Aragones officially sign as Fenerbahce coach

ARAGONES TALKS TO FENERBAHCE TEAM CAPTAIN ALEX ...(Photos: Courtsy of Fenerbahce.org)




ARAGONES TALKS TO TEAM OFFICIAL MAHMUT USLU......



Former Spain coach Luis Aragones had a three-hour meeting with Fenerbahce officials on Friday.

Aragones is expected to finalize a two-year coaching contract with Fenerbahce ahead of an official signing ceremony on Saturday.

The 69-year-old Aragones also toured the Istanbul club's Sukru Saracoglu stadium.

"I will direct the matches in the best possible way with calm," the club's official Web site quoted Aragones as saying. "As Fenerbahce, we are aiming to win all of the titles in all competitions."

Vicente del Bosque is expected to take over Spain after Aragones' decision to leave despite leading the country to the European Championship title, its first major trophy in 44 years.

Kewell joins Galatasaray!....

KEWELL IS IN ISTANBUL......

Australia international Harry Kewell has signed a three-year contract with Turkish champions Galatasaray, the club have claimed.

However, there remains some confusion over the conclusion of the deal as Kewell's agent Bernie Mandic has said the announcement is premature.

The 29-year-old turned down a contract offer with Liverpool in May and entered the current transfer window as a free agent, with many clubs across Europe chasing his services.

Kewell was linked with Portsmouth, Fulham, Celtic and Roma but Galatasaray have announced his signing on their website.

Mandic, though, insists that nothing has been finalised.

'We have not finalised a deal for Harry and it's down to two possibilities,' he told Australian FourFourTwo.

'People will be notified if and when Harry decides on one of the options which may be around noon on Saturday European time.

'We will not make any other comments until then.'

Source:Wires

Aragones set to take over Fenerbahce

Spain coach Luis Aragones, who stepped down after the team's recent Euro 2008 triumph, is set to become manager in Turkey's top club level with Fenerbahce, the club announced Thursday.

Aragones, 69, became the oldest manager to win a Euro crown. He was with Spain since 2004. The former Spanish international coached a number of major teams in Spain, including Barcelona, before becoming coach of the national team.

He will replace Brazilian Zico, who coached Fenerbahce the last two seasons.

Fenerbahce, a regular in the Champions League, opens the tournament this season in the second qualifying round, which starts at the end of July.

A HUGE HONOR FOR NIHAT!...

MASTER SHOOTER NIHAT!...

Turkish International Player Nihat Kahveci and Villarreal CF striker reveals some of his secrets exclusively on the UEFA Training Ground as he offers a guide to first-time shooting.

In his step-by-step guide, Nihat, shows in Spanish, how too improve goalscoring ability, focusing on both technical and mental areas.

If I remember correctly, Nihat, will be the first ever, Turkish player or person to be featured on UEFA's Training Ground website. This is a huge Honor for Nihat and Turkish Football(soccer), in my opinion.

I am really proud of Nihat!....

UEFA imposes €35.000 fine on Turkish President

UEFA imposed €35.000 fine on Turkish President Abdullah Gul and the delegation because of going to dressing room of Turkish team after matches.

Cem Akdag, Turkey Football Federation Responsible Person on Accredited Issues stated that the delegation led by Abdullah Gul arrived at dressing room after matches to congratulate the team on the victory and UEFA estimated it as illegality and imposed a fine on them.

EURO 2008 INTERESTING STATS!...

What Clubs and Leagues did the Goals Come From?


# Goals/Club/Players:

8 - Bayern Munich (Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm)
5 - Valencia CF (David Villa, David Silva)
4 - Fenerbahçe (Semih Şentürk, Uğur Boral)
4 - Real Madrid (Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben, Pepe)
3 - Liverpool (Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt)
3 - BSC Young Boys (Hakan Yakin)
3 - Spartak Moscow (Roman Pavlyuchenko)
3 - Arsenal (Robin van Persie, Cesc Fàbregas)
3 - Zenit St. Petersburg (Andrei Arshavin, Konstantin Zyrianov)
2 - FC Porto (Ricardo Quaresma, Raul Meireles)
2 - 1. FC Nuremberg (Jan Koller, Angelos Charisteas)
2 - FC Barcelona (Deco, Xavi)
2 - A.S. Roma (Daniel De Rossi, Christian Panucci)
2 - RCD Mallorca (Dani Güiza)
2 - Werder Bremen (Ivan Klasnić)
2 - Inter Milan (Zlatan Ibrahimović)
2 - Villareal (Nihat Kahveci)
2 - Chelsea (Michael Ballack)
1 - Baník Ostrava (Václav Svěrkoš)
1 - LASK Linz (Ivica Vastić)
1 - Ajax (Klaas Jan Huntelaar)
1 - Getafe CF (Ruben de la Red)
1 - Panathinaikos (Helder Postiga)
1 - Hamburger SV (Ivica Olić)
1 - FC Lokomotiv Moscow (Dmitri Torbinski)
1 - S.L. Benfica (Nuno Gomes)
1 - Legia Warsaw (Roger Guerreiro)
1 - AC Milan (Andrea Pirlo)
1 - Fiorentina (Adrian Mutu)
1 - CA Osasuna (Jaroslav Plašil)
1 - F.C. Copenhagen (Libor Sionko)
1 - Stade Rennais (Petter Hansson)
1 - Manchester United (Cristiano Ronaldo)
1 - Shakhtar Donetsk (Darijo Srna)
1 - Feyenoord (Giovanni van Bronckhorst)
1 - Dinamo Zagreb (Luka Modrić)

Euro 2008 Goals By League

17 - Spain La Liga
13 - German Bundesliga
9 - English Premier League
7 - Russian Premier League
6 - Italian Serie A
4 - Turkcell Süper Lig
3 - Swiss Super League
3 - Portugal BWINLIGA
2 - Dutch Eredivisie
1 - Czech Gambrinus liga
1 - Austrian Bundesliga
1 - Super League Greece
1 - Danish Superliga
1 - Polish Orange Ekstraklasa
1 - France Ligue 1 Orange
1 - Ukrainian Premier League
1 - Croatia Prva HNL


Interestingly, some of the most represented clubs in the tournament ended with zero goal contributing players.

Clubs with a least 5 players represented with no Euro 2008 Goals:

11- Lyon
7 - Red Bull Salzburg
6 - Steaua Bucureşti
5 - CSKA Moscow
5 - Juventus
5 - Rapid Wien
5 - Stuttgart

Source:www.Thebesteleven.com

Fenerbahce to play MTK in CL qualifying

Fenerbahce football(soccer) club will play Hungary's MTK Budapest in the second qualifying round in the UEFA Champions League.

Last season's quarterfinalist Fenerbahce was drawn Tuesday to begin its 2008-09 Champions League campaign against Hungarian champion MTK.

A total of 42 clubs from across Europe were included in the draw for the first two qualifying rounds of the continent's most prestigious club competition.

Fenerbahce was one of the most glamorous names in Friday's draw after finishing second in the Turkish league last season and reaching the last eight of the Champions League for the first time.

It lost 3-2 on aggregate against eventual runner-up Chelsea, and said last week it had reached an agreement with Spain's European Championship-winning coach Luis Aragones, after former Brazil international Zico left the club last month.

"We are stronger than all teams in the second qualifying round," Sekip Mosturoglu, vice-president of Fenerbahce soccer club, was quoted by the Anatolian Agency as saying.

Mosturolgu said he believed that Fenerbahce would advance to the next round.

Fenerbahce will play the first leg at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul against MTK on July 29 or 30 before traveling to Budapest for the return. The Hungarians were entered direct into the second round.

A third qualifying round is played in August when club's who finished third and fourth last season in Europe's biggest leagues will join the competition.