1 Karabukspor
FT Bursaspor 0 : 1 Eskisehirspor
FT Kayserispor 1 : 0 Buyuksehir
FT Mersin 0 : 0 Manisaspor
05 Dec 2011
FT Besiktas 2 : 1 Orduspor


WEEK 14 MATCHES (MID WEEK)

07 Dec 2011
FT Eskisehirspor 1 : 0 Antalyaspor
FT Galatasaray 3 : 1 Fenerbahce
FT Karabukspor 0 : 0 Gaziantepspor
08 Dec 2011
17:00 CET Ankaragucu ? : ? Bursaspor
17:00 CET Buyuksehir ? : ? Mersin
17:00 CET Samsunspor ? : ? Kayserispor
19:30 CET Manisaspor ? : ? Besiktas
19:30 CET Orduspor ? : ? Sivasspor

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WEEK 15.....(WEEKEND MATCHES)

0 Dec 2011
18:00 CET Gaziantepspor ? : ? Eskisehirspor
11 Dec 2011
12:00 CET Antalyaspor ? : ? Ankaragucu
12:00 CET Genclerbirligi ? : ? Orduspor
15:00 CET Besiktas ? : ? Buyuksehir
15:00 CET Mersin ? : ? Samsunspor
18:00 CET Trabzonspor ? : ? Galatasaray
12 Dec 2011
17:00 CET Kayserispor ? : ? Karabukspor
17:00 CET Sivasspor ? : ? Manisaspor
19:00 CET Bursaspor ? : ? Fenerbahce


standings......
1 Fenerbahce 13 8 4 1 20-11 28
2 Galatasaray 13 7 4 2 18-10 25
3 Besiktas 13 7 3 3 18-14 24
4 Manisaspor 13 6 5 2 13-8 23
5 Buyuksehir 13 6 3 4 19-14 21
6 Trabzonspor 13 5 6 2 19-14 21
7 Eskisehirspor 13 6 2 5 16-15 20
8 Mersin 13 5 4 4 14-13 19
9 Orduspor 13 4 5 4 11-10 17
10 Bursaspor 13 4 4 5 16-14 16
11 Kayserispor 13 5 1 7 15-16 16
12 Genclerbirligi 13 4 4 5 15-18 16
13 Antalyaspor 13 4 4 5 12-15 16
14 Sivasspor 13 4 4 5 18-23 16
15 Gaziantepspor 13 3 4 6 12-15 13
16 Karabukspor 13 3 2 8 15-19 11
17 Samsunspor 13 2 5 6 9-16 11
18 Ankaragucu 13 1 2 10 15-30 5

93 suspects charged in Turkish match-fixing probe

Turkish prosecutors investigating a match-fixing scandal in Turkey are expected to file indictments on Monday against 93 suspects, including the chairman of champions Fenerbahce.

More than 30 players and officials, including the Fenerbahce chairman, Aziz Yildirim, have been in jail pending trial, since the scandal broke over the summer, forcing the Turkish Football Federation to delay the start of the season by a month.


On Friday, Turkey's president, Abdullah Gul, vetoed legislation approved by parliament that would have reduced jail sentences for match-fixing crimes from a maximum 12 years to three years.

The president based his decision on concern that the public would view the change in the law as being made to benefit certain individuals and that the reduced penalties would not act as a sufficient deterrent.

Under pressure from Uefa, the TFF barred last year's champions Fenerbahce from the Champions League. Runners-up Trabzonspor replaced them.

Among the games under investigation are Fenerbahce's 4-3 victory over Sivasspor, which clinched the title on the last day of the season and the cup final between Besiktas and IBB. Besiktas have returned the trophy pending the outcome of the investigation.



Fenerbahce chairman Aziz Yildirim, who has denied any wrongdoing, could be sentenced to a total of 114 years in prison if convicted on charges of establishing a crime-ring, swindling, and match-fixing, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.

Yildirim and 30 others, including former Giresunspor president Olgun Peker, remain in jail and it was not clear when they will go on trial in connection with the scandal involving 19 allegedly fixed games last season.

A total of 93 people have been charged. Prosecutors said the investigation was focusing on officials of eight clubs, including two other top clubs -- Trabzonspor and Besiktas.

According to Anatolian news agency , the indictment described Peker and Yildirim as the ring leaders in a broad match-fixing scheme.

Prosecutor Fikret Secen said suspects who remain free were barred from attending sports events as spectators. Among them were players from Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Bursaspor and Eskisehirspor.

Fenerbahce went unbeaten through the second half of the season and beat Trabzonspor to the title on goal difference. Officials with Trabzonspor, which replaced Fenerbahce in the Champions League, also have been implicated, along with officials or players from several other clubs.

Other clubs mentioned in the indictment were Besiktas, Trabzonspor, Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesi Spor (IBB), Sivasspor, Manisaspor, Giresunspor and Mersin Idman Yurdu.

Last term's cup final between Besiktas and IBB is another match under investigation. Winners Besiktas have returned the trophy pending the probe's outcome.

One of two deputy presidents of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF ), Goksel Gumusdag, was among those indicted on match-fixing charges.

Istanbul court has 15 days to decide whether the case is strong enough to go to trial.

U.S. U-17 Men's National Team Beats Turkey

Turkey's U-17(16)'s started the match in very shaky grounds and sat in their half of the field whole first half of the match and than after with ten men they played a lot more better in the second half but lost the match in the last minutes of the match!


In 2010 ,Turkey beat USA, 2-1 and won the Nike International Friendlies Tournament....

But this year, they loss to US in the last minute!

For Yanks,Herber Mejia Flores score in the 88th minute on an assist from Wesley Wade as the US U-17 men's national team earned 2-1 victory over young Turks....

**********

US scored first in the match from a corner kick in the 18th minute......

Jorge Calix gave a short pass to Junior Flores, who crossed the ball into the box and Tyler Turner head at the back post, as Turkey goalkeeper from Goztepe's Junior team from Izmir, Mehmet Goktug Bakirbas scrambled!


Young Turks were reduced to 10 men in the 40th minute after Yusuf Selim Sahin was sent off for a two-footed, studs up challenge on Flores.


After down a player and a goal Turkey starting to play in attacking mode in the second half..

In the 47th minute, young Turks powered into the US end. Mustafa Batuhan Altinas who plays for Bursaspor Junior team made his way in front of goal and fired into the near top corner...

After young Turks missing a good couple chances, young yanks turned up the heat again...

Young Turkish keeper from Goztepe team,Mehmet Goktug Bakirbas had a couple of good saves before US scored the winning goal!

Actual Turkey was better side in the second half until the 88th minute goal....

Big mistake by Turkish defender and captain of the young Turks, Melih Can Yagci(14) cost the match for Turkey...


Midfielder Herber Mejia Flores scored in the 88th minute the winning goal for yanks,,,,,

The young Yanks outshot the Turks 14-6 and 6 shots on goal to Turkey’s three.

Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/12/03/3697753/us-soccer-wins.html#ixzz1fSM0umaK

On Sunday, US will face Brazil for the Tournament championship match....

Turkey will play against France on Sunday...

Young Turks, have zero point in the tournament...

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

Match Report........

Date: Dec. 2, 2011
Competition: 2011 Nike International Friendlies
Venue: Premier Sports Campus; Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
Kickoff: 5 p.m. ET
Attendance: 1,859
Weather: 68 degrees, cool

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 1 2
TUR 0 1 1

USA – Tyler Turner (Junior Flores) 19th minute
TUR – Mustafa Batuhan Altintas 47
USA – Junior Flores (Wesley Wade) 88

Lineups:
USA: 18-Evan Louro; 4-Shaquell Moore, 2-Conor Donovan, 6-Tyler Turner, 3- John Requejo, Jr.; 7-Rubio Rubin (9-Wesley Wade, 55), 14-Steven Echevarria, 10-Junior Flores (20-Christopher Lema, 90), 15-Jorge Calix (8-Angel Heredia, 54); 13-Corey Baird, 19-Danya Kafai (11-DeAndre Robinson, 61)
Subs Not Used: 1-Paul Christensen, 5-Guy Kabala, 12- Adonis Amaya, 16-Kevin Politz, 17-Dembakwi Yomba
Head coach: Wilmer Cabrera

TURKEY: 12-Mehmet Goktug Bakirbas; 7-Anil Capkin, 14-Melih Can Yagci (capt.), 4-Mehdi Akgul, 15-Mahmuthan Samet Acar (3-Umut Can Ince, 36); 6-Serdar Bingol; 17-Ismail Kose (20-Aziz Ceylan, 82), 8-Mert Ozturk (2-Cahit Enis Katipogl, 66), 18-Yusuf Selim Sahin, 11-Berk Yildiz; 9-Mustafa Batuhan Altintas
Subs Not Used: 1-Anil Demir, 5-Alim Harlak, 10-Semih Islemecioglu,13-Safa Altuntas, 16-Muhammet Rasit Sahingoz, 19-Ramazan Civele
Head coach: Mehmet Hacioglu

U.S. Under-17 Men vs. Turkey U-17(16) ...

(Photo by TFF )

Turkish National under 17(16)team will play their second match on Friday against USA Under 17 team at 5:00 PM,ET and the match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel.

Young Turks loss their first match to Brazil with 1-0 score.....

On the other hand ,young Yankees, tied with France...

The USA Nike Friendly International Tournament started back in 2007 with the vision of bringing big names in to US soccer....

Brazil and USA has been there since the tournament started....


This is third time for Turkish under 17(16)..

The other team in the tournament, France, it is for first time for them!

To order to go on and win the Tournament it is very important match tonight...

Who ever loses this match will be pretty much out of winning the tournament!

USA, looks better side but, you will never know..

The talent on Turkish squad could change that...

Most of the Turkish National Team under 16 player are from Fenerbahce and Bucasspor!

There is one player from Galatasaray and one player from Besiktas and one player from Bursasspor.

Altay, Goztepe and Turgutluspor each send one player.....

There also German born Turkish players who are playing for German teams in Germany...

Brazil is on top with 3 points in the standing...

USA and France both have one point while Turkey have no points, going into this match!

Turkish under 16 National team is coach by Mehmet Hacioglu....


The match will be broadcast live on cable on Fox Soccer Channel...

While, US show this match live here , I am very surprised why Turkish TV's wont pick this match live?

This really show the interest for youth development in Turkey!

Besiktas win late with Quaresma

Besiktas's Ricardo Quaresma and Ibrahim Toroman

Thanks to Quaresma, Besiktas won the match in the injury -time with Quaresma's big life saving goal..

Besiktas was up 2-0 in the begining of the second half but Maccabi Tel-Aviv tied the match with two quick goal...

Besiktas scored the first goal at the end of first half...

Quaresma fired with a right-foot volley shot from the left side of the penalty area after Egeman Korkmaz had crossed from deep on the left.

This goal could be one of the best goals in the europe this year..

It was great half volley kick by Ricardo Quaresma.....

See Quaresma super goal here.....

Besiktas doubled their lead within two minutes of the restart when Manuel Fernandes swung in a corner from the left and Ibrahim Toraman rose up and past Maccabi goalkeeper Barak Levi.

Maccabi Tel Aviv scored when Savo Pavicevic's corner was knocked on by Israelevich to Shiran Yeyni who drill home low from six yards...

And Besiktas team was stunned in the 72nd minute when Tel Aviv wiped out their two-goal deficit when Moshe Lugasi fired into the top corner of the net from 20 yards.

It was the injury time, when Quaresma took everthing in his own hands..

Hugo Almeida pass the ball to him just outside of the box and he went around block of defenders and took a great shot and scored.

That last minute goal by Quaresma , gave Besiktas a life in Europe!

Ricardo Quaresma, the player who has been under heavy critisim by the Turkish media, played his best match with scoring three of the two goal and most of all, his late goal was huge for Besiktas team and Besiktas fans.

So, Besiktas bloomed in Bloomfield Stadium in Israil,against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, with a "life kiss" goal by Quaresma....

Besiktas will join Stoke City in the next round...

Both teams will meet in Istanbul before going to next round on December 14,2011

Maccabi Tel-Aviv v Besiktas Preview

All Besiktas need is a win in Tel Aviv, tonight....

With a win Black and White Eagles of Turkey, will go through...

Maccabi Tel-Aviv at bottom Group E with one point from four games.

They are five points behind second-placed Besiktas, who beat them 5-1 in Istanbul in opening group match.

For home team Maccabi, midfielder Rafi Dahan is out with a groin injury while striker Barak Yitzhaki will not play.

Besiktas midfielder Necip Uysal is still injured after suffering a deep cut in his leg during a match against Galatasaray. Mehmet Aurelio and Simao also missed training earlier this week.


Under normal circumstances Besiktas should not have a problem beating Maccabi but, if we look at their last three home matches they won all of them on the other hand Besiktas loss all their last three away matches!

Besiktas caretaker Carlos Carvalhal, won their away match in the Turkish Super League against Trabzonspor the team who represent Turkey in the Champions League this season..

In Group E, Stoke is in first place with ten points they could finish on top with a win tonight also.

So, Besiktas and Stoke could go hand hand hand from Group E. before they meat in Istanbul later on this month!

Otherwise, it could be difficult match both of them slip today!

Could Besiiktas finish Maccabi, Tonight?

I think, they could and they should....

I don't see a problem there..

As long as they play as a team tonight, they should able to pass Maccabi with no problem.

Maccabi Tel_Aviv vs Besiktas match will start at 3.05 PM,ET