UEFA Champions League – Beşiktaş looks like they have life.

Beşiktaş had their UEFA Champions League dreams look like a nightmare, at least in the first two games.  Although they had played well against Manchester United, and were average against CSKA Moscow, they could not find ways to win, or even get a draw.  The Black Eagles travelled up to Germany to take on defending champions of the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg.  It looked like a mismatch, considering that when Wolfsburg was in pot 4 of the Champions League draw, they were the team everyone wanted to avoid.  It wouldn’t quite turn out that way.

Turkcell Super League - week 9 - Sunday action

Sunday action in the Turkcell Super League contained a champions’ derby between Galatasaray against Trabzonspor.  It would also feature a potential extension to the best start in league history, as Fenerbahçe would look to make it nine wins in a row.  With the Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray derby coming up next Sunday, both teams looked to gain momentum for not only for their showdown, and also for their Europa League game this coming Thursday.  When it was all said and done, the top of the league table would become even more interesting.

Turkicell Super League - week 9 - Saturday action

After the disappointment of the Turkish national team not qualifying for the World Cup in 2010, seeing the Turkcell Super League start back up is a welcome sight for Turkish football fans.  Saturday action in the Turkcell Super League would feature just two matches.  The struggling Beşiktaş took on lowly Kasımpaşa, while Bursaspor took on Denizlispor.  Eskişehirspor would have the bye week this week as they would have taken on the now-disqualified Ankaraspor.

The action would begin in Denizli as Denizlispor took on Bursaspor.  Denizlispor got off to a fast start, and would take the early lead in the 14^th minute as Emil Angelov put the home side up 1-0.  Bursaspor equalized through Turgay Bahadir’s goal in the 44^th minute, and the halftime score was 1-1.  The action picked up in the second half.  Pablo Batalla scored in the 62^nd minute to put Bursaspor ahead in the match 2-1.  As if falling behind in the match wasn’t bad enough, Denizlispor would be down to ten men as Koffi picked up a straight red in the 72^nd minute.  Denizlispor didn’t give up though, and tied the game with Darryl Roberts scoring in the 75^th minute.  At 2-2, Denizlispor looked to hold on for the tie.  However, Tomas Zapatocny channeled his inner Semih Senturk, or Jonathan Bornstein (whichever is preferred), and scored in the 90+3 minute to give Bursaspor the win.
The final match of Saturday action saw Beşiktaş at home against Kasımpaşa.  There was a steady rainfall going through the game, but the players played through the weather.  Nihat Kahveci put the home team up 1-0 in the 8^th minute.  A slight deflection off a Kasımpaşa defender made the ball go into the back of the net.  In the 32^nd minute, Kasımpaşa had a chance with a Murat Erdogan shot, but the ball went off the crossbar.  Beşiktaş doubled their lead in the 38^th minute.  Rodrigo Tabata made a wicked backheel pass to Bobo, and Bobo’s shot was hard into the upper left hand corner of the net.  Beşiktaş looked like they were going to cruise to three points as they were up 2-0 at the half.  In the second half, the Carsi supporters group turned their backs on the field, again, protesting the board of Beşiktaş and demanding the board resign.  The match became more of a midfield struggle, but Beşiktaş made it interesting.  First, Fabian Ernst picked up his second yellow of the game in the 83^rd minute and was sent off.  Four minutes later, Matteo Ferrari picked up a straight red for a foul in the penalty area.  Kasımpaşa’s Andre Moritz converted from the penalty spot and halved Beşiktaş’ lead to 2-1.  The match looked like it was going to be interesting with Beşiktaş down to nine players, but Beşiktaş held on for the three points.
Tomorrow should be interesting.  The featured match of the week will be Galatasaray vs. Trabzonspor in a “champions derby” if you will.  The referee for that match will be Mustafa Kamil Abitoğlu.  That will take place at 1:00pm EST, 12:00pm CST, and 10:00am PST.  Other matches for tomorrow are as follows: Gençlerbirliği-Sivasspor (Muhsin Ertuğral’s debut as Sivasspor’s coach), İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor-Manisaspor, Kayserispor-Ankaragücü, Gaziantepspor-Fenerbahçe, and Antalyaspor-Diyarbakırspor.

Turkcell Super League – Week 8 recap

In Friday action, only one match was featured in Turkcell Super League action as Trabzonspor took on Gaziantepspor. After winning with authority over the last two weeks, Trabzonspor looked to continue their newly found run of form. Trabzonspor dictated the pace early. Drago Gabric would have a shot go off the post in the 5^th minute. Gökhan Ünal had a shot at goal, after a pass from     Hrvoje Čale, but it would end up out of bounds in the 10^th minute. Serkan Balcı unleashed a shot from outside the penalty area, but it would hit to post and end up out of bounds. Gaziantepspor thought they got a goal from Olcan Adin in the 35^th minute, but it was called back for offside. The first half would end up scoreless. In the second half, Ibrahim Yattara was substituted into the game and the pace would pick up for Trabzonspor. In the 55^th minute, Umut Bulut's pass found Gökhan Ünal, but his shot would miss just wide of the goal. In the 66^th minute, former Trabzonspor player Tolga Seyhan would pull down current Trabzonspor player Egemen Korkmaz by the shirt and a penalty was called. Gustavo Colman would take the kick, but Mahmut Gezgin would be the hero in this situation as he made the save to keep the game level. That did for the offense in the game as the game ended with the same score as it started at, 0-0.

In Saturday action, three matches were featured.
Diyarbakirspor took on Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor. The first half featured a goalkeeping show by Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor goalkeeper Oğuzhan Bahadır, as he would make several saves to keep the score level. The scoring would open in the 66^th minute, as Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor's Serhat Gülpınar scored. The 67^th minute had a penalty kick call go Diyarbakirspor's way, and Andres Mendoza converted from the penalty spot to tie the game. Metin Depe scored in the 73^rd minute to put Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor on top 2-1. Serhat Gülpınar scored one more goal in stoppage time to make the final score 3-1 to Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor.
Manisaspor hosted Bursapsor in the second match. The first half featured even play, but no score from either team. It featured a goalkeeper duel, but not much else in terms of offense. The scoring would come in the second half. Pablo Batalla would score in the 83^rd minute off a free kick. Turgay Bahadir would score two minutes into stoppage time to make the final score 2-0 to Bursaspor. After the match, it was reported that Manisaspor head coach Mesut Bakkal would resign from his post.
The featured match of Saturday featured Beşiktaş finally remembering how to get a result. Beşiktaş would get the only goal of the match against Denizlispor from Rodrigo Tabata in the 49^th minute. This match featured more protests from the Beşiktaş fans as they continued to show their dismay at the club's board, including the chairman Yıldırım Demirören, whom they chanted for his resignation. Some Beşiktaş fans turned their backs to the field in order to protest the way the club has played over the last few weeks. While Beşiktaş pulled out the victory, their first victory in 47 days, it seemed the fans were not satisfied. Perhaps Beşiktaş need some changes in the front office, but patience needs to be the order here. Every club has its down years, and it seemed that Beşiktaş lucked out in winning the league title last year. The fans will have to show patience, because changes made on a whim will only make the situation worse. But at least they can say their team won on Saturday.

Sunday action featured four matches.
Sivasspor hosted Antalyaspor, looking for their first win of the season. The big news coming out of the September 4^th stadium would be that this would be Bülent Uygun's last game as head coach, as he submitted his resignation to Sivasspor before the match started. The first half featured no scoring and not many chances. In the second half, Sivasspor would find the goal they were looking for, as Yannick Kamanan scored off a pass in the penalty area from İbrahim Şahin. The team headed to the dugout to celebrate with their soon to be former head coach to celebrate. The teams would trade off chances for the rest of the second half. The final goal of the match would come two minutes into stoppage time, as Kamanan put another goal into the Antalyaspor net. The Sivasspor players celebrated with their head coach again, and the final score ended up 2-0 to Sivasspor, sending Uygun out with a victory.
Eskişehirspor was one of four teams coming into today without a loss. They would be one of three that wouldn't be so lucky to keep the zero in the loss column. In their match against Kayserispor, Ariza Makukula scored the only goal of the match against Eskisehirpor in the 6^th minute, giving Kayserispor the win.
Galatasaray travelled to Ankara's May 19^th stadium, looking to rebound after a draw last week. Ankaragücü was the opponent this week, so the Galatasaray fans were expecting a victory. Ankaragücü had other plans. Two key players were missing for Galatasaray, as Abdul Kader Keita and Sabri Sarioglu were out for this game. It seemed as though it wouldn't matter as Galatasaray played their game against the side from the capital, but couldn't find the back of the net. Ankaragücü had their chances on net, but couldn't find the back of the net either. Perhaps this match can be summarized by what happened in the last ten minutes. In the 83^rd minute, Ceyhun Eriş would make a pass to Murat Duruer, who beat Galatasaray keeper Leo Franco to give Ankaragücü a shock lead 1-0. In the 86^th minute, Shabani Nonda tried to level the match for Galatasaray, but his shot would go out. In the 88^th minute, Galatasaray failed to clear the ball from its penalty area, and Emre Aygün made them pay by scoring. Ankaragücü were up 2-0, but it wasn't over yet. One minute later, Emre Aygün made a pass into the penalty area, finding Hürriyet Güçer, who scored the third goal for Ankaragücü. Ankaragücü would pull off the upset, giving Galatasaray their first loss of the season. Sadly, there were some fights in the stands before the match between the fans of both clubs. Ten Galatasaray fans and twenty-six Ankaragücü fans were arrested. One Galatasaray fan suffered a heart attack in the melee and was transferred to the hospital.
Fenerbahçe and Gençlerbirliği met up in the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in the featured match on Sunday. Both teams came into the match without a single loss, but Fenerbahçe were looking to break their record for the best start in the history of first division professional soccer in Turkey. It looked good for Fenerbahçe in the 13^th minute, as Gökhan Gönül found Dani Güiza, who left it for Alex de Souza, and Alex put Fenerbahçe up 1-0. Gençlerbirliği would also have their chances, but Fenerbahçe goalkeeper Volkan Demirel came up with key saves throughout the game to keep Gençlerbirliği off the scoreboard. Many of the shots from both teams came off the woodwork throughout the game. In the 71^st minute, Alex de Souza scored his second goal of the match from a pass from Andre dos Santos. Gençlerbirliği's defense then practically came apart as Fenerbahçe would pour on the attack. Fenerbahçe would get the comfort goal in the 89^th minute, as a Diego Lugano header from a corner would make the final score 3-0. Fenerbahçe broke the record as they have gone eight for eight, and broke their own record for the best start in the history of the Turkish professional league, which they set in the 1964-65 season. Fenerbahçe now leads Galatasaray by five points at the top of the table going into the international weekend.