Norway confident ahead of Turkey Euro qualifier

Norway fancy their chances ahead of Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier against injury-hit Turkey knowing a victory would secure a place in the finals.
Norway, having won four out of their last five qualifiers with tireless, aggressive performances, would also guarantee a berth with a draw followed by a win in Malta next week.

Turkey trail Norway by two points in Group C, which is led by already-qualified European Champions Greece, and know defeat in Oslo would end their qualifying hopes.

Norway will rely on towering striker John Carew and players from in-form Champions League side Rosenborg after captain and midfielder Martin Andresen was ruled out by a knee injury.

Steffen Iversen, who scored twice for Rosenborg against Valencia this month, is set to start up front with Carew. Both players have scored four goals in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

Ghana-born Alexander Tettey is expected to get his second cap in place of Andersen and possibly share the midfield with Rosenborg team mate Per Ciljan Skjelbred.

Norway often succeed by controlling midfield with swarming, aggressive play, and capitalise on the occasional through ball.

"We are very difficult to beat, we work very hard and play wise football," defender John Arne Riise said. "Other teams may be more technical but we work harder."

Turkey coach Fatih Terim will have to cope without key midfielder Yildiray Basturk, who has a groin strain, and is likely to turn to some untried players.

"We have played a lot of matches like this and come through. I trust and believe in my players," Terim said.

Turkey defender Deniz Baris is having treatment for back pains while striker Serhat Akin is suffering from flu.

From the five uncapped players in his squad, Terim is likely to start with defenders Gokhan Gonul and Hayrettin Yerlikaya, while Semih Senturk is expected to play up front.

"The Norway game can be described as a do-or-die match," Senturk told reporters. "We have more quality than Norway and if we go on to the pitch believing in ourselves we can win."

Turkey drew 2-2 at home to Norway in March after visiting goalkeeper Thomas Myhre, since dropped from the team, let a free kick run through his legs to give the Turks a late equaliser.


Probable teams:
Norway: Haakon Opdal, Jarl-Andre Storbaek, Erik Hagen, Brede Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Bjoern Helge Riise, Alexander Tettey, Christian Grindheim, Steffen Iversen, John Carew, Morten Gamst Pedersen

Turkey: Volkan Demirel, Gokhan Gonul, Servet Cetin, Emre Asik, Hayrettin Yerlikaya, Tuncay Sanli, Emre Belozoglu, Mehmet Aurelio, Hamit Altintop, Nihat Kahveci, Semih Senturk
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany) (Additional reporting by Ole Petter Skonnord and Richard Solem; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Source:Reuters

GOOD NEWS TO TURKISH SOCCER FANS IN NORTH AMERICA!.......

SETANTA SPORTS WILL BROADCAST NORWAY V TURKIYE MATCH LIVE......
http://www.setantanorthamerica.com/get_setanta.aspx

IF YOU CAN'T WATCH IT ON SETANTA, WATCH IT ONLINE BY JUMPTV
AHMET TURGUT
www.turkishsoccer.com

TURKISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM BACK IN 1995

"THE LEGEND" IN TURKISH SOCCER(FOOTBALL)TURGUT SEREN, TALKS ABOUT THE TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM AND FATIH TERIM BACK IN 1995,IN CANADA (IN TURKISH )
THE REASON WHY I AM POSTING THIS INTERVIEW THAT I DID WITH THE LEGEND TURGAY SEREN , I WANT ALL TURKISH SOCCER FANS TO SEE THAT NATIONAL TEAM HAS NOT MOVED FORWARD SINCE 1995 AND AFTER BECOMING THIRD PLACE IN THE WORLD CUP 2002.
IF YOU WATCH THE WHOLE VIDEO, YOU WOULD SEE THE DIFFERENCE OF TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM AND FATIH TERIM. ANOTHER REASON WHY I AM POSTING THIS VIDEO, IS, ONE OF HIS ASSISTANCE METIN TEKIN CALLING YUSUF SIMSEK TO NATIONAL TEAM!...
IN THIS VIDEO, I ASKED A QUESTION TO TURGAY SEREN, ABOUT THAN HIS ASSISTANT RASIM KARA,WOULD MAKE THE TEAM IN ABSENCE OF FATIH TERIM,( HE TRAVELED TO IRELAND) HIS ANSWER WAS TO ME "FATIH TERIM IS THE ONLY COACH THAT MAKES THE LINE-UP FOR EVERY MATCH WHEATHER HE IS NOT HERE" THIS IS WHAT I MEAN.....FATIH TERIM, LOST HIS DESIRE ABOUT OUR NATIONAL TEAM...

ONE OF THE BEST FOOTBALL COLUMNIST IN TURKEY DOGAN KOLOGLU TALKS ABOUT TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM BACK IN 1995 IN CANADA

WHAT IS FATIH TERIM TRYING TO DO?.....

Really, Is Fatih Terim, OK?... I thought he was building a team for 2010 World Cup Tournament....
That was his own words when he took the job from Ersun Yanal.
There is very two important matches in front of him and he called up six uncapped players in his 24-man squad for the final two Euro 2008 qualifiers away against Norway on Nov. 17 and at home against Bosnia four days later.There is one player who is 32 years old,his name is Yusuf Simsek, plays for Denizlispor as a play maker,called up by Fatih Terim after Midfielder Mehmet Topuz was put on injury list.
The other uncapped five players are,defenders -- Sedat Bayrak, Ibrahim Kas, Gokhan Gonul and Hayrettin Yerlikaya and striker Semih Senturk from Fenerbahce.Do you ever think , Turkey will beat Norway, with this kind of thinking!... The man(Fatih Terim), is just not confident with him self and obviously with the National Team. He has reshuffled the team in every match that he coached. In the latest injury news, Fatih Tekke will not play against Norway due to Injury.Looking at the roster, There is a lot of new names and players like Tuncay Sanli who is the worst transfer in England according to British Media and looking at the forwards, there is Nihat Serbetci and in the midfield Yildiray Basturk , if he is healty, he will make a difference ,along with Hamit Altintop and Emre Belezoglu. The cold weather will be big factor for Turkish National team.
So, Fatih Terim's Reshuffled and the team without future vision, going to play very hard match in Norway, This will be do or die match for Turkish National Team and Mr. Fatih Terim.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Rustu Recber (Besiktas), Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahce), Serkan Kirintili (Ankaragucu)
Defenders: Servet Cetin (Galatasaray), Hayrettin Yerlikaya (Sivasspor), Sedat Bayrak (Sivasspor), Deniz Baris (Fenerbahce), Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce), Ibrahim Kas (Besiktas), Emre Asik (Ankaraspor)
Midfielders: Arda Turan (Galatasaray), Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce), Yusuf Simsek (Denizlispor), Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Trabzonspor), Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich), Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle United), Yildiray Basturk (Stuttgart), Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough)
Forwards: Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray), Mehmet Yildiz (Sivasspor), Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce), Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal), Serhat Niyazi Akin (RSC Anderlecht).

SIR ALEX FERGUSON RESPECTS TUGAY!

While One of the Best coaches in the world Sir Alex Ferguson,speaks very highly about Turkish Intenational Player Tugay Kerimoglu, Turkish National Team coach Mr. Fatih Terim,does not invite him to National Team,when he is the "talk of the town" in England.

Before the Man U v Blackburn match on Sunday, Sir Alex Ferguson,talked about Blackburn team and Tugay Kerimoglu.

The United boss said:"He respects Blackburn's veteran Turkish midfielder Tugay.

He said: “The fact that they’re giving Tugay [who is 37] another contract is fantastic.

“I can understand exactly why they’re doing that because he’s still one of the best passers of the ball in the country.”

He also said: “I think they can. What they’ve shown at the moment is that no one turns them over.

“They’ve drawn with Arsenal and Liverpool at home and even going away they’re a handful.”

Manchester United beat Blackburn 2-0 ,on Sunday.
Manchester United, is on first place front of Arsenal.

TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD SELECTED!..

Turkish coach Fatih Terim has named 24-man squad for UEFA Euro 2008 Group C qualifiers against Norway and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Turkey are third in Group C, two points behind Norway, who they face in Oslo on November 17th.

Turkey will conclude the qualification campaign in Istanbul to Bosnia-Herzegovina four days later.

Turkey squad Goalkeepers: Volkan Demiel (Fenerbahce), Rustu Recber (Besiktas), Serkan Kirintili (Ankaragucu).

Defenders: Servet Cetin (Galatasaray), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray), Sedat Bayrak (Sivasspor), Hayrettin Yerlikaya (Sivasspor), Emre Asik (Ankaraspor), Ibrahim Kas (Besiktas), Hamit Altintop (FC Bayern Munchen), Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce), Deniz Baris (Fenerbahce).

Midfielders: Arda Turan (Galatasaray), Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce), Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Trabzonspor), Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle United FC), Mehmet Topuz (Kayserispor), Yildiray Basturk (VfB Stuttgart).

Forwards: Mehmet Yildiz (Sivasspor), Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce), Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal CF), Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough FC), Fatih Tekke (FC Zenit St. Petersburg), Serhat Akin (RSC Anderlecht).

Turks are driving the most online traffic for Champions League Matches!..

I always wondered how many people watched the Champions League matches on line from UEFA.com and ESPN360.com.
Well, my wondering ended!...In Washington Times newspaper ,there was an article done by Tim Lemke about this topic!
According to his article,Turks lead the online traffic for Champions League matches. Here is the Article..

European Champions League
I'm not an enormous soccer fan, but I have to admit a certain delight in following the Champions League, a hugely popular and remarkably intense tournament featuring the best teams from Europe. With many matches taking place this week, I pondered writing a story about the growing number of games available live on the Internet at places like ESPN360 and UEFA.com. I was operating on the theory that the availability of more matches online might actually pique the interest of casual American fans, who are less likely to pay big bucks for a special soccer television package like Setanta Sports or Fox Soccer Channel.


But, my reporting uncovered a lot of mixed information on the subject.


It's clear there is a market for streaming of live matches here in America. ESPN360 reported 3 million streams of the World Cup in 2006 and 500,000 streams for Champions League games earlier this spring. And for the 2007-08 Champions League tournament, ESPN360 will show three times as many games, so the number of streams should top 1 million.


"It's certainly growing," said John Zehr, ESPN's senior vice president of digital media production, of the popularity of Champions League games. "There are pockets of the country where European soccer has a pretty big following."


The network appears to be using the Champions League as highlighted programming as it seeks broader distribution of its new version of its video player, launched in September. (Currently, about 17 million people have access to the service and that will grow to 20 million by 2008, officials said.)


It's still unclear, though, who is tuning in to these online broadcasts. Zehr admitted the Champions League is "long tail" programming, meaning that it's highly appealing to a niche audience. He pointed out that die-hard Champions League fans who would prefer to watch games on big-screen televisions often can't in America because the games are played at 2:30 p.m. ET, smack dab in the middle of the workday. For those fans, a good online broadcast is the next best thing.


UEFA officials said they are specifically targeting the American audience for their online broadcasts at UEFA.com, because the sport can't get more popular in Europe.


"Our live online market is indeed in the USA and South America," said Andy Pattison, production manager for UEFA.com. "This does reflect the increased interest in soccer but also the saturation of the Champions League within Europe."


But Pattison also said the online games have been most popular in places where only the top games are available on television. (Turkish ex-pats are driving the most online traffic at the moment, he said, because UEFA.com is one of the few places fans can see games of top Turkish clubs Fenerbahçe and Besiktas.)


So is that the audience for online soccer? Die-hard fans who are stuck at the office and Turkish people who can't otherwise see their team's games?

I interviewed a number of European soccer fans who live in the U.S., and most said that they prefer to pay for a special satellite package or go to a bar to watch international soccer, if possible.


"The online games really don't impact us, because anyone who wants to get our games can get them on television," said Jim O'Donnell, president of the Washington, D.C. chapter of the North American Federation of Celtic Supporters Clubs. "I'm sure there are some football fans without an allegiance who might watch online, but I can't say what kind of effort they'd make."


Mike Kavanagh, president of Arsenal America, a club for American fans of Arsenal FC, said he knows a number of fans who were once uninterested in soccer but became huge supporters after watching online broadcasts of the World Cup last year.


"There were guys who couldn't have cared less about soccer, but they had ESPN360, and now they're into international football, which is fantastic," he said.


- Tim Lemke

http://video1.washingtontimes.com/sportsbiz/2007/11/european_champions_league.html