Galatasaray Need a Win This Weekend to Capture the Tittle

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

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

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

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

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

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 !"

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"

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

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

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

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....

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!

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