Turkey vs Germany , Euro 2012 Qualifying

This has to be the one of the top matches on Friday, in the Euro2012 Qualifications!

Turkey vs Germany match in Istanbul at Turk Telekom "Aslantepe" Arena.....

Germany already quantified and they are on top of the group A, with perfect record...

Germany will be looking to maintain its perfect record in the last two matches.

On the other hand Turkey, who is on second place in the group and has to get at least a draw against Germany and win against Azerbaijan on Tuesday in the last match...

Germany will play their last match in the group against Belgium the team who is breading on Turkey's neck!

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Turkish National team is with 14 points and Belgium with 12 points..

Both team plays against Germany!

While Turkey playing Germany on Friday ,Belgium will be home against Kazakhstan on Friday...

A win against Germany will keep Turkey's hopes alive to their last group game with Azerbaijan next Tuesday.


Turkey's goal is to finish the group stage at the second place and make a headway to the play-offs.


I believe they could do it if they play as a team ninety minutes....

On the other hand, Germany most likely will use their young players on Friday....

What is so interesting , both teams will have German born player playing for their National team..

Mesut Ozil who is born in Germany, who chose German national team will be with Germany National team while German born players like Mehmet Ekici, Hakan Balta, Hamit Altintop,Nuri Sahin , Gokhan Tore,Tunay Torun and Omer Toprak.


For Turkey, Emre Belozoglu, Servet Cetin ,and Selcuk Sahin wont play on Friday...

For Germany, Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose is big question mark until match hour...

Turkish National team coach Guus Hiddink looking for his third consecutive home win over Germany in Friday's Euro 2012 qualifier.

Could they do it, it will be difficult but not impossible!

Turkey vs Germany match will start at 2;30,PM,ET on Friday

and will be only on Foxsoccer.tv in the United States and in Turkey match will be broadcast by NTV.




Turkey Squad

Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Sinan Bolat (Standard Liege), Hakan Arıkan (Mersin İdman Yurdu).
Defenders: Gökhan Gönül (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Sabri Sarıoğlu, Gökhan Zan, Servet Çetin, Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray A.Ş.), Serkan Balcı, Remzi Giray Kaçar (Trabzonspor A.Ş.), Egemen Korkmaz, İsmail Köybaşı (Beşiktaş A.Ş.), Ömer Toprak (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
Midfielders: Hamit Altıntop (Real Madrid), Mehmet Ekici (Werder Bremen), Tunay Torun (Hertha BSC Berlin), Selçuk İnan, Yekta Kurtuluş (Galatasaray A.Ş.), Emre Belözoğlu (Fenerbahçe A.Ş.), Mehmet Topal (Valencia C.F.), Mehmet Aurelio (Beşiktaş A.Ş.), Arda Turan (Club Atletico de Madrid).
Forwards: Gökhan Töre (Hamburger SV), Burak Yılmaz (Trabzonspor A.Ş.), Mevlüt Erdinç (Paris Saint-Germain), Kazım Kazım (Galatasaray A.Ş.), Umut Bulut (Toulouse FC).

Germany Squad....

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96).
Defenders: Dennis Aogo (Hamburger SV), Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber, Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern München), Benedikt Höwedes (FC Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Per Mertesacker (FC Arsenal), Christian Träsch (VfL Wolfsburg).
Midfielders: Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern München), Lukas Podolski (1. FC Köln), Mesut Özil (Real Madrid), Marco Reus (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Simon Rolfes, André Schürrle (Bayer 04 Leverkusen).
Forwards: Mario Gomez (FC Bayern München), Miroslav Klose (Lazio), Cacau (VfB Stuttgart).


EURO 2012 Qualifying Group A Standings:

Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
1.GERMANY 8 8 0 0 28 5 24
2.TURKEY 8 4 2 2 11 8 14
3.BELGIUM 8 3 3 2 16 11 12
4.AUSTRIA 8 2 2 4 12 16 8
5.AZERBAIJAN 8 2 1 5 9 21 7
6.KAZAKHSTAN 8 1 0 7 5 20 3

Turkish Super League Review ....

When was the last time we saw Istanbul big guns on top of the Turkish Super League together?

It has been long time!

At the end of week 5, before the National team break , Fenerbahce is in first place and Galatasaray on second and Besiktas on Fourth. In between them there is another Istanbul minow Buyuksehirspor who is on third place.

Looking back to week 5 matches, Fenerbahce still in good form and is the only team who did not lost a match in five weeks...

Galatasaray under Fatih Terim, after starting shaky to league has won their third match in Ankara and captured the second place on Sunday.

Besiktas had a chance to capture the second place from Galatasaray on Monday night but they could not do it and only settle for a draw after being down two players against Gaziantep...


Turkey's only team in the Champions League Trabzonspor won their second back to back match and their striker Burak Yilmaz scored again...

Burak Yilmaz has 7 goals in 5 matches actually he played in four matches and he is the leading scorer in Turkish Super League..

Webo from Istanbul Buyuksehir and Nobre from Mersin , follows him with five goals...

Mersin , new comers, are the most surprised team in the league so far....

They have three wins one draw and one lost and they are with 10 points on fifth place..

Another newcomer team Orduspor won their away match in the week 5!

Orduspor , beat Karabukspor at their home and showed that they are not joke too..

Another interesting thing in week 5 was, Gaziantep earned their first points with their new young coach Abdullah Ercan...

So, Gaziantep earned their first point after five rounds in Turkey...

Along Gaziantep, Karabuk and Kayserispor has been disappointment teams so far!

After National team break, in the week 6, Galatasaray will have a real test against Bursaspor and Mersin vs Fenerbahce matches will be really interesting too..

Week 5 results....

30 Sep 2011
FT Bursaspor 4 : 0 Genclerbirligi
01 Oct 2011
FT Antalyaspor 2 : 2 Sivasspor
FT Fenerbahce 4 : 2 Buyuksehir
FT Karabukspor 1 : 2 Orduspor
02 Oct 2011
FT Ankaragucu 0 : 3 Galatasaray
FT Eskisehirspor 0 : 2 Trabzonspor
FT Kayserispor 2 : 2 Mersin
FT Samsunspor 1 : 2 Manisaspor
03 Oct 2011
FT Gaziantepspor 0 : 0 Besiktas

Standings...

1 Fenerbahce 5 4 1 0 10-4 13
2 Galatasaray 5 3 1 1 9-4 10
3 Buyuksehir 5 3 1 1 8-5 10
4 Besiktas 5 3 1 1 7-4 10
5 Mersin 5 3 1 1 9-7 10
6 Bursaspor 5 3 0 2 11-6 9
7 Trabzonspor 5 2 2 1 7-4 8
8 Orduspor 5 2 2 1 4-3 8
9 Eskisehirspor 5 2 1 2 6-5 7
10 Antalyaspor 5 2 1 2 5-5 7
11 Sivasspor 5 2 1 2 8-9 7
12 Samsunspor 5 1 2 2 6-8 5
13 Manisaspor 5 1 2 2 4-6 5
14 Genclerbirligi 5 1 2 2 5-9 5
15 Karabukspor 5 1 1 3 6-9 4
16 Kayserispor 5 1 1 3 4-8 4
17 Gaziantepspor 5 0 1 4 2-8 1
18 Ankaragucu 5 0 1 4 4-11 1

Turkish Super League Preview

Turkish Super League started twenty days ago and they already played four rounds in this short period due to what happened in Turkish football scandal and TFF's uncertainty on some things!

With the new play- off system this season, teams really focussed on to be in top four at the end of 34 matches...

During the past four weeks, we see only two teams who has not lost a match....

Istanbul Buyuksehir and Fenerbahce....

They both have ten points after week 4, in the Turkish Super League,,,,


So far , Gaziantep is the most disapoinment team in the league while most surprised team is newcomer Mersin, who has won three matches in foru weeks!

Gaziantep who does not have a single point in the league just hired a new young coach Abdullah Ercan after Tolunay Kafkas resigned...



After,four weeks, Buyuksehir is on top with Fenerbahce an they both have 10 points,.,,,,

Besiktas and Mersin follows them with nine points.....

LOOKING AHEAD,,,,,,,,,,,,


The week 5, will take a start on Friday with only one match and will end on Monday with very important match in Gaziantep....

The match of the week, will take place on Saturday when Fenerbahce will host Buyuksehir in Sukru Saracoglu stadium in front of full house,,,,

Fenerbahce looks better side in this match....

But, Buyuksehir under Abdullah Avci, has been showing constancy in Turkish football with his sixth year as a coach at the helm of Istabul Buyuksehir...

This will be huge match for Fenerbahce fans ......


Turkey's only team team in the Champions League Trabzonspor after getting a draw against Lille on Tuesday still sits on top of the group E but, really struggling in the Turkish Super League. They have won only one match so far!

On Sunday, they will travel to Eskisehir to play Eskisehirspor...

Eskisehir sits on top of Trabzonspor in the standings......

Another really tough match for Trabzonspor....

The week 5 will come to end on Monday night in Gaziantep when Besiktas will face Gaziantepspor .

A win against Gaziantep could move Besiktas to first place if Fenerbahce- Buyuksehir end in a draw.

FRIDAY...
19:00 CET Bursaspor 4- 0 Genclerbirligi

SATURDAY
14:00 CET Karabukspor 1- 2 Orduspor
18:00 CET Fenerbahce 4- 2 Buyuksehir
19:00 CET Antalyaspor 2-2 Sivasspor

SUNDAY
14:00 CET Samsunspor 1-2 Manisaspor
18:00 CET Ankaragucu 0-3 Galatasaray
18:00 CET Kayserispor 2-2 Mersin
18:00 CET Eskisehirspor 0-2 Trabzonspor

MONDAY
19:00 CET Gaziantepspor 0-0 Besiktas

Besiktas wend down with a late penalty kick to Stoke City

Stoke City came from behind to defeat Besiktas 2-1 thanks to Jon Walters' penalty in Thursday's Europa League clash at the Britannia Stadium.


Besiktas scored first but two minutes later Stoke tied the match...
Besiktas went ahead in the 14th minute when Roberto Hilbert scored on to Ricardo Quaresma's pass, but their lead lasted only a couple minutes, goalkeeper Rustu Recber unable to claim Dean Whitehead's corner and Peter Crouch scored the goal for Stoke City.

In the 78th minute, Walters hammered his penalty kick past Rustu after Crouch had been brought down by Tomas Sivok.

Stoke (4-4-2): Sorensen 6; Shotton 7, Huth 6, Shawcross 7, Upson 6; Delap 7, Palacios 5 (Whelan 61 6), Whitehead 7, Etherington 6 (Pennant 52 6); Crouch 6, Jerome 5 (Walters 59 8).
Subs not used: Nash, Wilson, Wilkinson, Arismendi.

Besiktas (4-1-4-1): Recber 4; Hilbert 7, Sivok 6, Korkmaz 5, Koybasi 6; Aurelio 6 (Holosko 82); Quaresma 8, Uysal 6 (Ernst 75), Fernandes 6, Sabrosa 6; De Oliveira 6.
Subs not used: Gonen, Kavlak, Dag, Sidnei

Besiktas against Stoke City in the Europa League

The top team in the Group E, Besiktas will try to win their second match against Stoke City, after beating Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv with 5-1 score.



Besiktas coach Carlos Carvalhal told his players to be on their guard against the threat of Stoke striker Peter Crouch......

"He is a difficult player,'' said Carvalhal. "We know him very well - we saw the match against Manchester United and he scored a good goal.


Striker Peter Crouch, winger Jermaine Pennant, iconic full back Rory Delap, who is famous for
his unique throw-ins, Ryan Shawcross and Matthew Upson along with forwards Kenwyne Jones and Jerome form a solid squad for Stoke City...

Besiktas currently is on third in the Turkish Super League, just one point off joint leaders Istanbul BB and Fenerbahce after four games.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis hopes his team can this week build on what he saw as one of the club's "great games'' on Saturday when they held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium.


Besiktas midfielder Ricardo Quaresma said,"We know that Stoke are a tough team, who play with the ball high. But we know ourselves too, and we know what to do,'' said the Portuguese.

"In 90 minutes anything can happen. It is not going to be easy for us, but the important thing for us is stay calm, play our football and then we will see what happens.

"We know that in English football a lot of fans come to the stadiums to support their teams. But we are used to this kind of atmosphere when we play, so it will not be a big deal for us.''


Guti will not play in this match. Stoke City vs Besiktas match will start at 3.05 PM,ET

A draw will be good result for Besiktas in Britannia Stadium, England...

Besiktas keeper Rustu Recber could be a big factor in this match....

Late Penalty saves Trabzonspor and the first place in the Group B

(Photo by AP)
Lille's Eden Hazard (R) challenges Ondrej Celustka of Trabzonspor during their Champions League Group B soccer match at Huseyin Avni Aker stadium in Trabzon,Turkey.

Gustavo Colman's late penalty kept Trabzonspor's lead at the top of UEFA Champions League Group B.

Moussa Sow had given French champions Lille, a 31st-minute lead, but Colman's 75th-minute spot-kick ensured parity and a 1-1 result.


This was the first ever Champions League match played in the city of Trabzon,Turkey!

Trabzonspor was invited to the tournament after Fenerbahce was pulled from the tournament.

Lille looked was better side and were scorers before the first half.

After Eden Hazard had tried his luck in the 29th minute, they took the lead with their first shot on goal. David Rozehnal's ball was not cut out by Marek Cech and Sow was able to net from a tight angle, through the legs of goalkeeper Tolga Zengin.


It was nearly 2-0 four minutes later when Hazard squared for Sow - but the Senegalese international was unable to make contact, to the relief of the home side.

The first half finished on a sad note when Marek Cech was carried off on a stretcher following a reckless challenge by Lille midfielder Joe Cole, who was booked for his efforts. Marek Cech returned for the second half and Trabzonspor who threatened first with Serkan Balci shooting high and wide twice in as many minutes.

Soon after Sow came close to a second goal for the visitors, out-muscling defender Giray Kacar but shooting just wide of the far post.

An open start to the second half continued when Colman saw a shot from the edge of the penalty area saved low down by Mickael Landreau. At the other end, Cole should have done better than fire at Zengin when unmarked seven yards from goal in the 54th minute.

Adrian saw a left-foot shot deflected wide in the 71st for a corner which came to nothing, as the hosts sought an equaliser. And they got it in the 75th minute, after Mathieu Debuchy handled Paulo Henrique's cross inside the penalty area. Landreau got a hand to the resulting penalty kick and Trabzonspor scored the penalty kick and had their point.

Trabzonspor coach SENOL GUNES.....


After the match, Trabzonspor coach Senol Gunes could not say whether he was "happy or upset" after his side clinched a 1-1 draw against Lille to move to the top of Group B.

He went on to say, "Despite the poor pitch conditions, we pressed them up front and chased for an equaliser. The result is not that bad and I congratulated my players.

One drawback for us was the lack of creativity. We are top of the group now and we have two consecutive matches against CSKA Moskva. Four points from those two games would give us a very big advantage as Inter are playing against Lille."

Group B
1 Trabzonspor 2 4
2 Internazional 2 3
3 Lille 2 2
4 CSKA Moskva 2 1

GOOD WEEK FOR TRABZONSPOR AND BESIKTAS IN EUROPE..

TRABZONSPOR KEEPER.... TOLGA ZENGIN

First Trabzonspor in Italy than, Besiktas at home in Istanbul gave something to simile to Turkish football fans after Turkish football rocked with negative news about Turkish football...

They shocked the world and beat Inter in Italy 0-1.....

Great volley by Halil Altintop hit the upper crossbar and came back to out side of the box and there it was Czech defender Ondrej Celustka, took the ball and went around the Inter defense and scored the goal...

Inter Milan and fans watching the match were stunned!

Trabzonspor faced Inter 28 years ago back at home....

At that time , Current coach Senol Gunes , than he was the keeper for Trabzonspor.

But at this match, because of suspension by UEFA ,he had to watch the match from stands not from sideline!

He said, he was very sorry he was not on the sidelined with his team,,,

Before the match,Senol Gunes said "I played for Trabzonspor 28 years ago against Inter and I'm very lucky to find myself here again as coach, I hope it will be a great game," said the man who led Turkey to the World Cup semi-finals in 2002.

"It's a great memory for me, I'm happy that we could meet again after so many years.

"We won at home but although we didn't play here in Milan we lost the away leg.

"It was many years ago but I still have great memories and I hope there will be other opportunities to see each other in the future."


Trabzonspor goal keeper Tolga Zengin was the "player of the match" with very critical saves he made.

Tolga Zengin was huge in this match,.....

I think, he was the main reason that Trabzonspor won this match!

Last time Turkish keeper made a name for him self was Sabri Dino....

Italian fans will remember him from 1973 when he played there, against Italian National team with Turkish National team..Sabri Dino played for Besiktas in Turkey...

So, with this win Trabzonspor grabs the first place in the group...

That is hell of a good start for a team who is there for first time!


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ON the other hand Besiktas the team who is in Europa League beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 5-1 at home in their first match in the group.

Although Besiktas scored a lot of goals, I hope this should not give high hopes to Besiktas fans!

Because, the football that I saw wasn't that good....

Besiktas will not find a defense like Maccabi Tel Aviv's defense in the Turkish League..

After struggling in Eskisehir last weekend against Eskisehirspor and starting to Turkish Super League with a loss this could be big morale for players and fans but football wise is not enough!

Lastly, new transfer's Edu's goal should tell you what kind of defense that Besiktas was playing against!

It was really bad......

Anyway, Besiktas won the match with big score....

Only thing I did not like in this match, was fans in the stadium using absurd language to Israel and Fenerbahce's jailed CEO, Aziz Yildirim...

There was no place for this, I condemn the Besiktas players for this...

There should be no swearing in the stands, in my opinion...

And lastly , politics and football does not go hand and hand!