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Saturday, June 18, 2016

Spain tops Turkey 3-0 !

Alvaro Morata scored twice as defending champion Spain cruised to a 3-0 victory over Turkey on Friday in Nice, France, to qualify for the knockout stages of the European Championship



Morata gave Spain the lead late in the first half, rising between Turkey's centre-backs to superbly direct Nolito's pinpoint cross into Volkan Babacan's top left-hand corner.


The holders doubled their advantage within three minutes, Nolito turning goalscorer this time, taking advantage of a poor Mehmet Topal header to finish from close range.


Morata added his second, and Spain's third, shortly after the restart, finishing off a lovely team goal that also involved Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba, with Turkey unable to create clear chances of their own.

Spain's win ensured their 62-year unbeaten run against Turkey continues, with Vicente del Bosque's team hunting their third successive European Championship title.

Fatih Terim's men, meanwhile, are facing an early exit from Euro 2016 after losing their opening two matches at the finals without scoring a goal.


Morata retained his place up front for Spain and he forced a good save from Babacan after five minutes, spinning into space and firing a 20-yard drive towards the near post.

Spain's goalscorer in the opening 1-0 win against Czech Republic, Gerard Pique, then had a great chance from David Silva's corner but he misjudged his header, the ball bouncing over the crossbar.

Hakan Calhanoglu whipped a free-kick just over David de Gea's crossbar after 26 minutes, before Nolito collected a pass from Iniesta and curled a shot narrowly wide of the post.

The lively Nolito created the opening goal for Spain after 33 minutes, the Celta Vigo winger finding space to curl in an excellent cross that Morata glanced in.

Spain, who have only ever lost once to Turkey, then scored again almost immediately.

Cesc Fabregas clipped a lofted pass over the Turkey defence and Topal could only head the ball up into the air, Nolito reacting sharply to slide the ball beyond a helpless Babacan.

Spain showed no signs of mercy after half-time, becoming the first team at Euro 2016 to score three goals in a game shortly after the interval.

Iniesta bisected the Turkish back line with a superb trademark throughball, with the possibly offside Alba unselfishly squaring for Morata to finish neatly through the legs of Babacan.

Morata then planted a header just wide, as he sought to complete his hat-trick, before Burak Yilmaz spurned a fine chance to get Turkey back into the game, shooting wide from a great position.
Spain continued to press, substitute Bruno Soriano forcing a solid stop from Babacan, who also kept out Pique after 68 minutes.

The frustration of Turkey's fans was clear, as they began to whistle playmaker Arda Turan, who struggled throughout.

Del Bosque's men eased off in the closing stages, but their dominant performance will send a message to the other pre-tournament favourites that they are more than ready to defend their title again as they head for their Group D closer against Croatia in Bordeaux.

Spain became the first team in the competition to score three goals in a game. Its victory left it top of Group D with a maximum six points and through to the next round.

Turkey's second-straight defeat hasn't quite ended its chances of progressing but it will most likely need to win its last game against the Czech Republic to stand a chance.

"Today our national team threw in the towel," Turkey coach Fatih Terim said. "I have never accepted this and I will never accept it ... I'm deeply upset."

Turkey also faces a fine from UEFA after its supporters used flares and a smoke bomb in the stadium, and repeatedly threw firecrackers onto the field after the final whistle.



 

Monday, June 13, 2016

NOT A GOOD START FOR TERIM AND HIS BOYS !


                      EMRE MOR AND TURKEY'S COACH FATIH TERIM


All the build up before this,  Turkish fans believed in Terim and his boys ..

Whole 90 and plus minutes, Turks looked confused on the pitch and on the sideline too!

Passing at the midfield was awful ...

Turkey had their only shot on goal was in 30th minute ...

That was the header by  Ozan Tufan , who should have scored that instead he gave to the keeeper !

Croatia scored from 25 meters by Modric !

Turkish Goalkeeper Volkan Babacan mad a huge mistake as far as timing and following the ball in the atack .


As I mentioned this, on my blog before, Turkey's biggest problem is the defence and in the middle !

Also, whole team is having problem stretching the match to ninty minutes....

Arda Turan has been biggest disappointment along with Burak Yilmaz ...

That's why , Fatih Terim took him out in the second half after he lost the ball one and one !

He is  not ready to hussle and bussle on the pitch....

Here is the problem , with Terim's line up , against  Crotia  !

Too many players has not played full matches in their teams...

Lack of playing time and not being ready was huge risk taking by Fatih Terim....

So, as Terim said after the match Turkey has to start first, to say it's not over ,until we say, it's over !

He said, Turkey always starts the big tournaments like this...

One good thing about in this match, Emre Mor  became the youngest player to play for Turkish National Team  who came in the match in the 69th minute .

I think, Emre Mor is very smart and bright young player who does wonder things with the ball !

Even though he is only 18, he is more energatic and claver most of the players on the team..

He plays with his heart and brain with endless energy ..



Terim is hoping, he could change the outcome of the scores against Spain on Friday ..

I think, he will do some changes in the lineup against Spain..

After Spain, they will face Czech Republic ...

Two important match is waiting for Terim and his boys.

It's not over but, Spain match, coming up on Friday is very important !

All the buildup by Turkish football fedaration could end up with disaster if they don't advance from the group !

Could the comeback kids  , comeback ?

Not the way they played on Sunday against Crotia !


AHMET BOB TURGUT
Turkish Football Blogger

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Euro 2016 Preview :Fatih Terim wants to relive 2008 magic again !

 
FATIH TERIM AND AHMET BOB TURGUT
 


This is very historical for Fatih Terim !

It's  his third spell with Turkish National Team

And it's his third time at European Championship tournament ..

Knowing Fatih Terim since 1990's, Fatih Terim is one of the experienced coaches in the tournament!

He has changed a lot since the early days of coaching Turkish National Team.

He is more relax  and calm during the camps...


Someone who followed him in his first National Team camp in Toronto,Canada in 1995, could see him changed a lot since ...

Back then, he was more disciplined with his players in the camp....

He would never allowed his players with transfer deals like he gave permission  to Emre Mor !


Fatih Terim and his assistants could do so much though ......


It's up to the player to play the matches on the pitch.

Turkey is in very difficult group....

Croatia (12 June), Spain (17 June), Czech Republic (21 June )

The first match against Croatia is very important ....

A win will be huge and a draw wont be bad but  a loss will not be good for Fatih Terim and his boys !

The new kid,(wonder-kid) Emre Mor excite me on this team!

Will he start ?

I don't think so, but I know ,Terim will use him ,if things don't go his way !

I think, Emre Mor will energize the Turks on the pitch....

He brings excitement when he goes on the pitch.

Like Fatih Terim said, Emre Mor is special player who will get better...

Looking at the whole team.....

Goalkeeper Volkan Babacan is very formed and good keeper...

Defense, There we have some problem !

Midfield, good players but they are little slow ...

Selcuk Inan  and Arda Turan should play box to box if  Turkey wants to go further !

As far as the offense, we need to use the sides more and Burak Yilmaz has to be in his "A" game ..

He has to score goals !

Fatih Terim, also has "B" plan ....

If  "A" plan does not work , he will use players like Cenk Tosun, Emre Mor, Yusuf  Malli on his B plan !

So, Terim and his boys are ready for Croatia on Sunday...

It's put up and shut up time on Sunday!

The match will be on ESPN in the United States at 9:00 AM,ET ....

AHMET BOB TURGUT
Turkish Football Blogger



Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Fatih Terim announced the final roster for Turkey!




It's final  cut and Fatih  Terim  made his choice. ....

Gokhan Tore,  Omer  Toprak,  Mevlut  Erdinc,  Yasin Oztekin , Serdar  Aziz  and Ersan Gulum  did  not make the final  cut ....

Fatih Terim added 18  years old wonder kid Emre Mor to the roster. ...

You will  hear  about  this  kid in the future.


Goalkeeper:
Harun Tekin (Bursaspor)
Onur Recep Kıvrak (Trabzonspor)
Volkan Babacan (Medipol Başakşehir)
Defence:
Gökhan Gönül (Fenerbahçe)
Şener Özbayraklı (Fenerbahçe)
Ahmet Yılmaz Çalık (Gençlerbirliği)
Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray)
Mehmet Topal (Fenerbahçe)
Semih Kaya (Galatasaray)
Caner Erkin (Fenerbahçe)
İsmail Köybaşı (Beşiktaş )
Midfield:
Emre Mor (FC Nordsjaelland)
Volkan Şen (Fenerbahçe)
Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Bayern Leverkusen)
Nuri Şahin (Dortmund)
Oğuzhan Özyakup (Beşiktaş)
Ozan Tufan (Fenerbahçe)
Selçuk İnan (Galatasaray)
Forward:
Arda Turan (Barcelona)
Olcay Şahan (Beşiktaş)
Burak Yılmaz (Beijingguoan FC)
Cenk Tosun (Beşiktaş)
Yunus Mallı (Mainz 05)


Friday, May 27, 2016

Galatasaray Win Turkish Cup



Galatasaray beat its Istanbul rival Fenerbahçe 1-0 on its way to Turkish Ziraat Cup final victory on Thursday, finding relief after having one of the worst seasons in the club's history.



Lucas Podolski's solitary goal in the first half enabled Galatasaray to enjoy their first victory of the season.

Galatasaray, who finished sixth in the Super League, will serve one-year ban from European football – imposed by UEFA for not complying with Financial Fair Play rules – making the club eligible in the 2017-18 campaign.



UEFA said Galatasaray will be excluded from the Champions League and Europa League if they qualify either this season or next. Galatasaray are sitting outside the qualifying places for next season's Champions League and Europa League. So the Ziraat Cup will ensure Galatasaray serves the ban during the next Europa League.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Close But Not Enough : Turkey lost to England 2-1 !

England and Turkey began their Euro 2016 preparations with a hard-fought match...


The 44,866 in Manchester saw a competitive encounter, with Jamie Vardy's close-range strike sealing a 2-1 success.

The friendly was far tougher than it had looked like being when the hosts raced into a third-minute lead, with Dele Alli's quick feet putting Harry Kane through to slot home, with the assistant failing to flag for a clear offside against the Tottenham striker.

Fatih Terim's boys quickly rallied, though, by getting behind the backline and drawing out Joe Hart all too easily as Hakan Calhanoglu turned the ball home.

This was the first ever goal scored by Turkish National team against England !

The Leicester striker fired home from close range, with his goal meaning that a Kane penalty miss was not costly on a day when Hodgson's side rode their luck at times.

Despite being without Manchester United and Liverpool players, with the exception of Jordan Henderson, the England boss was able to select a strong side.


The goal should have been chalked off for offside and Turkish National Team coach Terim pointed that out to the fourth official, seemingly showing him a replay of the incident on his phone.

Ozan Tufan was denied by a timely Kyle Walker block and Cenk Tosun's near-post drive was kept out by Hart as the visitors looked to draw level, which they managed as England's defence wobbled.

Volkan Sen raced in behind Danny Rose and drew out Hart, whose poor positioning was capitalised on when the ball was cut across for Calhanoglu to sweep home.


At the other end, Fatih Terim's boys were threatening as  Cenk Tosun lost his marker to head Calhanoglu's corner wide.

Besiktas striker Tosun fizzed wide after turning wonderfully on the edge of the area before another Calhanoglu corner caused problems and Rose was forced to turn it behind.

Henderson was now on for Wilshere and England were playing with a two-pronged attack rather than using Vardy out wide, which looked to have paid dividends in the 72nd minute.


Racing on to a through ball, the Leicester striker went down under pressure from Turkey captain Topal and referee Deniz Aytekin pointed to the spot, with Kane stepping up. But his powerful strike hit the left post and went wide.

It did not cost his side as captain Gary Cahill rose to meet an 83rd-minute corner. Babacan saved, but Vardy reacted amid defensive confusion to rifle home from an acute angle.

Turkey nearly salvaged a point in stoppage time, with Hart having to produce a wonderful one-handed save to deny Olcay Sahan a leveller.

Source : Wires

Monday, May 16, 2016

Besiktas Did It ; They Clich Turkish Title !



Yes , Besiktas did it this season....

For awhile, it looked like, it was not going to happen .....

But winning games when they had to do win, made Besiktas clinch title...

Like winning last weekend and on Sunday !

I think it was the luck of the new stadium Vodafone Besiktas Arena,,,

Besiktas yet to lose match their after the stadium opened!

Like I wrote in my other articles before here, from the front office to coaches and to players ,
Besiktas was total team this season !

While, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce was having problem on the field and of the field, Besiktas kept their focus and claim the title this season.....

Senol Gunes .......



Senol Gunes, the man who took Turkey to World Cup 2002 and first time in Turkey's football history, took national team to third place ...

After that, he coached Trabzon and other clubs but he was never loved by Turkish Istanbul media !


He was so fed up  he took a job in  South Korea ,just to get away all the negative things in Turkey..

He was loved by South Korean peeople.....


After he came back from there he coached Trabzonspor and last year Bursaspor....

He did good things with Bursaspor !

After the last season, when Besiktas new Bilic was going to leave the team, they offered the job to Senol Gunes....

Experienced and calm Senol Gunes and his assistants inculuding former Besiktas player Tamer Tuna

worked hard to get this team to this point...

They forced the Senol Gunes rules on all player ....

Players like Oguzhan,  Gokhan Tore and Quaresma learned not to play selfish on the pitch...

They were part of the team all season long wheather they played or not !

Oguzhan and Gokhan  did not play like that last season ....

Atiba being the leader from the back and getting Mario Gomez on aloan deal was smart move by Besiktas...

At the end, it was nice to see Senol Gunes smiling for first time in along time  !


Fikret Orman and his friends......


Besiktas CEO, just before the Sunday's match elected again as CEO  until 2009....

During the last four years, Fikret Orman and his friends turned the Besiktas team from "Vefa" "Hardship" times  to Champions again  !

And they did it with  no home stadium for three years......

Playing away from their fans most of the times...

They have made some mistakes at the begining but later, they learned from those mistakes !

Hiring  Senol Gunes was pushed by Ahmet Nur Cebi  and the other members of the commitee ..

And  CEO of Besiktas  Fikret Orman  did not refused !


Like Senol Gunes said it after the match, Fikret Orman and his friends worked very hhard to come this far ...

They should stay on the same track and offer a long contract for Senol Gunes and Tamer Tuna in  my opinion !

Congrats to Besiktas and Besiktas fans......

Besiktas Clich Turkish Title 

Besiktas clinched the Turkish Super Lig title with a game to spare on Sunday, topping the league for the first time since 2009 and claiming Turkey’s sole automatic Champions League spot.

Driven on by over 40,000 fans inside their new stadium on the Bosphorus, Besiktas thrashed Osmanlispor of Ankara 3-1 to gain an unassailable advantage over local Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce going into the coming week’s final round of games.

The end to the over half-decade title drought sparked delirious celebrations in Istanbul, with thousands fans of the Black Eagles lighting flares outside the stadium and setting off firecrackers.
All over Istanbul, fans drove through the city carrying black-and-white Besiktas flags with horns blaring in a deafening cacophony.

Brazilian centre-back Marcelo Guedes put the hosts two goals ahead with strikes in rapid succession with just over 20 minutes on the clock.
German international striker Mario Gomez, the standout player for Besiktas this season and one of the most successful foreign imports into Turkish football in recent years, added a third just after half-time.

Striker Pierre Webo of Cameroon pulled one back for the visitors in the 74th minute, but by then, the celebrations were already beginning.

Playing at their home stadium on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, Fenerbahce defeated Genclerbirligi of Ankara 2-1 but are six points behind Besiktas with only three left up for grabs.

– ‘Like a dream’ –


“There was a great atmosphere and I went through all kinds of emotion. For me this season has been like a dream,” Gomez, who has resurrected his career after arriving on loan from Fiorentina, said after the game.

Gunes said it was now the turn of Besiktas to shine after years of domination by Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.

“Fenerbahce are a good team, a strong team, but we are better. Everyone is looking at Besiktas with respect,” he said.

Besiktas were the most consistent team under Gunes, who guided Turkey to third place in the 2002 World Cup, but face a challenge to attract more international stars, or even hold on to the league’s top scorer Gomez who has the right to return to Fiorentina.

Gomez declined to be drawn on his future but indicated that he could yet stay.
“I am here now and I know very well what the conditions are at Besiktas. We have the Champions League in front of us. I feel good things.”

Gunes said it was in the interests of the 30-year-old to stay put in Turkey.

“If Mario stays I think it is good for his career. Mario helped us but we also helped Mario. He won’t lose anything by staying, by going he could lose.”

Despite signing Robin Van Persie and Nani from Manchester United in the close season, Fenerbahce were left disappointed and coach Vitor Pereira looks likely to be shown the door at the season’s end.

This campaign has been an unmitigated disaster for last season’s champions Galatasaray, on their third manager this season and languishing just above mid-table despite the presence of stars like Wesley Sneijder and Lukas Podolski.