IS TUNCAY SANLI "GREATEST TURK IN HISTORY?........."

Thanks to my blogger friend Oz Kanka who writes about Ankara football teams from Ankara posted this first time.

A well known Football columnist from England Peter Huges, called Tuncay Sanli "Greatest Turk in History" in his recent article!...

What is so absurd, He mentioned his name along with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Like my friend said in his blog sometimes the columnist go a bit over board, when they mix apples with oranges!....

Here is the article writing by Peter Huges..............

HE'S THE GREATEST TURK IN HISTORY...

Peter Hughes; 3 March 2009

…or so the song goes.

And with the greatest respect to Orhan Pamuk, Sertab Erener, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and even Sulyman the Magnificent, you have to think that when he’s on form, Tuncay Sanli IS the greatest Turk in history.

It’s great to have him back.

It was a mystery where he disappeared to. Whether it was his efforts in last summer’s European Championships taking their toll, having his head turned by talk of a move to Chelsea or even just a dislike of the North East winter, it has been clear that Tuncay has not been on top form of late.

Whatever the reason was, it has had a direct influence on the club’s form.

At the beginning of the season, he was outstanding. His hundred miles an hour, non-stop style led us to some great results and he seemed to be behind our every move.

He then picked up an injury playing for Turkey and missed all of our games in September. We lost them all.

He then came back into the team and we started to climb the table once more. After two good months, in which he was probably our best player, we were in the top half of the table and looking towards a UEFA Cup (sorry – Europa League) place.

After a hat trick for his country, he got a brace in our win at Villa Park and he, and the Boro, were in imperious form. We had the longest unbeaten run in the Premiership and things were looking good.

But then something went wrong.

Maybe he just ran out of steam. Maybe he was thinking of the warm beaches of Marmaris, when all he could have was the not so warm beaches at Marske.

Whatever went wrong, it affected the whole team.

I said earlier in the season that he is the link man, the man who makes the runs, the man who makes the space and just as importantly, the man who motivates the crowd. He is ‘the heart’ of the team.

When the heart stopped beating, the team seemed to die.

For three months, it looked like touch and go for the Boro. Many thought they wouldn’t pull round.

But then came the Wednesday match against the Hammers. He was linked up front with Aliadiere and he was a changed man. Back came the old Tunch. His bouncy run, his boundless energy… he was bound to score.

A goal in the twentieth minute and all was good in the world again.

Unlike some teams, we do take our cup runs seriously on Teesside. However, the priority is survival. The game against Liverpool was always going to be tough and so it proved.

They had 72% of the possession, nine corners to our two and twenty-three shots to our five.

We battled away though and when man of the match Stewey put in a dangerous corner, we got the stroke of luck we haven’t had for a while.

But just when you thought their pressure would tell, once again the former Fenerbahçe frontman fired home.

It could well be that it is the return of the warm weather (if you can ever call it warm on Teesside in February), that has brought out the best in Tunch. Or it could be good management to drop him from the away games at Man City and West Ham.

Gareth said that he felt he was feeling a bit jaded and wanted to give him chance to recharge his batteries. Well it certainly seems to have worked.

And God knows we needed him back.

Before the Liverpool game, we had had only one League win at the Riverside in over six months!

Before Alonso’s own goal, we had only scored once in fifteen hours of League football!

And yet now, instead of thinking about how much season tickets will cost in the Championship, we are looking forward to games for the first time in ages.

In our next five League matches we play the teams that are currently in fourteenth, sixteenth, nineteenth, tenth and thirteenth in the table.

One win could move us up into thirteenth place. What a great time to start hitting form again.

We are now unbeaten in four games and have only lost three out of our eleven games this year.

It’s amazing how a few good results totally change your outlook on life. A couple of good wins and we will shoot up the table. Hell, if we’d managed to get a win at West Ham earlier this season, we would only be six points off a place in Europe!

And if we ever do get back into Europe, I know we will give it our best shot.

What’s the point of spending all season trying to qualify for Europe and then playing a reserve team in the actual competition?

I cannot understand why Aston Villa did not put a decent team out against CSKA Moscow. It was their only chance of silverware this season and they didn’t turn up.

It’s like a family saving up all year for a holiday in Spain and then not going so they can work some overtime to try and go to Florida next year.

Although I have some sympathy with ’Arry having to play Shaktar three days before a Cup Final, he still sent out a weakened team to Ukraine in the first leg and so lost the tie.

Their players will be drained physically and emotionally after going out of both competitions in four days and it gives us a great chance to pick up three points down the Lane on Wednesday night.

It may be years before Spurs play in Europe again. It may also be years before the Boro play in Europe again but at least we went down fighting in the blaze of glory that is a European final.

If only we had shown the same fighting spirit that we showed on those wonderful European nights at the Riverside against bloody Cardiff. If we had done, we could have been making our way to Tuncay’s old stomping grounds in Istanbul for the Final in May.

http://www.comeonboro.com/columns/212923.php

FORTIS TURKISH CUP SEMI-FINALS WRAP

Besiktas and Fenerbahce are one step close to the final.

Besiktas who had a clear victor in Ankara against Ankaraspor on Tuesday, have aadvantage for the second leg of the semi-finals in the Fortis Turkish Cup with an away victory of 1-3,coming back from one goal deficit to win it with three unanswered goals.

Bilal Kisa put Ankaraspor ahead in the 25th minute, but Besiktas scored with Matías Delgado (41), Filip Hološko (77) and Yusuf Simsek (89).

On the other hand, on Wednesday in Istanbul, Fenerbahce hosted the leader of the Turkish Turkcell Super League, Sivasspor.

Having beaten the leaders 4-2 in İstanbul just on Sunday in a league game, Fenerbahce was once again the winners, again with the same margin : 3-1.

After a goalless 65-minute start, Fenerbahce's goals came from Deniz (66), Edu (75) and Deivid (84), while Sivasspor's only goal scored by Bilica at 82.



With theese scores, Fenerbahce and Besiktas are seemengly the strongest candidates for the finals. The two İstanbul sides most likely meet in the Fortis Cup Finals.

Fenerbahce hasn't win the Turkish Cup since 1983.

The second leg games of the Turkish Cup will be played on April 22.

IT LOOKS LIKE BESIKTAS WILL BE IN THE FINALS!

BESIKTAS CAME FROM BEHIND TO WIN

This was the best Besiktas team I saw this year! .
They won the away match in the first leg of the Fortis Turkish Cup match, against Ankaraspor,with coming back from one goal deficit to win it with three unanswered goals.

Bilal Kisa put Ankaraspor ahead in the 25th minute, but Besiktas scored with Matías Delgado (41), Filip Hološko (77) and Yusuf Simsek (89).
Fenerbahce and Sivasspor will play on Wednesday
ANKARASPOR 1- 3 BESIKTAS

LA Times: "Beckham Deal Done"

Getty Images

The Los Angeles Times,reporting that David Beckham has paid Major League Soccer to allow him to remain longer with AC Milan, though he will also rejoin the Los Angeles Galaxy in July.

Source says he will remain with AC Milan through the Serie A season, then come back to L.A. That could be the end of his MLS career.

According to the terms of the proposed agreement, Beckham would extend his current loan to AC Milan beyond its March 9 expiration and play there until the May 31 Italian season finale.

He would then have to wait until the MLS international transfer window opens on July 15 to rejoin the Galaxy, meaning he would miss the first 17 games of the 30-game 2009 MLS season. His first match for the Galaxy would be on July 18 at New York.

The complicated scenario does not end there.


Beckham would be under contract to the Galaxy until his buy-out clause takes effect at the end of this calendar year. From a practical standpoint, however, he would be free to leave once the Galaxy's regular season and possible playoff run ends, which would be at the end of November if the club reaches the MLS championship final.

At that point, Beckham would be free to rejoin AC Milan, although he probably would have to wait until January and the opening of the next international transfer period.

A source close to the negotiations said all parties -- the Galaxy, AC Milan, Galaxy owner AEG, MLS and Beckham himself -- were satisfied with the arrangement.

Financially, the agreement is said to be worth multimillion dollars to the Galaxy and to MLS, although no exact figures were known. The Galaxy had been seeking more than $10-million from Milan for an outright purchase of Beckham, but the new arrangement is believed to be worth far more than that.

Milan had said it would pay no more than $3 million for Beckham, knowing it could get him for free in November. It is now willing to pay far more than that, but again the exact figure was unknown.

For exercising the escape clause in his five-year, $32.5-million contract with MLS, Beckham, too, will have to pay hefty compensation.

The Galaxy would also benefit by not having Beckham's $6.5-million salary count against the MLS salary cap until he returns, leaving the club free to make other moves in the meantime. If Beckham is injured during the next four months while with AC Milan, the Galaxy, AEG and the league would be covered under an insurance policy.

From AC Milan's position, having Beckham available for its final 12 games of the season would help it immensely as it strives to finish in the top three in the league and thereby qualify for next season's European Champions League.

From Beckham's standpoint, staying with Milan will significantly help his chances of remaining on the England national team as it tries to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

England Coach Fabio Capello has said Beckham needs to be playing regularly and at a high level to be considered. England has six World Cup qualifying games and three friendly matches on its schedule in the rest of 2009.

The Galaxy would have to release him for three of those England qualifiers and for two of the friendly matches if Beckham is called up by the national team. They would not impact his Galaxy games, although he would have to make at least three transatlantic trips and play Galaxy games shortly after each one.

Immediately after the May 31 end of the Italian season, Beckham could be called up for England's World Cup qualifiers on the road against Kazakhstan on June 6 and at home against Andorra on June 10.

He could then train with the Galaxy before July 15, but could not be activated until that date.

Beckham's next match is on Wednesday night in Doha, Qatar, where AC Milan is playing a lucrative friendly against the Qatari club Al Sadd. His next league match in Serie A is on Sunday in Milan against Atalanta.

The close of business today is the deadline for MLS teams to reduce their rosters to the new league limit of 24 players. Beckham will still be included in the Galaxy's 24, since he will be returning, but MLS fans will not see him until July.

Source:LA Times

Former Galatasaray Player might play for Manchester United

Manchester United has emerged as the latest club to be linked with a move for former Galatasaray and current Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery, thanks primarily to statements by the 25-year-old French international's agent.


Alain Migliaccio has claimed in an interview with German newspaper Bild that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson would move for Ribery should the Old Trafford club choose to cash-in and allow Cristiano Ronaldo to mover to Real Madrid this summer.

Ribery has been in solid form for the Germany champions this year scoring six goals and setting up three from 16 games, form which has seen him linked with moves to a host of high profile clubs from England, Italy and Spain.

Last week Barcelona had emerged as the club in pole position to sign Ribery after statements from Migliaccio which suggested that a deal was all but in place for his client to sign a four-year deal at the Camp Nou.

But Migliaccio has now suggested that Old Trafford could be Ribery's destination, telling Bild: ''If Manchester United sell Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson would like to cover that transfer with Ribery's signature.''

Ribery is contracted to Bayern until 2011 and is enjoying his football at the Allianz Arena along with considerable personal and team success; last season Ribery won the German league and cup double and was named as Germany and France's football of the year.

However, the player has also said that he would be surprised if he saw out the end of his contract.

With presidential elections at Real Madrid this summer it seems inevitable that Ronaldo will be again linked with a move to the Bernebeu as he was ahead of the current season.

Whether Sir Alex Ferguson is able - or as determined - to retain the services of the reigning world and European player of the year should Madrid again declare an interest in the Portuguese could lead to a wave of high profile transfer activity.



Source{ Wires

Turkish Turkcell Super League Sunday Wrap

Trabzonspor catches Sivasspor at the top of the Turkcell Super League with a 1-0 win away to Antalyaspor on Sunday.

Tarbzonspor won the away match thanks to Umut Bulut's goal 15 minutes from time and now only trail Sivasspor on goal difference after they lost 4-2 to Fenerbahce yesterday.

Galatasaray drew level on 40 points with their Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce thanks to a 1-0 win at Konyaspor. Arda Turan scored the only goal after 10 minutes.

Giray Bulak's Konyaspor striker missed a big opportunity when Veysel found him self with the ball and could not pass the Galatasaray keeper DeSantis in the seventh minute of the match.


Elsewhere on Sunday,bottom team Hacettepe, who have won just three games all season, lost again at Ankaragucu with Antonio de Nigris netting the winner, while second-bottom Kocaelispor drew 1-1 with Bursaspor.

FENERBAHCE DEMOLISH SIVASSPOR AT HOME!...

Turkish Turkcell Super League continues with 4 games on Saturday.



The most important game of the week was played on Saturday between the leaders Sivasspor and the championship hopeful Fenerbahce in İstanbul.

Fenerbahce's 4 goals came from Uğur Boral (5 and 34), Semih Senturk (26) and Lugano (77), while those of Sivasspor came at Mehmet Yıldız (4) and Murat Sözgelmez (25)

With this win Sivasspor still on top with 45 points but, lost big ground in the race!..



If the second place Trabzonspor win the match in Antalya on Sunday they could share the top spot with Sivasspor again!..



On the other hand, Fenerbahce with this win came to life, again!..



This was the must win match for Fenerbahce ....



And they just did that....



They are back in the this race again with along Galatasaray and Besiktas!...



Fenerbahce goes over Galatasaray in the standings with 40 points!..



Galatasaray who has 37 points wil play against Konyaspor in a way match!..



Konyaspor is desprate for points after the other teams who are in danger zone won their matches on Saturday!...



Giray Bulak, coach of the Konyaspor, always plays though against Galatasaray!..



So, On Sunday pressure will be on Galatasaray! ......





Also on Saturday, in the daytime matches, Denizlispor beat Gaziantepspor at home with two goal,

Eskisehirspor won at home against Eskisehirspor with one goal and two ankara teams Ankaraspor and Genclerbirligi each shared the points with a 0-0 draw/