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

Important Win for Fenerbahce

EGEMEN KORKMAZ , WHO SCORED FENERBAHCE'S ONLY GOAL.


Lets face it, we saw a Fenerbahce team we have not seen in the Turkish Super League matches,tonight.

As a whole team , they played their hearts out and before the Egemen Korkmaz's goal they hit the woodwork three times including missing the penalty kick by Baroni hitting the post!

But, they never lost the team composure and started the second half of the match with same tone.

Fenerbahce keeper Volkan Demirel made some key saves in the first half.....

In the 72 minute , Egemen Korkmaz header put  Fenerbahce up 1-0 .

After the match, Dirk Kuyt  thanked  Fenerbahce coach Aykut Kocaman, for preparing the team for Benfica clash... he said " our coach told us everything about Benfica and how to play against them  and  that is exactly what we did on the field tonight "

"That is why I like to thank Aykut Kocaman ", he said.

Kuyt went on to say , "This is great night for Turkish soccer "


Even though 1-0 win is a narrow win, Fenerbahce showed, they could bring down Benfica.

The way Fenerbahce played tonight, they really want to play in the final match.

Exprience player like Dirk Kuyt ,could take Fenerbahce to Amsterdam to the finals.

Aykut Kocaman's game plan and regrouping the players is huge for this match.

After the match, Fenerbahce coach Aykut Kocaman  thanked all of his players and said, they played great tonight.

On defense, Gokhan Gonul, Joseph Yoba from Nigaria and Egemen Korkmaz  was excellent .


On bad thing about Fenerbahce is, they will be missing a few players for second leg match in Benfica.

Webo and  Mehmet Topal will be missed because of  2 yellow card suspensions..

Also injured Meireles will not play due to injury in the second leg match.

At the end,starting with Kocaman,all of the players believed in beating Benfica and they did it.

They did it with Aykut Kocaman's good planing and regrouping his players...

It is not all done yet , but Fenerbahce and Fenerbahce fans could enjoy this huge win tonight.

AHMET "BOB" TURGUT

Fenerbahce Need to Refocus ! Fenerbahce vs Benfica

www.foxsoccer2go.com

Fenerbahce has to refocus quickly ahead of their UEFA Europa League semi-final match against Benfica.

 Aykut Kocaman's Fenerbahce lost for the first time in 11 matches in all competitions on Sunday when they went down 2-0 away to Genclerbirligi in the Turkish Super League!

That put a huge dent to their title hopes in the Turkish Super League!


Thursday's match will be Fenerbahce's first appearance in the final four of a European continental competition and Kocaman will be stressing the importance of winning their home leg.

In the 12 UEFA Europa League semi-final matches since the competition's name was changed from the UEFA Cup, 10 have been won by the home side, suggesting that if Fenerbahce fail to defeat Benfica at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium, they will probably miss out on a spot in the final.

Fenerbahce have been led by Brazilian midfielder Cristian Baroni and Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt in their run to the last four.

Baroni, in his fourth season with Fenerbahce, has three goals and three assists in the UEFA Europa League, while Kuyt (three goals, one assist) has also been important for Fenerbahce.

Former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles  is also expected to start in midfield, while  Joseph Yobo from Nigeria will be on defense.

Benfica will head to Turkey after a 2-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the Derby de Lisboa on Sunday.

Benfica are undefeated in the UEFA Europa League this season and last lost a match at the end of February when they were knocked out of the Portuguese League Cup on penalties by Sporting Braga.

 Aykut Kocaman will need to warn his defense about Argentine midfielder Eduardo Salvio, who has scored three goals in Benfica's past four matches, including the opener against Sporting.

Meanwhile, Benfica head coach Jorge Jesus will hope his players are inspired by the only previous encounter between the Portuguese club and Fenerbahce.

In the 1975/76 European Cup, Benfica thumped Fenerbahce 7-0 in Lisbon and then held on for a 7-1 aggregate victory after a narrow defeat in the second leg in Turkey.

The match will be broadcast live  in the United  States  by Foxsoccer2go.com

Recent form

Fenerbahce: WDWDL

Benfica: WWWDW

Possible lineups

Fenerbahce: Demirel; Korkmaz, Yobo, Ziegler, Gonul; Meireles, Baroni, Ucan, Erkin; Kuyt, Webo

Benfica: Artur; Almeida, Garay, Luisao, Melgarejo; Gaitan, Matic, Perez, Salvio; Lima, John

Fenerbahce qualified for semi-finals

Fenerbahce qualified for semi-finals
Lazio: 1 - Fenerbahce: 1

Turkey's Fenerbahce football team qualified for semi-finals in the UEFA Europa League after a 1-1 draw in Rome that earned the Istanbul side a 3-1 win on aggregate against Italy's Lazio in the second leg of a quarter-final game.

Stadium: Rome Olympic Stadium
Referees: Pavel Kralovec (Czech Republic), Roman Slysko (Slovakia), Martin Wilczek (Czech Republic)
Lazio: Marchetti, Biava, Ciani, Cana, Radu, Hernanes, Ledesma, Lulic, Candreva, Ederson, Kozak
Fenerbahce: Volkan Demirel, Gokhan Gonul, Yobo, Egemen Korkmaz, Ziegler, Selcuk Sahin, Meireles, Kuyt, Cristian, Caner Erkin, Webo
Scorers: min 60 Lulic (Lazio), min 73 Caner Erkin (Fenerbahce)

Source : AA News Agency