ZICO IS GENIUS!.....

Goalscorer Colin Kazim-Richards celebrates with Mehmet Aurelio.


A lot of, so called Turkish soccer writers in Turkey, didn't think much about Zico, as a coach!...but, he proved them wrong again!... In my Opinion, He was the master of this win... He was the one, who put Colin Kazim on the pitch and it worked.
Colin Kazim-Richards, known in Turkey as Kazim Kazim, came on in the 54th minute and, within 11 minutes, He scored the first goal for Fenerbahce and gave hope to his team. .
Deivid de Souza and Kazim Kazim scored second-half goals Wednesday to give Fenerbahce a 2-1 win over Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Deivid scored an own-goal in the 13th minute as a cross from Florent Malouda deflected off him and went in. But Kazim equalized in the 65th and Deivid scored with a powerful shot from way beyond the area in the 81st.

Malouda sent in a cross from the left flank, but the ball deflected off Deivid and went in, putting the visitors ahead.

Fenerbahce then tried to get through Chelsea's back line but forward Mateja Kezman, supported by Brazilians Alex de Souza and Deivid, seemed physically outweighed by John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho.

Fenerbahce's first attempt at goal came in the 22nd with a weak shot by Brazilian-born Mehmet Aurelio from outside the area which went wide.

The Blues almost doubled their lead in the first half, first with a header by Frank Lampard which went wide in the 26th and then with a close-range shot by Didier Drogba which was saved by goalkeeper Volkan Demirel in the 29th.

But the hosts came out strong in the second half, producing four crosses into the area and two corner kicks in the first 10 minutes.

A through ball by playmaker Alex found the unmarked Kazim, who beat Chelsea's offside trap and scored in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini in the 65th.

Deivid, Fenerbahce's top scorer in the competition, brought his tally to five when he unleashed a powerful shot from way beyond the area in the 81st.

Fenerbahce v Chelsea...Live GameCast.....

Fenerbahce v Chelsea...Live GameCast.....click here...

Zico: Fenerbahce must beat Chelsea at home
Coach Zico says it is imperative Fenerbahce beat Chelsea in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.

'Fenerbahce are facing one of the most important matches in their history,' said the former Brazil captain. 'We definitely have to win the first match at home. If we concentrate properly we can achieve our goal.' Zico will be pinning his hopes on playmaker Alex in his team's debut appearance in the last eight.Alex scored twice in Saturday's 2-1 victory over city rivals Besiktas, a result that gave Fenerbahce renewed confidence in their battle to win the Turkish title. 'I don't want anyone to talk about the Besiktas game any more,' said Zico. 'Another very big test awaits us on Wednesday.'

Since joining the club four years ago, Alex has scored 70 goals in 116 league matches.

He could be joined in Wednesday's team by fellow Brazilian Roberto Carlos, who has been out injured since the first leg of their last-16 tie with Sevilla.



Midfielder Ugur Boral, injured against Besiktas, is likely to be fit while Onder Turaci will probably play at right back in place of the suspended Gokhan Gonul.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant finds himself in a peculiar position despite collecting five wins and a draw from his last six Premier League games.

A fortunate 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Sunday means the Londoners are still the closest challengers to Manchester United in the title race but there are grumblings of discontent among the fans.

The League Cup final defeat by Tottenham Hotspur and a humiliating defeat by Championship (second division) side Barnsley in the FA Cup have reduced Grant's chances of winning a trophy in his first season. Midfielder Frank Lampard should return after missing Sunday's victory with a stomach upset. Goalkeeper Petr Cech is doubtful with an ankle injury but Didier Drogba is expected to be fit after picking up a knock at the weekend.





Probable teams:



Fenerbahce: 1-Volkan Demirel; 19-Onder Turaci, 2-Diego Lugano, 36-Edu Dracena, 3-Roberto Carlos; 20-Alex, 15-Mehmet Aurelio, 33-Claudio Maldonado, 25-Ugur Boral; 99-Deivid, 9-Mateja Kezman.





Chelsea: 23-Carlo Cudicini; 20-Paulo Ferreira, 26-John Terry, 6-Ricardo Carvalho, 3-Ashley Cole; 8-Frank Lampard, 4-Claude Makelele, 5-Michael Essien; 10-Joe Cole, 11-Didier Drogba, 21-Salomon Kalou.



FENERBAHCE V CHELSEA

Head-to-head record: no previous matches

Previous appearances in last four:

Champions League: Chelsea 3, Fenerbahce 0

European Cup: Chelsea 3, Fenerbahce 0

All European competitions: Chelsea 8, Fenerbahce 0

Leading Champions League 07-08 scorers:

Fenerbahce: Deivid 4

Chelsea: Didier Drogba 4

Fenerbahce reached the quarter-final stage of a European competition just once before - more than forty years ago when they lost in a playoff to MTK Budapest in the 1963-64 Cup Winners' Cup.Fenerbahce are a force to reckon with at home of late, winning their last five European games in Istanbul and remaining unbeaten in 11, in which they have scored 26 times.Fenerbahce have failed to score in seven of 11 previous games against English clubs.Chelsea are unbeaten in all eight Champions League games this season and have not conceded a goal in the last six. They have gone 621 minutes of Champions League football without letting in a goal since David Villa of Valencia netted against them on October 3 last year.Chelsea won 5-0 against Galatasaray in the Champions League on their only previous visit to Istanbul eight seasons ago. They also won their Champions League away leg against Besiktas four years ago by a 2-0 scoreline, but that was played on neutral ground in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.Chelsea have lost just two of their last 12 Champions League away matches.

Besiktas's Matias Delgado to Arsenal?....

According to British press, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is lining up a £5 million move for Besiktas central midfielder Matias Delgado.

The Argentine international has little over a year left on his current deal with Besiktas and is believed to be available at a cut-down price.

However, Arsenal are likely to face competition for the 25-year-old's signature from Everton and Middlesbrough, who are known to be keen admirers, while Valencia and Villarreal are also monitoring the situation from Spain.

But Delgado is believed to be enticed by the premise of Champions' League football, which could help to sway the balance in Arsenal's favour.

FENERBAHCE KNOCKS OF BESIKTAS !.....

Demirel reacts after their goal against Besiktas during their Turkish Super League derby soccer match at the Inonu stadium in Istanbul,Turkey, Saturday, March 29, 2008.
(AP Photo/Serkan Senturk)


As I warned last week , troubled defense for Besiktas cost another match for Besiktas. This loss will put Besiktas way behind in the race. The Dark days ahead for Besiktas. Because They will play against Sivasspor next weekend in SIvas. A loss their too, will put Besiktas, out of the European competition.
So, dark days are waiting for Besiktas!.. Rookie Coach Ertugrul Saglam has to be punished for this !........
Alex, scored the both goals for Fenerbahce. Before the big match in the CL, against Chelsea, this was Good morale boost for Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce coach won another Istanbul Derby ...
Also on Saturday, Ankaraspor beat Trabzonspor 1-0, and Denizlispor beat Genclerbirligi at home 3-2.
WEEK 28:
Saturday, 29 March 2008
Ankaraspor 1- 0 Trabzonspor
Denizlispor 3 - 2 Genclerbirligi
Besiktas 1 - 2 Fenerbahce..... MATCH OF THE WEEK

Sunday, 30 March 2008
Ankaragucu 2-0 Bursaspor
Galatasaray 0-0 Gaziantepspor
Kasimpasa 0-4 Sivasspor
Kayserispor 1-2 Istanbul Buyuksehir BSK
Konyaspor 0-1 Genclerbirligi OFTAS
Manisaspor 2-1 Caykur Rizespor

Altintop could miss Euro 2008!

Turkish National Team midfielder Hamit Altintop is likely to miss the rest of the season and is also doubtful for Euro 2008 after suffering a broken metatarsal.

Altintop had surgery in Germany after injuring his foot in Turkey's 2-2 draw with Belarus on Wednesday, his club Bayern Munich said in a statement.

"It's a shock," Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said on Thursday. "It's doubtful whether he'll be able to play again this season."

Turkey are in Group A at Euro 2008 in Switzerland and Austria. The tournament begins on June 7.

Source:Wires

SCORE AND MATCH IS FRIENDLY!...2-2

Turkey's Tuncay Sanli celebrates his goalagainst Belarus during their friendly soccer match in Minsk March 26, 2008.
(REUTERS)


Turkish National Team had to come from behind twice to scrape a 2-2 draw away to Belarus in their friendly international.
Belarus, who were recently beaten 1-0 by Luxembourg, took the lead in the 36th minute with Vitaly Kutuzov beating Tolga Zengin in the Turkey goal. But the visitors were back on terms five minutes before the interval with Middlesbrough striker Tuncay Sanli finding the net. Veteran coach Fatih Terim would have expected a much-improved display from his side after the break, but they again found themselves on the back foot.
Viatcheslav Hleb delighted the Dinamo Stadion crowd as he restored Belarus' advantage in the 65th minute.
Turkey's response was again swift, with substitute goalkeeper Vasily Khomutovsky unable to prevent Tumer Metin from equalising for a second time.

This was second consecutive draw in warmup matches for the European Championship.
Fatih Terim's boys, played to a 0-0 draw against Sweden last month.


Lineups:

Belarus: Yuri Zhernov (Vasily Khomutovsky, 46), Ryhor Filipenka, Vladimir Korytko, Vitaly Bulyga, Anton Putsila (Ihar Shitau, 88), Maksim Romashchenko, Aleksandr Hleb, Aleksei Skvernyuk (Pavel Plaskonny, 25), Vitaly Kutuzov (Viacheslav Gleb, 48), Raman Kirenkin, Nikolai Kashevsky.

Turkey: Tolga Zengin, Servet Cetin, Hakan Kadir Balta (Sabri Sarioglu, 22), Mehmet Topal, Mehmet Aurelio, Nihat Kahveci, Gokhan Unal, Ceyhun Gulselam, Tuncay Sanli (Gokhan Gonul, 78), Hamit Antintop, Serdar Ozkan (Arda Turan, 61; Tumer Metin, 65).

Feldkamp leaving Galatasaray at end of season

German coach Karl-Heinz Feldkamp said Wednesday he will not serve as the coach of Turkcell Super League team Galatasaray next season.

"However, Galatasaray's President Adnan Polat designated me to choose both the squad for 2008-2009 season and the new coach," he told a press conference in Istanbul.

Feldkamp previously coached Galatasaray in 1992-1993, and also coached another Istanbul club, Besiktas in 1999.

In June 2007, he returned to Galatasaray by signing a two-year contract and replacing outgoing coach Erik Gerets.

Galatasaray to play one game without fans
The Turkish Soccer Disciplinary Board ruled that Galatasaray soccer team of Istanbul will play its next home game in the Turkcell Super Soccer League without spectators.

The board said the decision was taken because Galatasaray fans were responsible for rowdy scenes during the game against Ankaraspor.

Galatasary which is chasing the title and will play a crucial game at home against Gaziantespor this weekend without its fans.

Galatasary is second in the standings with 60 points. Fenerbahce which will play a derby game with powerful Besiktas in Istanbul is the leader also with 60 points but on a better goal average.

Source:wires