BESIKTAS JUST CAN'T WIN AGAINST SIVASSPOR

Besiktas might be the only undefeated team team in the Turkish Super league, but, They just can't beat Sivasspor in Istanbul.

BESIKTAS passed up the chance to go four points clear at the Turkcell Super League summit on Friday night but have extended their advantage to two points following a 1-1 home draw against Sivasspor.
Mehmet Yildiz opened the scoring for the visitors in the fourth minute, but Matias Delgado restored parity for the leaders just nine minutes later and that is how it remained.

Sivasspor climb a place to third courtesy of the draw, moving to within a point of second-spotted Trabzonspor

TURKEY'S TURKCELL SUPER LEAGUE "ROUND 8", WILL START WITH A BANG!.....

CLASH FOR THE TOP SPOT!.....

League leaders Besiktaş will be hosting 5th placed Sivasspor who has 14 points at İstanbul İnönü Stadium. Besiktas has 17 points going in to this match.

Besiktas has changed their coach during the national matches break. Manager Ertugrul Saglam is replaced by experienced coach Mustafa Denizli. Mustafa Denizli has declared that the team will play in a more offensive fashion and their aim will be scoring more than they concede. In his first match as Besiktas coach.

Sivasspor is also a very powerful team. They have started this season with a very nice form and proved that their success in the last season has nothing to do with luck. Especially their offensive line is great with the presence of powerhouse striker Mehmet Yildiz and pacey Israeli Pini Balili. Sivasspor has beaten Ankaragucu 3-0 at their last match.

Sivasspor will be playing without their first choice goalkeeper Petkovic. The replacement Akin is also a good keeper but the atmosphere at İstanbul may be too much for him.

Besiktas will also be missing Gökhan Zan, Batuhan Karadeniz, Aydın Karabulut and Seric.

Here is the round 8th fixture at TSL......( All Times are local Turkey times)

Follow all the Turkcell Super league matches live on www.turkishsoccer.com

Friday, 24 October 2008
Besiktas v Sivasspor, 20:00

Saturday, 25 October 2008
Ankaraspor v Kocaelispor, 14:00
Denizlispor v Genclerbirligi, 14:00
Fenerbahce v Bursaspor, 19:00

Sunday, 26 October 2008
Ankaragucu v Kayserispor, 14:00
Antalyaspor v Hacettepe, 14:00
Eskisehirspor v Galatasaray, 19:00
Konyaspor v Istanbul BB, 14:00
Trabzonspor v Gaziantepspor, 16:00

GALATASARAY MAKES A GOOD START IN UEFA CUP GROUP MATCHES!

Galatasaray's Harry Kewell (C) celebrates his goal against Olympiacos Piraeus with team mates Arda Turan (L) and Emre Asik (R) during their UEFA Cup soccer match at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul, October 23, 2008.
REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY)





Galatasaray got their UEFA Cup group stage campaign off to a winning start with a narrow 1-0 victory over Olympiacos in a closely-contested clash in Istanbul.

Harry Kewell's glancing header was enough to give Michael Skibbe's Turkish champions all three points against Ernesto Valverde's Greek title-holders at a packed Ali Sami Yen Stadium.

Both teams went into the Group B fixture desperate to make amends for recent European disappointment - having lost in the Champions League qualifiers - and it was the hosts who took the early initiative, pressing and probing with former Leeds man Kewell prominent.

The first clear chance of the game came after 20 minutes when Arda Turan headed wide from Lincoln's left-wing corner. Then, two minutes later Kewell dragged a snapshot wide when well placed inside the penalty area.

The Turks continued to press and Sabri Sarioglu tested Nikopolidis with a powerful long-range drive which the visiting keeper parried for a corner.

The deadlock was then broken from the resulting corner in the 26th minute and Kewell was the man on target, evading his marker Didier Domi at the near post before glancing a downward header past Nikopolidis from another Lincoln corner.

Despite the occasional rampaging run from Vasilis Torosidis down the right, Olympiacos struggled to gain meaningful possession and Diogo looked an isolated figure with little service coming from Argentinian duo Luciano Galletti and Fernando Belluschi.

Galletti had a decent opportunity to get his team back into the game on the stroke of half-time but he fired his free-kick into the wall.

The hosts continued to threaten the Olympiacos goal in the second half, with Anastasios Pantos clearing off the line from Baros before Lincoln blasted the rebound over the crossbar from close range.

Lincoln should have added to the scoreline but was thwarted by Nikopolidis and then the crossbar.

Olympiacos substitute Darko Kovacevic had a golden chance to equalise for the Greeks but he headed Fernando Belluschi's free-kick inches wide.

It was then Diogo's turn to miss as the Brazilian headed agonisingly wide from a Torosidis long ball as Galatasaray held to to claim the win.

FATIH TERIM SIGNS A NEW DEAL!.....

Photo courtesy of TFF


Fatih Terim has signed a two-year extension to his contract as Turkey coach.

The deal had been agreed with former Turkish Football Federation (TFF) president Hasan Doğan on 2 July, but Dogan's untimely death three days later delayed its signing. Turkey enjoyed a surprise run to the semi-finals of EURO 2008 and are undefeated after four matches in qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, though they trail Spain by four points in Group 5. "The Turkish national team has big aspirations to reach the finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2012," TFF president Mahmut Ozgener said. "We think our coach Fatih Terim is the right person to help us reach those targets."

Ozgener also praised the efforts of Terim. "Thanks to their brilliant displays, courage and determination, Turkey were one of the most discussed teams of the tournament," he said. Terim began his second spell in charge of Turkey in 2005 having also led his country from 1993 to 1996.. The 55-year-old, who took Galatasaray to victory in the UEFA Cup in 2000 and has also coached ACF Fiorentina and AC Milan, has said he regards the post as a "national calling".

Galatasaray to face Olympiakos in UEFA cup group stage

Galatasaray are set face Greece's Olympiakos in their first game in UEFA Cup group stage campaign to start on Thursday.

The game will kick off at 9:15 p.m. local time(2:15 ET). Spanish Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez, Juan Carlos Yuste Jimenez and Jon Nunez Fernandez will referee the match.

Portugal's Benfica, Germany's Hertha Berlin and Ukraine's Metalist Kharkiv are Galatasaray's other rivals in Group B.

UEFA Cup group stage will end on December 18th. Three teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages.

FENERBAHCE V ARSENAL MATCH ON ESPN360.COM LIVE!...

Dear Turkish Football(soccer) blog readers you could watch Fenerbahce v Arsenal match live on the internet free if you internet provider offers the ESPN360.COM .

THE MATCH WILL START AT 2:45 ET....

HERE IS THE LINK FOR ESPN360/.......

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/espn360/player

Fenerbahce upbeat after weekend victory!.......

Fenerbahce upbeat after weekend victory!.......

Fenerbahce coming off confidence-boosting weekend win ahead of Tuesday's Champions League match in Istanbul.


Fenerbahce made a poor start to the season, losing four of its first seven games under new manager Luis Aragones, who led Spain to the European Championship title in June. But the club beat Kocaelispor 3-2 on Saturday with an injury-time goal from Semih Senturk, to relieve some of the pressure on Aragones.

"Of course, I am not pleased with the game we played in the first half," Aragones said. "I think the atmosphere at the Champions League will be different."

Fenerbahce defender Roberto Carlos vowed that the team could turn things around in the Champions League.

"We've beaten Chelsea at home (last season). The atmosphere in Kadikoy is always different," the former Brazil defender was quoted as saying by newspaper Hurriyet on Monday. "This time, we will make it up to the fans that we have upset."

Fenerbahce could be without injured midfielder Gokhan Gonul, but the club is also upbeat after its first away win in the Turkish Turkcell Super league this season on Saturday.


On the other hand, Arsenal,have defensive worries ahead of their Champions League Group G tie against Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Centre-back Kolo Toure has been ruled out after twisting shoulder ligaments in Saturday's 3-1 victory over Everton.

Captain William Gallas (hamstring) and Bacary Sagna (knee) are carrying injuries sustained on international duty last week and are also unavailable after missing the match against the Toffees.

However, midfielder Samir Nasir has shaken off a knock picked up against the Merseysiders and Nicklas Bendtner (ankle) and Johan Djourou (head) both return after being absent at the weekend.