Will Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor meet in the Turkish cup final ?

Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor  are desperate to win  this years Ziraat Turkish Cup .

On Wednesday, in the semi-final second leg matches , Trabzonspor will face Sivasspor at home while Fenerbahce  host Eskisehir at home in Kadikoy.

In the first leg matches, Sivasspor beat Trabzonspor 2-1 and Eskisehir tied with Fenerbahce at home with the score of 1-1.

Both of the matches will be hard fought matches!

Fenerbahce after eliminated in the Europa Cup, they have gave up on the league title too....

The only thing left for them this season is to win the Turkish Cup.....

On the other hand , Trabzonspor who has been struggling in the league , wants the peace of  the action!

But, it wont be that easy for Trabzonspor.....

They have to beat Sivasspor with clean sheet score and score 2 goals!

Fenerbahce has better chance making the final match in my opinion....

That is if they play as a team!

Last weekend against Buyuksehir ,they looked really bad , after going down to Benfica in Lisbon.

On the other hand Eskisehir, could be dangers with their goal scorers against Fenerbahce.

It is the last domestic cup up grabs  for four teams on tomorrow.....

Both matches will be broadcast live by ATV TV.
Trabzonspor vs Sivasspor match will start at 19:00 local Turkish time (12:00 Noon ,ET)

Fenerbahce vs Eskisehir match will start at 21:30 (2:30 ET)

So, stakes are very high on  on Wednesday for all four team!

It is higher for Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor ....

Will it be Fenerbahce vs Trabzonspor in the final?

We will find out after tomorrows matches...

Bursaspor President Ibrahim Yazici Died

BURSASPOR SOCCER CLUB PRESIDENT IBRAHIM YAZICI


The man who brought Championship to Bursa about three seasons ago, died today in Bursa after massive heart failure .

Ibrahim Yazici was 65 years old , even though  his Doctor told him not to attend his team matches , He was at Bursaspor last match.

Doctor Nadir Seren  from Acibadem Bursa Hospital said, he died of  heart failure .

Ibrahim Yazici was born in 1948 in Bursa. He was businessman, politician  also was manager and president of Bursaspor soccer club.

Back in 2010 season his team won the Turkish Super League title for the first time of the clubs history.

Former Besiktas player ,  Ertugrul Saglam was the coach at the time.

Current coach, Hikmet Karaman said , they were shock to receive the sad news.

He said, Bursaspor fans and him self is very sad to see their bosses passing away suddenly.

Coach Hikmet Karaman said, our president will be missed by Turkish Football fans and Bursaspor fans .

Fatih Terim's third spell bring another tittle for Galatasaray

DROGBA CELEBRATES WITH FATIH TERIM AND THE TEAM AS GALATASARAY WIN THE TITLE

This was Fatih Terim's back to back his second Championship tittle in his third spell with Galatasaray .

Also, it was his sixth, winning  the title in Turkey....

That is a record for any coach in Turkey.....

Before, Trabzonspor coach  Ahmet Suat Ozyaci did win it, 4 times in Turkey.

Galatasaray won their record 19th Turkish Super League title after beating Sivasspor in front of their fans.

Whether you like Fatih Terim or hate him, there is one thing,you can't regret his success as coach!

Knowing him since his early 1990' coaching days as Turkish National team coach , after with Galatasaray, he has came from long journey with his vision and his hard work.

His first spell was awesome with Galatasaray, won a lot of trophies....

And ,league title for four times and winning the UEFA cup for the first time!

His second term with Galatasaray was failure .....

But, like I said before, with Unal Aysal coming in to the power as a chairman  two years ago,  Unal Aysal called Fatih Terim to be the coach for third spell!

THE THIRD TIME CHARM........

The third time charm, for Fatih Terim was best and highlights of his career ,in my opinion !

Knowing him  for long time, this has to be the best two years of life in his coaching career .

( Fatih Terim and  Turkish Football Blogger Ahmet B Turgut  in 1997 )

Winning the Turkish Super League title back to back, playing in the Champions League , getting out of the group stages for the first time , beating Manchester United in Istanbul and giving a hell of fight against Real Madrid team in the quarter final in the Champions league!

And, with Unal Aysal vision, coaching world class players like Drogba and Sneijder.....

World's eye catching addition of  Sneijder and Drogba fueled  Galatasaray's passion for the title.

Fatih Terim, in the beginning of his third spell , made smart moves and transferred , Muslare, Burak Yilmaz and Selcuk Inan. 

Top scorer in Turkey Burak Yilmaz  was the one of the keys to Galatasaray  successes .... 

The work horse of  Galatasaray team  along with other players....

Overall, the third spell for Fatih Terim will be remembered for long time....

Collecting  six titles in eight years !

That is excellent .......

You have to give credit where it due.....

It has been great third spell for Fatih Terim with Galatasaray.

**************************

With two weeks remaining in the season, while Galatasaray won , their arrival Fenerbahce lost to Buyuksehir and shock Fenerbahce .

Next weekends, derby match in Kadikoy, could be very interesting for Fenerbahce after they will play a very important Turkish Cup Semi-Final match against Eskisehirspor in the mid week.

With losing to Buyuksehir , Fenerbahce in danger of losing their second place in the league!

In the last two weekends, we could see Fenerbahce compete with Besiktas to finish second place after Galatasaray already clinch the title and guaranteed to go the UEFA's Champions League directly .

Second place team will also get a shot of the Champions League, that is why this race could get very intersting.

On the bottom of the league, Orduspor is  the other team will not be in the Turkish Super League next season  after Mersin.

The third team is still up in the air , after Buyuksehir win and Akhisar losing in Antalya!

Looks like the fight will go down to the wire......

Will it be Akhisar, Buyuksehir or other teams, still unknown!

AHMET B TURGUT

Galatasaray on the verge of claiming the league title in Turkey on Sunday

It is title-decider Sunday, in the Turkish Super League !

A win for Galatasaray in front of sell out home crowd could secure the Turkish Super League title, with two weeks to go in the league.

The team they are facing is Sivasspor....

Sivasspor coach Riza Calimbay said, "they will not go down easy against Galatasaray, they will put  up a fight against Galatasaray "

Galatasaray who has been superb after Sneijder  and Droba joined the team in the mid season has won their last six matches!

If they win on Sunday, Galatasaray will claim the title for the first time when there is two weeks left to play!
That is another record for Fatih Terim and his Galatasaray team.

Galatasaray seven points ahead of second place Fenerbahce and they meet each other in Kadikoy next weekend in the week 33 .

That is why Galatasaray wants to win this match against Sivasspor and ease the tensions for the next weekend.

A win for Galatasaray will bring their 19th Turkish Super League title in Turkey....

Because of the nine game suspension Fatih Terim will not be at the sideline for this and their last home match against Trabzonspor but He will collect his 6th Championship title , after winning back to back four years in his first term as a Galatasaray coach ,he will win his back to back Championship in his third term !


With Unal Aysal coming in power and hiring Fatih Terim as a coach on his third spell was big success overall in Turkey and Europe!

First time in his career Fatih Terim after five tries, came out of group stages and played in quarter finals in the Champions League.

Again, players like Sneijder and Drogba who was bought by Unal Aysal were big help for Fatih Terim's Galatasaray!


There is no question about that.....

Drogba's leadership on and off the field showed character .

His knowledge of the match changed a lot of young Turkish players on the team too.....

There is no question this has to  be the best accomplished  season for Fatih Terim as a Galatasaray coach/

I only hoped , he would have control his behavior on the sideline better  when he was riding this very sucses story this season !

He, him self even regretted what he have done was wrong !

Hopefully, he will learn to control his motions much better from the sidelines in the future.


BURSASPOR  CAPTURES THIRD AND ORDUSPOR BITES THE DUST !

On Saturday, Bursaspor beat Orduspor in Ordu 2-4 and captured the third place from Besiktas.

On Sunday, Besiktas must beat Eskisehirspor in Eskisehir if they want to get back on third place.

With Mersin already going down, Orduspor saying good bye on Saturday, the third team who will bite the dust will be Istanbul Buyuksehir, if they don't win on Sunday against Fenerbahce!

That would be huge upset if they beat Fenerbahce...

On the other hand , Akhisar has to win in Antalya to order to breath !

Buyuksehir and Akhisar winning on Sunday, will put  pressure teams like ,Elazig, Karabuk , Gazinatep and Sivas too ...

The matches between Karabuk vs Gazinatep  and Mersin vs Elazig will be very interesting to see too!

So,  there are a lot of good and decider matches in the Turkish Super League on Sunday.

Sit back ,and watch it all!


AHMET BOB TURGUT

Fenerbahce could not use the advantage !

Benfica advanced to the Europa League final after Oscar Cardozo scored twice Thursday in a 3-1 win against Fenerbahce to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg.

The Portuguese club will play on May 15 against Chelsea, which advanced in the other semifinal by beating Basel 3-1 to go through 5-2 on aggregate.

Benfica needed just nine minutes to level the aggregate score in Lisbon when Nicolas Gaitan poked in Lima's cross, canceling out Egemen Korkmaz's goal in Istanbul.

Dirk Kuyt's 23rd-minute penalty after Ezequiel Garay's handball gave Fenerbahce a precious away goal and would have put the Turkish club into its first European final.

But Oscar made it 2-1 with a low left-footed drive from the edge of the area in the 35th, and the Paraguayan netted again in the 66th.

"We knew after Istanbul that we were a better team than them overall," Benfica coach Jorge Jesus said. "They didn't create many problems for us."

Benfica was in commanding form as it fought to make up for the Istanbul loss, and Fenerhabce's defense kept coming apart under pressure from Cardozo and Lima. Benfica had almost 70 percent of possession during the 90 minutes.

Cardozo looked likely to extend Benfica's lead as the Paraguayan striker twice in 10 minutes tested goalkeeper Volkan Demirel.

Gaitan's strike, after charging into the area to meet Lima's cross, compelled Fenerbahce to start taking risks following a cautious start.

Fenerbahce created few chances, Kuyt's probing down the right paid off when the ball ricocheted off central defender Garay's arm and the referee awarded Fenerbahce a penalty.

Cardozo's perseverance produced results when he wrong-footed three defenders to put the ball past  Volkan Demirel.

Cardozo kept up the threat in the second half, curling a shot just past the post in the 50th, as the home team pushed forward and Fenerbahce  looked ragged.

Source :AP

Head Games :Amsterdam Calling Fenerbahce

Coach Aykut Kocaman (C) of Fenerbahçe SK speaks to his players 
Photo by Getty Images

It is huge and historic match for Fenerbahce on Thursday in Lisbon !

A win or draw will take them to UEFA's Europa League final in Amsterdam....

It is a huge match for both teams....

But, Fenerbahce winning the first match gives a little edge to Fenerbahce

On the other hand, Benfica is unbeaten in their 13 home matches!

Fenerbahce, yet to lose in the last 6 away matches in this tournament...

At the end of the match on Thursday, something is going to give in !

Will that be Fenerbahce or Benfica?

Ninety minutes on Thursday will show us this!

Fenerbahce's coach Aykut Kocaman and his players calm and waiting for the kick of on Thursday.

If Fenerbahce comes out clean from Thursday match,they will reach the European Final  for the first time and
they will set a UEFA Europa League record with seven away matches win.

Key player for Fenerbahce : Dirk Kuyt

Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahçe SK)

Dirk Kuyt of Fenerbahçe SK during a training session ahead of the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg against SL Benfica


WHAT THEY SAID....

Aykut Kocaman : "One of the most important in our history .Benfica are a more experienced side and have played many European matches. Even with us being 1-0 up in the tie, the chances are equal for both teams.

"We're facing very strong opponents, we have a one-goal advantage but we're not through yet – we'll only know that after 90 or 120 minutes," 

"In the last training session we worked on penalties, but it's more important to be mentally ready to take them. We didn't play well in the first game, but we played the way we were able to. Benfica are stronger here and have the home support with them, while we have the result on our side. For me we're even."

JORGE JESUS : "Our goal is to turn this tie around – 1-0 is a tricky result, but we know and have the confidence that we can go through. We have European experience in both the Champions and the Europa Leagues and we know what it's like to be at this stage. We are calm and won't change anything. We are very confident and hope our fans can help us to reach the final – that's what we all want.

"It's not the most important match of my career, or Benfica's. It's good to be in a semi-final and it's important for the club's image, but a final is even better. We're just one game away and the first-leg result allows us to believe that it's possible to make it real. I'm not nervous because I'm an experienced person and we all know how is to be here. I feel normal and hope my players are the same. It's a sign of both confidence and that we are ready to achieve our goal."

Fenerbahce ended Benfica's 38-match unbeaten run in all competitions, in Istanbul, On Thursday, if Fenerbahce defeats Benfica , they will ruined their 13 -match home win record too!'

Fenerbahce has to do it without  midfielder Mehmet Topal and striker Pierre Webo, who are both suspended, while midfielder Raul Meireles is injured.

The match will be on Fox soccer 2go  and the match will start at 2.55 ET

Galatasaray Need a Win This Weekend to Capture the Tittle

It is all up to this weekend's match against Sivasspor in front of their loud fans at Ali Samiyen  Arena Stadium !

After winning this past weekend in Gaziantep with narrow win and Fenerbahce coming back from behind and win it late with a penalty kick,the gap between Galatasaray and Fenerbahce stayed the same..

Galatasaray is ahead of Fenerbahce with 7 points....

This coming weekend Galatasaray host Sivas and Fenerbahce will face the team who is in deep trouble, Istanbul Buyuksehir at Ataturk Stadium....

If Galatasaray wins on Sunday, celebrations will starts at the end of the match!

Defending champions Galatasaray with a seven point gap going in to the last two weeks in the league, will pretty much deserve to celebrate.

But, if Fenerbahce wins and Galatasaray draw or loses, 33th weekend match between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray in Kadikoy will be very interesting!

That could well be the biggest match of the season......

Fenerbahce who are going to face Benfica this coming Thursday, in the Europa League semi-final, second leg match , will come to Istanbul very tired on late Thursday night or early Friday morning.

Fenerbahce is the only Istanbul team who is still competing in three different competition...

Turkish Super League title , Turkish Cup  and Europa League Semi-Final !

The most important one for them is playing in the final at Amsterdam ...

After winning at home 1-0 against Benfica, they are focused to eliminate  Benfica on Thursday an play in the final match .

Buyuksehir team looks like already trow the towel in the Turkish Super League....

After the last weekend's match, their coach Bulent Korkmaz ,was not happy with his team performance and he said that to the LIG TV reporter!

For Orduspor and Istanbul Buyuksehir, this weekend is going to be do or die weekend....

A draw or loss for both teams will send them to the lower division along with Mersin, this season....

Orduspor will face Bursaspor at home on Saturday while Buyuksehir will host Fenerbahce on Sunday.

There are also three or four teams feelingt the heat from the bottom....

Teams like, Akhisar,Karabuk, Elazig and Gaziantep  has to win their games.....
In case of , Orduspor and Buyuksehir winning this weekend , they could still feel the heat....

As long as they win their matches this weekend or draw they should be in good position....


RIZESPOR AND KAYSERI ERCIYES BACK IN THE TURKISH SUPER LEAGUE AGAIN....

Two weeks to go in the Turkish League One, Rizespor and  Kayseri Erciyes already promoted to  Turkish Super League.
Rizespor will finish on top and Kayseri Erciyes will finish  second, in the League one...

The third team who will be promoted to the Super League will come out of the play off at the end of the season.

Playoffs will be between 3rd and 6th place teams at the end of the season.

Back in December, after huge pressure by politicians to Mustafa Denizli, Denizli took over  the Rizespor as a coach.

It was risky but he knew what he was getting in to. He did all the winter transfers and got what he wanted.

With quality players coming over to Rizespor and his experience Rizespor wishes came through..

Rizespor tired to do this last year but,they loss that chance during the playoffs......

 There were no politicians backing Rizespor, last year!

Anyway, the man who won three championship in the Turkish Super League with three different Istanbul team took a huge risk in his career and won championship in the League one (second division )

I could tell you this, playing in the Turkish Super League and coaching Rizespor won't be same as coaching Fenerbahce, Galatasaray or Besiktas!

The real question is , will  Denizli be suspenseful with Rizespsor in the Turkish Super League?

We will find out, won't we!

AHMET B  TURGUT