Ertugrul Saglam focused on victory!..FC Porto v Besiktas: Preview

Porto welcome Besiktas on Tuesday night knowing that a point will be enough to see them through to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Just two points separate the Portuguese side, who top Group A, and Besiktas at the foot of the table, with one round of matches remaining.

The Turkish side must win to progress, and coach Ertugrul Saglam knows that his troops will carry the expectations of a nation on their shoulders when they turn out at the Estadio do Dragao.

Saglam said: ``Our total focus is now on the Porto game, which is important both for us and Turkish football. Our aim is to write a new page in the club's history.''

For both clubs the permutations are relatively straightforward despite the fact that any of the four teams in Group A could still qualify.

If Porto lose, they cannot qualify for the knockout phase, while Besiktas will not qualify should they fail to win.

However, Porto could still qualify for the UEFA Cup if they lose and the other Group A game between Marseille and Liverpool produces a winner.

A draw in France combined with a defeat for Porto would send the Dragons out of Europe, while Besiktas cannot finish third due to inferior head-to-head records with Liverpool and Marseille and therefore must take all three points to continue their European campaign.

``We cannot think about enjoying this victory. We want to beat Porto in Portugal and advance to the next round,'' said Saglam after watching his side win 1-0 at Bursaspor at the weekend. ``My players can do it,'' he added.

Gokhan Zan, Lamine Diatta (both foot), Serdar Kurtulus (hamstring), Mehmet Yozgatly (hip), Ibrahim Kap (calf) and Ricardinho (broken wrist) all missed the Bursaspor victory through injury and are unlikely to be fit for Tuesday's game.

Porto, who opened up a seven-point gap at the top of the Portuguese league with a 1-0 win against Benfica last week, will fancy their chances as they have not been beaten at home in the Champions League since a 3-2 defeat to Artmedia over two years ago.

Coach Jesualdo Ferreira said: ``I'm confident Porto will complete the job to finish in first place in the group and proceed in the Champions League.''

A win will ensure Porto progress as group winners, while a point will be enough to see them top the standings if Marseille and Liverpool draw.

Defender Milan Stepanov and midfielder Ernesto Farias are both injured for Porto.

Ferreira was able to rest most of his first team for the recent 2-0 win over third division side Chaves in the Portuguese Cup.

Fringe players Helder Postiga and Adriano scored the goals but neither striker is likely to feature in the starting XI against the Istanbul-based side.
Source:PA

I AM NOT KAZIM..... I AM STILL COLIN!.....

ACCORDING TO RECENT INTERVIEW DONE BY Nick Szczepanik , TIMES ONLINE, FENERBAHCE'S AND TURKISH NATIONAL TEAM PLAYER COLIN RICHARDS SAID HE IS STILL COLIN ALTHOUGH TURKS GAVE HIM "KAZIM" NAME!....
HERE IS THE ARTICLE......


From Bury to Brazil, the rise of a boy called Colin Kazim-Richards

Tuncay and Boro Team end Arsenal's unbeaten run!

Middlesbrough inflicted Premier League Arsenal's first league defeat of the season with a 2-1 win at the Riverside on Sunday.

Defeat left Arsenal just a point ahead of second-placed Manchester United.

Stewart Downing, with a fourth-minute penalty, and Tuncay Sanli, with a close-range strike 16 minutes from time, scored for Boro.

Tomas Rosicky pulled a goal back for Arsenal in the fifth minute of stoppage time but there was barely time left for the ensuing kick-off before the final whistle blew.

The result meant Boro, who started Sunday in the relegation zone, had won only their third league game of the season.

WATCH FENERBAHCE V GALATASARAY DERBY HIGHLIGHTS

FENERBAHCE 1- GALATASARAY 0 (GOAL BY SEMIH SENTURK )



FENERBAHCE 2 GALATASARAY 0(GOAL BY BRAZILIAN DEIVID )AND BRAZILIAN DANCE SHOW BY ROBERTO CARLOS, DEIVID AND WEDERSON!.....

THE DERBY BELONGS TO FENERBAHCE!....2-0

What I thought, and wrote before the match, it happened..well, we have to wait until Sunday to see if Sivaspor could claim the top spot again from Galatasaray.

Galatasaray not only lost to Fenerbahace, they might lose the top spot if Sivaspsor wins at home tomorrow against Denizlispor.

Galatasaray team was unbeatable for 14 weeks in the Turkcell Super League...That was a a huge run by Gala and German Coach Mr Feldkamp. No one in the Turkish media gives him credit for that.

Forget about the credit, the Guy(Erman Toroglu), who has a stick in his hand every week at the "Maraton" program on LiGTV, has a balls to ask him a question in a nasty and absurd way, why he does not play the veteran players on the bench!.... Any way, I don't want to take away any thing from Fenerbahce's gusty win over Galatasaray.

As I said it before, Fenerbahce won it with experience players... Galatasaray, was without Lincoln, Lindreroth, Ayhan and Hasan Sas. I think that was the difference...

Galatasaray had no midfield and early goal scored by Fenerbahce didn't help things , in my opinion.

They were shock and Fenerbahce with the fantastic fan base in Sukru Sracoglu Stadium total winner as a team on a Saturday night in Istanbul. They put on a great show and soccer !.....

They must learned from nasty mistakes from last season....This is the way every stadium in Turkey should be.... Full and every fan enjoying them self!....

Although he and his defense made a huge mistake on the first goal, Galatasaray keeper Orkun played a hell of game...the score instead two zip, it could well be five zip, if Orkun did not make those important saves. My player of the match was Roberto Carlos he ran like a young man out there...

Fenerbahce keeper Volakn made key saves too....he looks like, got his confidence..that is good for Turkish National Team an for Fenerbahce,,,,if that, does not go to his big head!....

I don't know about you guys but I noticed, one thing after the match, both team coaches talked to the LIGTV reporters both of them looked calm and cool.... Our Turkish coaches , I hope learned from them last night.....No one complain about the referee or critiqued the own players...that's the way it should be..

Lastly, we have to teach a TV journalism to those guys who keeps people in front of the TV screens for hours!....Like that guy, with a stick in his hand , making bold and absurd comments..
REFEREES: Fırat Aydınus , Serkan Ok , Tarık Ongun
FENERBAHÇE: Volkan Demirel , Gökhan , Lugano , Edu , Roberto Carlos (Kazım MIN. 90+2 ), Mehmet Aurelio , Selçuk , Uğur Boral (Vederson MIN. 46 ), Alex , Deivid , Semih (Kezman MIN. 72 )
GALATASARAY: Orkun , Uğur , Song , Servet , Hakan Balta , Sabri , Volkan Yaman (Ümit Karan MIN. 63 ), Barış (Mehmet Topal MIN. 84), Serkan , Arda (Hakan Şükür MIN. 74 ), Nonda
RED CARD: Deivid (MIN. 78)
GOALS: Semih (MIN. 5), Deivid (MIN. 56)
YELLOW CARDS: Uğur, Semih, Deivid, Edu (Fenerbahçe), Song, Volkan Yaman, Arda (Galatasaray)

Also on Saturday,Kayserispor lost ground on the top four after being held to a goalless stalemate at Caykur Rizespor, while Kasimpasa picked up a rare point with a 2-2 draw against Ankaragucu.

AHMET TURGUT
WWW.TURKISHSOCCER.COM,EDITOR

ANOTHER DEFEAT FOR U-16's TURKISH NATIONALS!..RUSSIA 4 TURKEY 3

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF RUSSIA V TURKEY U-16'S MATCH HERE.......
Turkish National soccer team U-16's lost to the Russian National team 3-2..
They will play against US national team on Sunday at 3pm,ET.The match will be broadcast on fox soccer TV on tape at 8:00 pm,ET.

You could watch the highlights of the disaster match against Brazil on www.ussoccer.com web site....

One little note to our friend at www.tff.org Turkish Federation web site, the matches is in Florida not in New York....please get that....It is absurd...as a Federation web site you don't know where are the matches playing!....How bad is that!

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TURKISH U -16'S THRASHED BY BRAZIL U-16'S!....

Photo:Tff

The Brazil U-16s beat Turkey U-16s 7-2. The game was close at halftime, with Brazil leading 1-0, but a second half barrage of goals created the lopsided scoreline. Check back here later for highlights of the game ...

The 2007 Nike Friendlies will take place from Dec. 6-9 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.Fox Soccer Channel to Televise Three U-17 International Matches at 2007 Development Academy Nike Friendlies

U.S. U-17 MNT to Face Brazil, Russia and Turkey During the Friendlies;
USA-Russia on Dec. 6 and USA-Brazil on Dec. 8 Will Be Broadcast Live on FSC;
Player Development

The U.S. kicks off the weekend live on FSC when they go up against Russia on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. ET. Two days later, the U.S. will continue its familiar December match-up with Brazil for the third straight year, and fourth overall, at the Friendlies when the countries square off on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2:30 p.m. ET. The U.S. will then face Turkey on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, which will be televised on a same-day delay at 8 p.m. ET.